Splayed legs on a IRN chick

[tasha]

I discovered today that my little 8 day old IRN chick has both legs splayed.

They looked almost "doing the splits" like.

I took him from the nest and popped him in the brooder while I looked up how to help/fix him.

I followed the sponge remedy. I think I have done it right but not totally 100% sure.

This is what he looked like in the nest....



and this is after the sponge treatment....







I have him in a small container inside a marg container packed with tissue and paper towels for, hopefully, a little more comfort. Plus his new "sister" the soft toy Kookaburra.

I have not raised a chick this young before so am a bit concerned. Any tips/advise for a chick so young?

I have been reading my books and looking on forums and net for info. He just looks so tiny to what I am used to.

I have the temp probe in his container with him so I get an acurate temp that he is feeling.
The temp reads around 32.9 - 33.9 aprox., book says between 31.6 -35. Keeping a VERY close eye on it.

I read feeds should be around 5 or 6 times/day for his age.

He seems a bit more content then when I first popped him in his "sponge bling".
Not fidgeting and seems to be sleeping a bit better.....for the moment anyway.

My heart goes out to this poor little fighter. He lost all his siblings due to mum not doing her job and now this.

So if I have/am doing anything wronge PLEASE tell me so I can correct it.

Thanks in advance.

[Peter]

That is a great idea with the sponge!

All you really need to do is hold it in position for a week or two and it should mostly correct as he grows.

Good luck with him

[tasha]

Thanks Peter.

I found that the sponge seemed to be chaffing the skin off on his legs , so I have taken him out of the sponge for a few days to see if it will improve.
I took him to the vets yesterday as his joints looked a little swollen to me. Unfortunately not my usual vet as he is away on holidays, (how DARE he have time off when I need him lol ), and the relief vet wasn't confident on treating birds so the clinic tranfered me to another vet on the other side of town.
But I was very disappointed in the vets consultation. Apart from showing very little interest and hinting for most of my 3 minute consultation that if he was a wild bird then she would put him down so that is an option that I should consider!

So I packed up my little buddy and brought him back home where he is loved.

I transfered him into a cylinder (paper roll inserts made bigger), to get him sitting more upright while keeping his legs in the proper position.
I think it has helped as this morning when I fed him he seemed a bit better in the legs.

I will post a pic of him later so you can see the difference.

His joints are still a bit swollen but I think they have gone down as well.

The vet did think that he had an infection in the joints until she pinched him and he squarked, so she said he wasn't paralysed so it wasn't an infection. That along with his full on appetite and ease of movement etc. She put it down to lack of draining fluid, possibly due to restricted movement.

In the time I have looked after him, (4 days) he has gained 12grms! He gained 6 grms from yesterday. Told you he liked his tucker lol

[Jen]

You are doing a great job! And good on you for trying. 10 points for perseverance. Years ago when we bred our first ringnecks I was devastated to find my very first lutino had the same problem but was older when it was first discovered. I tried to fix the problem but found that he just wasn't developing at all and still had hardly any feathers when the 2 greens from the same clutch were nearly fully feathered. The feathers that were growing didnt look quite right either so we had to 'do the right thing' in that case. He also just didnt seem to increase in size at all and looked really skeletal even though I was feeding him constantly. I think you have a much better chance of success. It is a shame the sponge was chaffing as that looked like a great idea. maybe try again when he is a little older and his skin a little tougher if need be. Wishing you heaps of good luck on this!
Jen

[Silvercloud]

You're doing a top job with him Tash. Experiment with different types of foam as there's bound to be some that will chafe his skin less. Maybe a soft covering over the foam.

[tasha]

Here is that same chick a few weeks ago...







and these were taken today....











A HUGE improvement. I would never have thought that she could have healed so well. I am very proud of her efforts!

She still has a slight lean to the left at times but I am hoping that she might strengthen up with time. If not I am still happy with her result!

She is 5 weeks and 2 days old today

[silverfox]

awwww Tash, she is looking great , you have done a wonderful job on her.

[Peter]

Looking fantastic!

Great News!

Most vets would never even treat a bird, apart from putting it down.

With splayed legs, it just shows all you need to do is hold them in position for a while until they are set right. Especially if you catch it in time.

Good on you!