Day old chick - Leg Weakness

[Chipmunk Chicks]

Last night, DH brought home four of the most adorable little French Wheaten Marans chicks, to add to the three Bielefelder and two SLW chicks he brought home the night before. (Whoops!)

He didn't really have the opportunity to pick them, the kid just grabbed four yellow chicks and put them in the box. As soon as they came home, we could see one was smaller and weaker and starting to get picked on. So we gave her some cooked egg, along with water and starter crumble, and rigged up a way to segregate her temporarily for observation (see but not touch) while she got her strength up. I've started them all on a mild amprol solution in the water for the first week or so, and organic crumble and chick grit, but I also have nutridrench, I have not yet onboarded.

Luckily, she is a feisty little thing! I was able to reintegrate her around midnight and watched for another hour or so that things were going okay. And they are. But she clearly has something going on.

She is spending more time walking more upright, and not drooping anymore. Her belly looks a bit better already, but you can tell it's dry and the down is rubbed bare from spending so much time sitting down on her belly, or scrambling to get around. The legs also look a bit red and swollen to me, but I don't have enough experience with raising chicks to know exactly what's going on. I don't know if she might need a hobble, or a splint, or just time and good nutrition to help her turn the corner.

Any advice as to how to proceed is appreciated. If I need to stabilize her legs physically somehow, I would like to try that today.

Also, not totally sure why her poop is green. I suspect she was a little plugged up, and finally got her system moving after a bit of a bottom-bath last night. I saw her poop the clear+white urea stuff last night after drinking lots of water, and now this. So I'm wondering if her system is just lagging behind the others a bit with these initial poops? I'm just guessing here; I don't really know if if that's a thing. TIA

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

@Wyorp Rock @Kiki What do you think might be going on here?

 

[MamaFox78]

Where did you get the chicks from?

If it was a big box ranch supply like Tractor Supply or Big R, they routinely give the chicks something to stop up their bowels so they don't soil the litter. (My son works at Big R, he came home SO mad when he found out) It's possible your chickie is bound up and having issues from that... many of those big box chicks don't survive, but this one looks like you can save her!

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

Where did you get the chicks from?

If it was a big box ranch supply like Tractor Supply or Big R, they routinely give the chicks something to stop up their bowels so they don't soil the litter. (My son works at Big R, he came home SO mad when he found out) It's possible your chickie is bound up and having issues from that... many of those big box chicks don't survive, but this one looks like you can save her!

Yes, it was a local TSC. The others all seem like they are 100% thriving, though.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

I was thinking of either trying to feed or gently massage with olive oil? She didn't seem pasty exactly, but I wasn't sure if her bottom was kind of stuck shut? (Now I don't even know if maybe I was looking at her umbilicus lol) I'm glad at least something seems to be passing now, I'm just not sure if it's enough, or how else I can help.

 

[Isadora]

If it was a big box ranch supply like Tractor Supply or Big R, they routinely give the chicks something to stop up their bowels so they don't soil the litter. (My son works at Big R, he came home SO mad when he found out)

What exactly does the store gives the chicks?

 

[Isadora]

Last night, DH brought home four of the most adorable little French Wheaten Marans chicks, to add to the three Bielefelder and two SLW chicks he brought home the night before. (Whoops!)

He didn't really have the opportunity to pick them, the kid just grabbed four yellow chicks and put them in the box. As soon as they came home, we could see one was smaller and weaker and starting to get picked on. So we gave her some cooked egg, along with water and starter crumble, and rigged up a way to segregate her temporarily for observation (see but not touch) while she got her strength up. I've started them all on a mild amprol solution in the water for the first week or so, and organic crumble and chick grit, but I also have nutridrench, I have not yet onboarded.

Luckily, she is a feisty little thing! I was able to reintegrate her around midnight and watched for another hour or so that things were going okay. And they are. But she clearly has something going on.

She is spending more time walking more upright, and not drooping anymore. Her belly looks a bit better already, but you can tell it's dry and the down is rubbed bare from spending so much time sitting down on her belly, or scrambling to get around. The legs also look a bit red and swollen to me, but I don't have enough experience with raising chicks to know exactly what's going on. I don't know if she might need a hobble, or a splint, or just time and good nutrition to help her turn the corner.

Any advice as to how to proceed is appreciated. If I need to stabilize her legs physically somehow, I would like to try that today.

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Also, not totally sure why her poop is green. I suspect she was a little plugged up, and finally got her system moving after a bit of a bottom-bath last night. I saw her poop the clear+white urea stuff last night after drinking lots of water, and now this. So I'm wondering if her system is just lagging behind the others a bit with these initial poops? I'm just guessing here; I don't really know if if that's a thing. TIA

Are her legs just weak or is she having trouble walking because they're turned out or something? Hobbles would only help if she had a slipped tendon or some other thing going on that would cause the legs to not line up.
are you giving the amprol as a preventative or have there been signs of coccidiosis?
I'm not seeing anything notable from the pictures but let's see what everyone else has to say.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

Are her legs just weak or is she having trouble walking because they're turned out or something? Hobbles would only help if she had a slipped tendon or some other thing going on that would cause the legs to not line up.
are you giving the amprol as a preventative or have there been signs of coccidiosis?
I'm not seeing anything notable from the pictures but let's see what everyone else has to say.

It's hard to say. At first I thought she was splayed, but I know in the pics it probably doesn't look too bad, so now I'm not sure. What really stood out to me physically, (apart from the bare belly), was the redness and swelling it seems of the hocks, but is that due to a slipped tendon? Or is that just due to her sitting back on her hocks too much of the time, i.e secondary to the weakness? I just don't know, but I want to try and help her to thrive.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

are you giving the amprol as a preventative or have there been signs of coccidiosis?
I'm not seeing anything notable from the pictures but let's see what everyone else has to say.

Yes, just as a preventative. I had read that even with medicated feed, the levels are not really high enough to make a huge difference, so I figure I have more control if I use it long enough to make sure everyone is looking good, and then just stop mixing it in.

 

[Isadora]

Yes, just as a preventative. I had read that even with medicated feed, the levels are not really high enough to make a huge difference, so I figure I have more control if I use it long enough to make sure everyone is looking good, and then just stop mixing it in.

Got it.
You mentioned you had nutri drench on hand but hadn't used it yet. I wasn't sure if you were aware but that and the amprol shouldn't be used together.