Fused knee?

[annanicole18]

my first batch of chick has hatched over the past 3 days and one cannot walk so i picked it up and looked at its leg and it is swollen and red at the knee and the joint really cannot be moved. is this something i can splint? or will the swelling go down and become normal?

the foot is not able to go down on the floor all the way and this is now it sits

 

[annanicole18]

anyone ever have this?

 

[LiL John]

I have not seen the redness before but I think I would try a splint to see if it works. If it survives, I might would seperare it from the rest when they start to get more active. The others may trample it for heat.

 

[firedove]

Redness and swelling at the joint often signals an infection in the joint. Is it hot (hotter than normal)? You are going to need antibiotics, but I'm not sure which kind, hopefully someone else will see this post and chime in with that. I know if it was most animals an injectable antibiotic would be the way to go, but I'm not all too versed in chicken medicine since chickens are my newest addition to the farm (just over a year now) and I haven't had many ailments to deal with. You may want to post this in the "Emergencies / Diseases / Injuries and Cures" forum to get better advice.

 

[SimplyForties]

Although I didn't have the redness, I had this same problem with one of my chicks, where she couldn't straighten her legs. After about 60 hours of me putting food in front of her and holding her over her water to drink, her knees turned outward and her feet twisted upward. At that point I culled her. Sad but necessary. Good luck with yours.