# 8 week old chick won't stand after being kicked my bantam rooster



## Eutopia (Apr 8, 2020)

I have a 8 week old brahma chick that got kicked by my bantam rooster. It has been a week, and since then he cannot stabilize left to right.when standing he flops on his right side,he is able to straighten his leg when lying down. I cannot feel a break in the leg at all, if I stabilize the chick it can stand and walk a bit. I dont want him to suffer but also don't want to give him a fighting chance.does anyone else have this experience?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Is it possible to do a pic. One of the side that seems to be affected. I'm wondering if the hip is out. When he straightens it is it twisted at all?

By kick do you mean the rooster flogged the peep?


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## Eutopia (Apr 8, 2020)

My husband and I have a camera in the coop,the rooster dive bombed him essentially. All I have are video and they won't upload?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Yeah, it's not possible until you've more posting. I think it's three posts. 

Is his leg straight or twisted to the side when he stretches it out? If it's not twisted it might be soft tissue injury and will need time to heal. Lots of time.


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## Eutopia (Apr 8, 2020)

He bends the right leg ,but the left is out. I have seen him straigthen it but only small moments?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I really need to see what you're seeing and a pic is probably the best way for me to make any kind of guess what might be wrong. 

Even the video won't really work without seeing the aftermath of the event.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Do you have your video on a computer? Have you tried the upload a file button and download the pic (preferred)/video?


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## Eutopia (Apr 8, 2020)

I got to take some pics when i got home


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## Eutopia (Apr 8, 2020)

When i support him he holds his leg like this


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

What happens when you pull the leg straight? Does peep react? Are both legs and feet the same temp? 

What you might end up doing is making peep a chair. Usually it's a sling suspended but allows the feet to touch the ground.


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## Eutopia (Apr 8, 2020)

The right foot is a hair warmer ,I can move the leg through the motion and it does not seem to hurt him.there is a popping on the claw of the foot while pulling it up half the time?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Popping? Where exactly? Is it a toe or the hock? If it's one of those two you might be able to lightly tape it to give peep support. 

I really hate doing this but you can dissolve a 325 mg aspirin in water and let him drink from that. Or if you have 81 mg, not enteric, aspirin you can dissolve that in a pint of water.


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## Eutopia (Apr 8, 2020)

It feels like the joint where the three toes meet,I am unsure joint names


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I'm thinking.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I'm trying to decide if doing a light wrap of coban (vet wrap) would help. Is the popping happening at what we would consider our ankle? If this is where the injury is it's in a bad spot for stabilizing. And peep is still so small. 

I'm sitting here staring at my hand trying to picture how to wrap it. Because the foot is so small it's not going to be an easy thing to do. You know how they wrap a sprained ankle? That might be what will help stabilize peep but the foot is so small it won't take much to overwhelm his toes. 

He appears feather footed so tape won't work.


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## Eutopia (Apr 8, 2020)

Yup a brahma chick feather foot bird. I have vet wrap ,I had to wrap a duckling up this brood for angel wing for 5 days. Mabye cut them into smaller strips and wrap them up a bit.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It's not going to be easy because of his size to keep it from wadding up between the toes. Try the aspirin and give the vet wrap a whirl. You might be able to cut holes for his toes to go through and then wrap the ankle.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

Hi Eutopia, Welcome to the forum, I'm so sorry about what happened, I know how worried these guys can make you.
If there is popping in the joint then it could be dislocated, a toe I mean. If you put your finger under the toes on the affected foot, does she curl the toes around your finger? You can test this holding the chick with it's back to your front so it's tummy is out, legs out front, she should pull her legs to her tummy and curl her toes up. One way or another, it would be helpful to know if her toes curl. If they hang limp then it could be a joint dislocation or the tendon in the back of the leg may be out of it's groove. 
Here is a good article about slipped Achilles tendon: OKay it won't let me post the link, something is being weird and glitchy, I'll (hopefully) copy and paste the important parts:


*Slipped Achilles Tendon* is a condition that results when tendon that runs down through the groove on the back of a bird's hock has slipped out of place off to the side.
*This problem causes a serious form of Splayed Leg that cannot be corrected until the Achilles Tendon is put back in place.* It may also lead to *Twisted Leg* and other problems if not treated soon enough.
Symptoms:

