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I had a chick with spraddle leg. I tried the band-aid and it was really hard on the chick pulling it off to change it, so I just left it off and held the chick where it could drink and eat about 4 or 5 times a day. Eventually the chick started walking on its own. Its 2 months now and you can’t tell there was ever anything wrong with it.

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I used to sterile strips to bring their legs together like they’re supposed to be and I leave them on there for about 2 weeks

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I have a buff hen that a dog almost killed last spring. The dog crippled one of her legs, so she hops around on one leg. Her name is Goldie and she gets around fine & lays an egg daily. I do keep her away from the roosters & she hangs around our barn which is very close to our house. My point is that although she only has one good leg, I think she’s very happy. She follows me around like a puppy & lets us pet her like a puppy. I’m really glad I didn’t put her down because of her bad leg.
Southern Chick

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Really your post is really very good and I appreciate hermes bracelet. It’s hard to sort the good from the bad sometimes, but I think you’ve nailed it.

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I just did the vet wrap last night on my day old chick, this morning he is still kinda flopping around not really standing. How long before his legs get strong enough to hold him up, and should I be doing something else along with the wrap. Also I am helping him to water and feed as I’m not sure if he can without assistance so I do it for my sanity, at least if I see him drink I know he’s getting some nourishment, thanks for any advice.

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My chick got splayed leg at 2 weeks old. I put vet wrap around each leg and tied them together for 5 days.It didn’t work.I wanted to put her down, but my wife said no your not. So now she is 7 weeks old and eating and drinking with one leg.She seems to do ok,We will see if she can have a normal life.The other chicks don’t pick on her, so far so good.She doesn’t go very far from the coop.

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I had a gosling that we hatched out in my 3rd grade class one time with spraddle legs. I took nylon hose and cut a strip of that and pulled its little legs up underneath it and tied the nylon strip on each leg with enough length between the legs so it could move. I tied one end on one leg, left a space between, and tied the other end on the other leg. Don’t tie tightly on each leg so you don’t cut off circulation. Good news was that it fully recovered and grew up to be a very nice goose.

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An addition to my pipe cleaner brace above: Just cut a small length of pipe cleaner (estimate the length) & form a circle at each end that loosly crimp around each leg. Bend the circles up & form them to fit the position needed for their legs to be in proper position. Adjust the brace as needed & replace it as needed for their stance.Best wishes!

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For spradle leg or splayed legs in a chick, my all time favorite & easiest way to fix was with a piece of pipe cleaner. Pipe cleaner bends easily around each leg & can easily be cut to the right distance for the size of the chick. I then create a supporting bed for the chick to stand in & get used to legs closer together & balancing the standing position; a small plastic container with a paper towel formed inside to create a hollow for the chick to stand in. The come out at will, but often take a break & rest in the hollow for periods of time which helps them gather balance for the new upright position of the legs. Then they walk around with the pipe cleaner brace for some days till it’s ready to be removed. Each one will take it’s own amount of time to recover. Also, Paper tape (think it’s a hairdo supply) sticks & removes easily enough for wraping the each leg if protection is needed from any rubbing. Best wishes!

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Here is how I do it. Pipe cleaner cuffs joined together by a short piece of thin elastic. And the real trick is put it in a plastic cup at night. This forces the chick to stand on both legs and strengthens them. See pictures here

http://sweeth2o.us/Spraddle.html

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I’ve not had to deal with a baby chick with splayed legs but did with two baby lovebirds. I took a wedge shaped make-up sponge and placed between their legs and then used the bandage wrap that sticks to itself. (They use it on horses) It worked great and nothing irritated the bird.

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I just had this happen to one of my silkie chicks. I just used a bandaid, wrapped around both legs tight enough that it pulled the legs into the correct position, and stuck bandaid together in between the legs! Worked like a charm, and the chick was able to walk around as soon as he established his balance! Great simple success. Hope this helps someone else, the vet is a tremendous amount of money. I have spent hundreds on my chickens (at a time) and only to have it die the next day. Hard to let them go, but you can hatch a new one in 21 days!

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Hi, sorry to hear about the problem. We had that issue with three chicks this spring. On two chicks we used the soft animal bandage wrap and connected the legs the proper distance apart, and it worked beautifully, and only took a few days. But, one chick also needed to have its feet tended too. They were crooked and the chick wasn’t able to put its feet flat. We used a piece of cardboard and made “foot prints”, then we used the soft bandage wrap again and set the foot flat on cardboard wrapped up. It came off a few times, but within a few days the foot was perfect. I learned this method from one of the smart ladies on the website here… Kathy Shea Mormino, The Chicken Chick. Check out her articles for photos of what to do. It was brilliant and her method saved my chicks!

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Great post. This can be a common problem, but fairly easily treated. I keep vet wrap and waterproof tape in my chicken first aid kit just in case, but knock on wood, haven’t had to deal with spraddle leg. Using rubber shelf liner in both the incubator and the brooder can also help prevent the condition, as wet newspaper can be slick and cause legs to splay out.
Lisa
Fresh Eggs Daily
http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2012/04/spraddle-leg.html

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I put the bandaid splint on a chick and it was able to get around immediately. I left the bandaid on for a few days – there were no issues with skin sensitivity – and the chick grew up fine.

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Hello everyone, I had some turkey babies hatch out and one was in the same condition. I cut a piece of cotton crochet yarn and made some slip knots, placed one slip knot on each leg above the joint and drew them together. I worked with the turkey poult and by the 4th day it was walking on its own,I removed the cotton yarn and its now completely recovered. Please keep in mind that if you have one with sprawled legs it has to be done as soon as possible, or the joint will swell do to walking on the joint and the chick or poult will not try to walk cause of the pain.

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Tried all the “tape the legs together” tricks, and nothing worked all that great. However, I discovered that putting a thick layer of hay on the bottom of the brooder allows a chick with spraddle legs to hook its toes into the hay and stand. Wood chips or newspaper doesn’t offer the traction that hay does.

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We had great success using pipe cleaners (chenille stems) on our straddle legged chick. We were able to leave the pipe cleaner on for several days without irritating the skin as band aids might. You can read about it and see pictures on my blog (you’ll need to read or scroll almost to the bottom)

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=380801465880516051#editor/target=post;postID=3418732887902769347;onPublishedMenu=overview;onClosedMenu=overview;postNum=10;src=link

I describe the process using three short pieces of pipe cleaner, but in the picture you see my daughter improvised with one longer piece. It worked fine and Splitz is now healthy, mobile and growing at the same rate as his hatch mates.