FINCHforum

Hello all,
I'm a new member with a problem. I have a Zebra chick, about 3 weeks old, who cannot stand. When it first left the nest both legs were tucked underneath its body. Now the right leg juts out to the side of the body. It gets around the cage by 'crab-walking' while keeping both wings outstretched and flapping. I have placed a towel in the bottom of the cage to cover the grating in hopes that having a more 'solid' surface would build up strength in the legs.

These are 1st time parents. They laid a clutch of 6 eggs and hatched out 5 chicks. This chick is the last one remaining, mostly since it was the biggest and strongest while in the nest and got the bulk of the food from the parents. The parents continue to feed the baby.

I have had Zebras in the past which provided me with babies and I have never had this problem. My previous Zebs received seed and cuttlebones. Period.

The birds I currently own have access to cuttlebone at all times. Those laying eggs/caring for chicks receive liquid calcium (Calcium Plus) in their water 5 days a week. All birds are offered trace minerals, spirulina, herb salad and insectivorous soft food at various times each week. All are fed FortiFinch #1 seed.

I have thought about hobbling the legs but am hesitant. The legs are so small and fragile that I worry about breaking them! Does anyone have any insights or suggestions on how this condition can be fixed? Or, am I destined to lose this chick?

Thanks for listening to our tale of woe!

Audrey

First try to GENTLY check the leg up close to the body and make sure there is no injury. Calcium must be in balance with Phosphorus in the diet for the Calcium to be utilized properly. If out of balance you can end up with metabolic bone disease. Take a look at your supplements and see if something may be out of balance. Vet wrap can be used to bring the leg back togather while healing check the info pages on this site I believe there is an article on that (please someone correct me if I"m mistaken) If 4 of the five didn't make it I would seriously look at nutrition...what has changed in what your doing? Have any of the supplements or feeds changed formulations?

If the baby's legs were under it normally when it left the nest, chances are that it got hung up in something, causing that one leg to stick out to the side. It could be just dislocated, or it could be broken. It could be that it stuck that one leg down through the grate and injured it.

Here is a link to an article about dealing with fractures. Years ago, I knocked a nest off a cage, the nest then fell to the floor, spilling the babies out onto the floor (it was quite a long drop). One of the babies had a broken hip--one leg stuck straight out to the side. This is how it healed, and to this day, I still have this little bird, and his leg still sticks straight out to the side. He has managed to get along quite well, he can fly and perch.

http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/features_bbones.php

And welcome to the forum, thought I'm sorry it is under sad circumstances. There's lots of good reading at the Finch Information Center, linked at left, and the members are always ready to help. If you put your general location in your profile, it helps when answering locale-specific questions.

I am experiencing this right now with a 3 week old zebra also. I had a previous bird in another clutch have this issue and it was definitely a birth defect. He lived about 3 more weeks, could hop only on his belly and never extend either leg or perch, (does not have an issue of the leg sticking out which may indicate an injury). He died from an accident of getting his toe nail stuck. I wanted to also mention, not sure if by towel you mean terry cloth. If so, he/she can get the toe nail stuck and yank it to release and bleed to death or break a bone. Just in case I wanted to mention that. My present 3 week old zebra I thought had the same issue but I think now it may be an injury. One leg appears normal and the other is hugged tightly to it's body. I looked at the sites you posted and don't think it's a broken bone. Maybe a hip problem and I'm choosing to do therapy on the one leg and have strengthened it somewhat. He now perches with it and stands. This is what I was advised to do. I hope you find the solution. I will follow to see how your fledgling does.

Hi Audry. How is our little Gimpy doing? I hope things are looking up.