New Chick— splayed/slipped tendon?

| Hello all. Received an order from Murray McMurray today. These are our first chicks since buying our small homestead. This little girl arrived in rough shape. Looks like she was crammed into the bottom corner of the shipping box by her compatriots. The right limb is swollen at the hock and inflamed/red, also seems painful to the touch. The left limb is also odd, but looks relatively normal. She will not put weight on either limb and walks on her hocks with her feet by her ears. Her feet are still responsive to touch; I have tried stretching them and feeling for the tendon but I can’t feel anything out of place ligament-wise. I’ve been hand feeding and giving electrolytes (QuikChik supplied by the hatchery) every couple hours by syringe. Also tried a bit of honey followed by warm water. No change yet, but it’s only been 4 hours. So my question is, do yall have any theories? Can I splint this? I was a vet tech for five years so I’m comfortable doing whatever I need to do to help this chick get comfortable— whether that’s a splint or if we should say goodbye. If it was just one leg, I’d feel more optimistic, but… anyway, please help! [link] [comments] |
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