01-11-2015, 12:37 AM
Broilers are fast-growing birds and this can put a strain on not only their heart, but also their legs. A common leg defect is spraddle leg. This is a situation whereby the feet tendons are weak, causing the legs to splay outward. Spraddle legs can also be as a result of vitamin/calcium deficiency or leg injury which may result when chicks are raised on slippery surfaces like newspaper.
Broilers are fast-growing birds and this can put a strain on not only their heart, but also their legs. A common leg defect is spraddle leg, also called splayed leg. This is a situation whereby the feet tendons are weak, the affected chick is unable to stand and its legs will be spread out to the left and right. In milder cases, the chick may be able to stand and walk in a too-wide stance with difficulty.
Image Courtesy of Fresheggsdaily.com.
Causes
1. Vitamin & Minerals Deficiency: Without enough nutrients to develop strong muscles and bones, splayed legs might occur. Deficiency in vit D3 and calcium can cause the problem. To avoid this, add a few drops of cod liver oil to the chick water once a week for up to 5 weeks. Be sure not to add too much as this may result in runny stools. Alternatively, feed them only balanced feed.
2. Leg injury: This may occur when chicks are raised on slippery surfaces like newspaper.
3. Incubation Temperature: It can occur if incubation is not done at the correct temperature or if there is wide temperature fluctuation.
4. Poor Position in the Egg During Incubation:
Treating Splayed Leg
It is easy to treat if you notice it at the early stage and you can do it yourself. You can do this by splinting the legs with tape, rubber band, band-aid etc. The pictures below will help. After splinting, the chicks will be able to walk with the splint after trying for some time. After 2 or 3 days, the chicks can be able to walk without the splint.
http://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2012/04/spraddle-leg.html
http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.co...e-leg.html
Visit: http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.co...e-leg.html and http://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2012/04/spraddle-leg.html.
Broilers are fast-growing birds and this can put a strain on not only their heart, but also their legs. A common leg defect is spraddle leg, also called splayed leg. This is a situation whereby the feet tendons are weak, the affected chick is unable to stand and its legs will be spread out to the left and right. In milder cases, the chick may be able to stand and walk in a too-wide stance with difficulty.
Image Courtesy of Fresheggsdaily.com.
Causes
1. Vitamin & Minerals Deficiency: Without enough nutrients to develop strong muscles and bones, splayed legs might occur. Deficiency in vit D3 and calcium can cause the problem. To avoid this, add a few drops of cod liver oil to the chick water once a week for up to 5 weeks. Be sure not to add too much as this may result in runny stools. Alternatively, feed them only balanced feed.
2. Leg injury: This may occur when chicks are raised on slippery surfaces like newspaper.
3. Incubation Temperature: It can occur if incubation is not done at the correct temperature or if there is wide temperature fluctuation.
4. Poor Position in the Egg During Incubation:
Treating Splayed Leg
It is easy to treat if you notice it at the early stage and you can do it yourself. You can do this by splinting the legs with tape, rubber band, band-aid etc. The pictures below will help. After splinting, the chicks will be able to walk with the splint after trying for some time. After 2 or 3 days, the chicks can be able to walk without the splint.
http://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2012/04/spraddle-leg.html
http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.co...e-leg.html
Visit: http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.co...e-leg.html and http://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2012/04/spraddle-leg.html.
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