What Causes Spraddle Leg?

What Causes Spraddle Leg?

In the Incubator
The more common cause of spraddle leg is an incubator or brooder floor that is too slippery for the chick to grip, which causes the legs to slide to one side. As a result the chick's legs muscles don't develop properly because of the lack of traction.

How do you fix Spraddle legs?

What you Do to Treat Spraddle Leg. What you need to do is hobble the chick's legs. The easiest way is to cut a thin piece of Vetrap (approximately 1/4" wide and 5" long) and loosely wrap it around each leg, connecting the ends in the middle, about an inch apart, in sort of a figure eight.

Is Spraddle leg fatal?

Regardless of the cause, treatment is the same and, without fixing, splay leg can prevent the chick from walking and can be fatal if the chick can't move to keep itself warm or get to the feeder and drinker. Luckily, it's very treatable with some vet wrap and a little chicken physical therapy.

Sophia Al-Mansoor
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Sophia Al-Mansoor

Sophia analyzes international trade, startup ecosystems, retail transformation, and supply chain logistics for modern digital publications.