The back of the hock will look flat (Compare to other legs to double-check).
The bird won't be able to fully straighten its leg by itself.
The bird will likely exhibit pain at least the first few days after injury. Birds may peep or cry repeatedly.
The joint will become swollen after a while.
Hold the joint between your thumb & finger and roll it back and forth. If the tendon has slipped, you will feel it snap back into place (and back out again, if the bone is not sufficiently developed). If you don't feel the tendon pop in, your bird may instead have a rotated femur, which requires surgery.
One leg may rotate out to the side or twist underneath the bird (showing Splayed Leg), depending on whether the tendon has slipped to the outside or inside of the leg.
If the tendons are slipped in both legs, the bird will stand & walk hunched down / squatting on its hocks ("elbows"), and may use its wings for balance.
*Treat this problem as soon as possible,* so the joint doesn't swell as much (making healing more difficult) and the tendon does not end up shortened or deformed.

If the tendon has been out of place more than a few days, it may be unbearably painful to the bird to try to fix it or may cause damage. You could try gradually stretching the leg the leg a number of times a few days to lengthen the tendon, & then try correcting the placement.
This is especially true of young chicks because their legs are growing so quickly. Various bones, tendons & muscles will have done a lot of growing in just a couple of days and may have become too short, long or twisted so they can't allow the Achilles tendon to be back in the correct location.

*To reposition the tendon* into the correct place: Gently pull the upper part of bird's leg a bit behind normal position and then carefully straighten the leg as though bird were stretching its leg back in a pretty normal stretching motion. Press gently against the side of the tendon if needed, and it should pop back into place pretty easily and cause little if any pain. Gently release the leg and it should return to a normal bent position.

Some sources recommend pushing the tendon back in place just by pressing with your finger. However, stretching the leg back is a much less painful method.

Sometimes a tendon has a hard time staying in place. It may have been out of place for too long or a chick's hock groove may not yet have developed enough to hold the tendon well (Be sure to provide very good nutrition to support optimal bone growth at this time. Do NOT give Calcium or other nutrients in *excessive*amounts, however--that could cause other problems.).
You can *repeat the repositioning* of the tendon additional times. This may help the tendon gradually lengthen & shape correctly, while the bone is also growing enough to hold the tendon better.
You can put the tendon in place & then ****wrap the joint area with sports tape**** or other tape to help hold it there. Use a thin strip of tape wrapped several times around the joint. Change the tape after a few days to ensure it doesn't restrict circulation too much.
It will also help if you put the bird in a *Chick / Chicken Sling or Chair* and/or put its leg in a cast (such as one made from a bendable drinking straw) for a few days (~5) while re-alignment stabilizes.
_(Note: There is some debate on whether it is better for feet to not touch the ground--as recommended below-- or to touch the ground a little. *Please research further* when making the choice.)_
It is important for the legs not be able to reach the ground. The bird needs to be suspended with its legs just hanging freely or in not-too-tight casts shaped in normal bent angle. In this position, the chick won't try to use its legs as much. Its legs need relaxed rest in their normal position until the tendon(s) have stretched and adjusted back to the right place and shape.


Even after the tendon is back in place, the bird may continue to have some problems walking for a few days. If so, *use a Hock Cushion(s) to protect its hock(s) from chafing & bruising during recovery*. Limber the leg by gently stretching the leg several times a day, as you did when repositioning the tendon (Check to make sure the tendon stays in place.). If the chick struggles to figure out correct movements, Physical Therapy or short sessions in a Chick Cup _(More info to be added.)_ may help.

*You can try* *Surgery* for a tendon that won't go into place or won't stay in place, along with other treatments. Click here to read one little chick's success story.

*If there is swelling on hock*:

If *infection* is part of what is causing joint to swell, you will find pus. In this case, recovery is almost always impossible, and would be EXTREMELY difficult. In almost all cases *the bird should be put down* to avoid additional suffering.
If swelling was just caused by displacement that has now been fixed, swelling will go down in 2-4 days.
Now, I'm not saying that this is the problem but since every bird is individual and every injury unique in some way, we can generalize a guess. 
First, please do the toe curl test that I mentioned in the first part of this post. If the toes do not curl then look at the hock (that would be our ankle, sort of, since chickens don't have knees, it's the joint closest to the body without being the hip, it's not inside the feathers...well, since yours is a feather leg, it could have feathers on it lol but not body feathers) look at the hock to see if it's flat or oddly shaped compared to the other leg or to the leg of another chicken. 
The tendons run from the hock down the leg shaft, into the "foot" and into the toes, when a chicken curls it's toes, the Achilles tendon is doing it's job.


