Three day old favorolle with potential splay leg

[Ajp23]

I have a three day old favorolle who cannot walk or stand. Her legs are pointing outward so we applied the band-aid technique. As of now, she cannot stand on her own at all and only lays on her side under the heater. We help her drink but she won’t eat - is it a lost cause?

What should we do with her while she is unable to stand?

 

[Slothinc]

Do you have a picture of her with the brace on? How long has she had it on?

 

[Ajp23]

I put it under the knee joint, hard to tell here. About four hours - she just tips forward or to the side.

 

[Slothinc]

It looks pretty good! You could try feeding her egg yolk (you could try raw or cooked, might be able to eat raw better as you could just put a drop on the tip of her bill and let her eat it that way.) or at the very least add electrolytes to water (in a pinch I have even made up Liquid IV to give to a chick - it totally worked to give a boost of energy, though I wouldn’t say it’s probably the best source of electrolytes for a chick.) Even sugar water would be better than plain water.

Hopefully she can perk up a little bit after having a little sugar in her system. In the meantime, try to ensure that it’s neither too hot or too cold under the heat source. If you have a digital thermometer, put it next to where she is laying to check the temp.

If she does perk up, then you can start doing short sessions of cup therapy with her. But right now she looks very weak and doesn’t seem to have the ability to do anything. Does she have other chicks in with her?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a three day old favorolle who cannot walk or stand. Her legs are pointing outward so we applied the band-aid technique. As of now, she cannot stand on her own at all and only lays on her side under the heater. We help her drink but she won’t eat - is it a lost cause?

What should we do with her while she is unable to stand?

Can you get photos of her standing without the hobbles?

 

[Ajp23]

Can you get photos of her standing without the hobbles?

She can’t stand at all, sadly. She just falls forward or to the side. Perhaps something else is wrong.

 

[Ajp23]

It looks pretty good! You could try feeding her egg yolk (you could try raw or cooked, might be able to eat raw better as you could just put a drop on the tip of her bill and let her eat it that way.) or at the very least add electrolytes to water (in a pinch I have even made up Liquid IV to give to a chick - it totally worked to give a boost of energy, though I wouldn’t say it’s probably the best source of electrolytes for a chick.) Even sugar water would be better than plain water.

Hopefully she can perk up a little bit after having a little sugar in her system. In the meantime, try to ensure that it’s neither too hot or too cold under the heat source. If you have a digital thermometer, put it next to where she is laying to check the temp.

If she does perk up, then you can start doing short sessions of cup therapy with her. But right now she looks very weak and doesn’t seem to have the ability to do anything. Does she have other chicks in with her?

Thank you! There are two other chicks with her, they are not bothering her so far. I fed her some egg yolk and she ate some, but no improvement thus far. She still cannot stand even with the hobble.

 

[CombNWattles]

I agree that she needs electrolytes/sugar. Could you set her in a duct tape roll or something to help keep her upright? Birds do not breathe well lying on their backs.

 

[CombNWattles]

Does she always keep her eyes closed? Is she pooping?

 

[Ajp23]

Does she always keep her eyes closed? Is she pooping?

She seems to be very stressed, chirping a lot but does open her eyes slightly. She has pooped but very weak. She’s had electrolyte water but I will make sugar water now to see if that helps.