Need help - week old chick with hurt leg

[mom2mnem]

I just noticed one of my chicks holding her leg out to the side. I have no idea what happened or what the real issue is. Can anyone advise what to do or expect? I've separated it out so it doesn't get picked on.

Only thing I can think of is that they had started flying up to the edge of the galvanized bucket so perhaps she landed bad when jumping back down? We have upgraded their space...

 

[PrairieChickens]

Just do what you're doing and it should straighten itself out. If she was younger, I'd suspect spraddle leg and suggest hobbling, but it looks more like she pulled something. Fortunately, chicks at this age are pretty flexible and tend to heal quickly from injuries like this. When our rooster Gryffindor was a young cockerel, he got his foot caught in some chicken wire and was stuck hanging upside-down for who knows how long. His foot and toe were turned completely around and we thought he'd be lame for life, but by that evening, it had completely straightened out and he was ready to rejoin the flock.

 

[mom2mnem]

Thanks, PrairieChickens.

Any additional thoughts based on this video I just took? She's breaking my heart.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/d4e6vq6443bt3n5/Video May 12, 5 12 21 PM.mov

 

[PrairieChickens]

Yeah, looks like she twisted or wrenched it. The stretch is a good sign. She's exercising it, and although she is obviously favoring it, she's not in a tremendous amount of pain. She should be back to rights within a few days.

 

[mom2mnem]

My girl doesn't seem to be doing any differently. I mean, she's getting around ok, eating and such, she just has a terribly out of place leg. I put another chick in the brooder with her so she wouldn't be alone and she seems to appreciate that. They snuggle up and she doesn't get bothered. (I tried sticking her back in with the rest of the bunch and the others immediately pecked her leg.)

Guess we'll just have one spoiled rotten handicapped hen.

 

[PrairieChickens]

I've had a few of those over the years. It may yet heal, or it may turn out to be permanently askew. Normally injuries like this heal quickly, so it may actually be a genetic deformity of some kind if it's not getting better. Short of wait-and-see, I can't recommend anything else at this point, but I wish your little one good luck.

I have a rooster who has one wing larger than the other, living in my brooder pen because he gets torn up by the other chickens if I try to mix him with the main flock. They're not trying to be mean to him, but he'll hurt himself and fall over, and they'll see the injury on his wing and start pecking at it out of curiosity. Next thing I know, poor Jack is a bloodied mess. Now he gets to live with the little ones, though he's getting along well with my girl Zen, so I may keep those two together if I can't mix him after all.

 

[mom2mnem]

I'm really not sure what to do about this chick. she seems to be worse. I can't tell if she's in pain or not. Her leg sticks much further out now. She hops around a bit, but mostly uses the side of her bucket to lean on to get around. When she lays down it sticks completely out to the side. And probably most disturbing is that she is not growing nearly as much as her "siblings" of same breed/age. Is this poor chick miserable?!

This is her next to a "sibling."

 

[mom2mnem]

anyone?

 

[PrairieChickens]

I figure it's got to be a genetic deformity. If it's getting worse rather than better, that means it probably wasn't an injury. Unfortunately, this sort of thing is beyond my ability to remedy--you may want to check out the diseases, illness, and injury thread to see if you can get more expert advice.

 

[mom2mnem]

Thanks, prairie, you've been very kind to continue responding. Much appreciated.