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Splayed Leg in Chicks |
Once in awhile, you may experience a chick that hatches with splayed legs. It looks like they are doing the sideways splits and can't get their legs up underneath them. In milder cases, one leg will just slip out to the side, but it does interfere with the chick's ability to walk and move about normally.
What causes splayed legs? I believe it can be genetic, since a long time ago, I bought a trio of colored silkies and the chicks from that trio had a high percentage of splayed legs. I sold off all those birds as pet quality and started over with a better line. However I think that the occasional splayed leg chick is usually an incubation issue. A weak chick is more likely to have splayed legs, or a chick that took a long time to hatch, or required help in order to hatch.
The rubbery shelf liner that I line my brooders with helps a lot with the mild cases of splayed legs. It has a tacky rubbery surface that helps the chicks really get their legs up underneath them, even if one leg wants to slip out to the side a little. After a day or so, it's hard to even find the chick that had the problem, as it has gained strength and the ability to keep its legs in the correct position.
However, sometimes intervention is necessary. If you determine that the chick is going to need help, this is a fairly easy method that produces good results. Choose a time when you can spend 45 minutes to an hour with the chick, as they will need your help after you tape the legs. Take a regular band-aid that has a middle pad measuring 3/4 inch long. Cut the band-aid in half lengthwise. You will only use 1 piece, so save the other piece for the next chick needing help. Wrap each side of the sticky surface around 1 leg, leaving the 3/4 inch pad in the middle as the spacer between the 2 legs.
When you put the chick back in the brooder, they usually do flips and are very frantic since they have to find a new way to move around. Stay with the chick, righting it when it lands on its back, or when it sticks its legs out in front of it. After about 15 minutes or so, they usually figure out how to move their legs normally. Stay with the chick until it learns how to move around. If it flips over on its back and just gives up, it can die. Once your chick learns how to move around, it will be ok. Usually the band-aid holds quite well, and you can remove it after 3 or 4 days. If the legs aren't completely normal at that time, use the other half of your band-aid to tape them up again.