Spraddle leg in bantam

[Phenajo]

Hello.
We’ve just hatched 5 Suffolk chequer bantams.
They are all fine and doing really well except for one which hatched with what I guess is Spraddle or splayed leg. It couldn’t stand from the moment it hatched.
After 24 hours when I could take it out of the incubator, I made a hobble for it with vetwrap.
It’s now day three, and there has been no improvement after wearing the hobble 48 hours. It can move around pretty quickly, but always either topped up on its bottom, or face down with its rear in the air.
It was in the brooder box, but I’ve moved it back to the incubator so it doesn’t get trampled by the others.
I’ve been giving it some time in a glass with a tissue nest as I read this can help it to push itself up.
I’ve been making sure it gets water every hour and it has chuck crumb in with it also.
I’ll give it as long as it needs to recover, but wanted some more experienced views as I read improvements are seen within 48 hours with this condition when treated correctly.
Any advice gratefully received.

 

[GodofPecking]

if they eat and drink and stand up they'll live.

it is absolutely critical for all hatched chicks to have a rough surface for the first few days to stand on. If they get a smooth surface they cannot initially stand on reliably, they will fail to develop proper legs/ muscles/ balance and will eventually die. The hobbles do help, if you do it fast enough. After that, it's all up to chance. Some are born strong, some born weak, why is a million answer question.

 

[Phenajo]

Thanks for replying. It’s on a paper towel on top of the grid base in the incubator, so it’s not and has never been on a slippy surface. I’m just worried that this one is not pushing itself up at all on its legs. It does a kind of bum shuffle around, and rocks back and forth on its bottom, so it’s either tipped forward on its face or tipped back on its bottom. It can move it’s legs and kicks when I remove the hobble.
May be it just needs more time. As you say, it’s eating and drinking, it seems very alert and is quite vocal.

 

[GodofPecking]

incubation is never as good as a hen, but then, there are some bloody awful hens too.


Some either take longer to develop, doing some of the developing outside the egg, or perhaps they get injured because of malnourished hen, or temperature variation, or a million other things. The grid helps, time will tell, the three rules I mentioned apply.

 

[Phenajo]

Thanks - I’ll stay hopeful then!