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## Eutopia (Apr 8, 2020)

The chick grabs my finger with all the toes and follows the motion when I move my finger up. The leg is weaker then the other leg but has some strength to it.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I didn't even think about slipped tendon but it was certainly possible with the hit peep took. 

I hate these leg issues. They take so long to heal and since we can't "see" what's wrong it's hard to know what actions to take.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

Aack! I just looked at your pictures again and her hock is covered with feathers/fuzz, you may have to feel of it to see if it's flat in the back.


Eutopia said:


> The chick grabs my finger with all the toes and follows the motion when I move my finger up. The leg is weaker then the other leg but has some strength to it.


Awesome! I'm glad to hear this. Is she improved at all? Poor baby, I feel so bad for her. You know...I was just thinking, you could try putting her in a warm epsom salt bath, a small container that you can fill enough to get hips in (not much more than that though) with warm water, warm enough to melt the epsom salt but cool enough not to scald her legs and skin. Let her soak in that until the water is cool to the touch, dry her gently with a towel or you can use a hair dryer on low cool setting, then let her rest. Try that at least once a day (twice is better if possible) for a few days and see if she improves. 
Is she still eating and drinking and poo'ing? Oh and don't let her drink the epsom salt water, it won't poison her but it could give her diarrhea if she drinks enough of it.


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## Eutopia (Apr 8, 2020)

I have checked the hock 3 times,it seems normal everytime I check. The chick is was able to walk for 5 minutes yesterday and went back to laying on his side again.my husband said the walked in a circle though? He has figured out he can sleep on the side of the brooder and sleep normal for half the day now. My husband and I will put him in a sling tonight to help support him and strengthen his leg. The chick has a great personality,and I hate to not give him a chance if the chick wants to try to on his own.


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## Eutopia (Apr 8, 2020)

Here he is today on my shoulder trying to get higher


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Did you try the aspirin? 

What you're saying tonight is a positive sign. If it's what we call a sprain, just like us it's going to take time to heal.

If peep is alone you might want to bring in a little buddy for him/her.


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## Eutopia (Apr 8, 2020)

I have 2 week old chicks in the brooder with him.they are keeping him company and engaging but not hurting. They have used him has a bed. I did not try the asprin I don't like to dose very small animals with meds. So many things can go wrong.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I really didn't want to bring the aspirin up but if it gave the little one more of a chance then it was worth the risk.

Good thinking on bringing the others in to keep him company.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

I love the improvement! Things are looking good. You can still try the epsom salt, it will help her feel better and heal faster. I'm thinking it could be a soft tissue injury (sprain in the hip area or something along those lines) the epsom salt bath would help that. 
I just had a duck of mine attacked by a raccoon a couple of weeks ago, she had 2 puncture wounds, one above and one below her hip and she couldn't walk on that leg. The first thing I did after cleaning up her wounds was to pop her into a warm epsom salt bath twice a day. She was back in the flock in just a few days, both puncture wounds fully healed and only a slight limp. I kept giving her the baths for 2 more days and now she has no noticeable limp and runs and plays like normal. (just a testament to how well it works)

Please keep updating us, we love to see progress! Thank you for the updates so far too.


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## Eutopia (Apr 8, 2020)

Well I know he is out of the woods for the major part.he managed to run from one side of the brooder to the other, which is 5 chicken steps. He did not go in circles a straight line so I am elated. When I posted for help he was flopping around like 2 drunk girls on taco night walking together.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

LOL I am so glad I had not picked my glass up or it would have been all over my computer. 

Thank you so much for the update. I'm glad to know baby is making headway.

And you don't have to answer my PM my question has been answered.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

[email protected] I did actually spit water all over my keyboard laughing.

I am so so so happy to hear this news. That is so awesome. Good job taking care of her/him!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Yep, can't help but love endings like this one. And goes to show babies can be quite resilient.


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