Splayed legs are one of the most common chick issues, but rest assured this deformity is easily prevented with just a few basic precautions for your pair.

If you already have a chick that is experiencing splayed legs, the earlier you can address and correct it the better! There is no time to waste, and in the advanced stages it is very hard to reverse. 

If however you are experiencing splayed legs in any form, please seek the advice of a qualified avian veterinarian before preforming any of the suggestions found here to make sure it is in the chicks best interest, and that there are no other issues causing your little ones problems.

A healthy 4 week old budgie chick

How do so many breeders raise healthy chicks? Here are the basics to prevent the unfortunate and completely avoidable problem of splayed legs!

A hagen vision plastic nest box

The nest box is where the chicks will spend the first 4-5 weeks of their life, and where nearly all of their physical development will take place, so finding a safe and suitable one can not be underestimated.

If the bottom of your nest box is not a rough surface, the chicks will have a hard time griping it. As a result, they can not keep their feet under themselves and develop good muscle tone in their legs causing the legs to splay out wards and become deformed.

For wooden next boxes: Make sure that there is a floor with a solid concave made of rough, budgie safe wood. Pine or aspen are excellent options.

For plastic nest boxes: The same applies as with wooden ones and even more so since plastic as it is usually slippery. If the box has a smooth insert or bottom, rough it up with sand paper so that it has good grip (make sure to replace the liners more often when using this method since the scoured plastic will grow bacteria faster than smooth) or place an additional material over the plastic so it has grip to it. 

Regardless of what type of box you use, suitable nesting material is essential as the chicks grow and soil their box. Pine shavings (not dust), aspen shavings (not dust) or "care fresh" bedding are common and safe options that work well.

Cleaning the box as needed when they chicks are very young, and then daily as they mature will keep their feet and legs clean and will make gripping easier.

Pine shavings

3-7 day old chicks using unhatched eggs as support

All hens want to keep their chicks warm and happy! Some though, and especially with English/show hens, tend to sit very "tight" or heavy on the chicks.

This constant weight pushing down on the weak and still forming muscles of her chicks with no additional support can weaken the muscles, causing them to give in and splay outward. This is especially a danger with only one or two chicks in the nest.

The best way to offer support to the growing chicks is to keep something in the nest for them to rest on, as well as to take some of the weight of the 

hen off of them. Depending on the specific clutch, you can leave a couple of infertile eggs until the chicks no longer need the heat of the hen constantly. If you do not have any infertile eggs after they have all hatched, you can purchase  some plastic dummy eggs of the same size to place in the nest as needed. Another option would be marbles of the appropriate size.  

A word of caution: Do not leave DIS (dead in shell) eggs in the next box for this purpose! The decaying eggs will at the very best make the chicks sick. Always remove DIS eggs as soon as possible for the hen and chicks health.

Even if the above precautions are taken, the diet of your pair can not be underestimated. Without the proper amounts of calcium and nutrients to develop strong muscles and bones, the chicks will have poor muscle tone and bone strength, causing an inability to stand up straight with their legs under them properly.

A good diet should include a variety of fresh seed mix and or pellets, fresh vegetables, whole grains, hard boiled eggs and constant access to a cuttlebone and mineral block.

Look here for a break down of a good breeding diet and more suggestions: A Budgie Breeding Diet.

From top left clockwise: Spinach. Egg food. Carrot. Mixed brown rice and quinoa

4 healthy chicks in the typical sleeping positions

Depending on the age and severity of the case, you can correct splayed legs and the chick can grow normally as if they never had the problem in the first place.

It is essential to catch it early however, and use the right methods to correct it though which we will discuss below.

There are a number of ways you can correct splayed legs. Some prefer to use a sponge with small holes cut out for each leg, but we recommend using first aid adhesive tape because it is much easier to correct the legs in stages, and it also offers the chick normal mobility unlike when using a sponge. This is the method we will describe using here.

You can find adhesive tape in just about any store that carries first aid supplies. The waterproof kind is best, and a small amount will go a long way for a single chick.

Babies are very wiggly, and you can be sure then he or she is not going to help you in this process. For that reason you will need help to do this correctly, so make sure to have someone to hold the baby for you while you put it on. Also, make sure the chicks legs and feet are clean and dry before beginning.

You want to place it in the correct place on the leg, which you can see in the photo above and to the right. Since we did not want to cause any unnecessary stress to one of our healthy chicks by showing step by step how to apply the tape,

which is time consuming when taking photos, we will be using two pens below instead to show how this can be quickly and easily done with someone to assist you through the process:

Step 1

Step 1. Begin by cutting the tape to the appropriate length for the chicks individual case. You do not want to do anything drastic when trying to correct splayed legs, especially if the case is more severe. It is much better to correct the legs in stages over a short period of time so his/her body can adjust to being in the right position. For this reason using the tape is excellent!

Step 2

Step 2. Most adhesive tape you will find in a store is about a half inch or so wide, and you only need it to be half that width to hold the legs properly. Having the tape in a very thin strip will make it easier for the chick to move naturally, and there is no advantage at all to having more than is needed. 

Step 3

Step 3. Begin applying the tape around one leg, whichever you feel most comfortable starting with, and then slowly bring the tape up and under other leg. Make sure to avoid getting any feathers stuck to the adhesive side.

Step 4

Step 4.  Slowly bring the other leg to the desired position with the tape under it. Leaving a bit of space for movement, wrap the tape up and around the second leg and again.

Step 5

Step 5. Once you have the tape around both legs which are in the desired position, turn the excess tape back over on itself, using it to cover any exposed sticky areas on both sides of the tape.

Step 6

Step 6. After doubling the tape over, simply trim the excess tape and run your finger over the end to seal it.

Finished example

Finished example. When you are all done, there should be some slack for the chick to easily move its legs independently of each other. There should be no pieces sticking out, or sticky edges from the adhesive side of the tape like the picture to the right. 

Change the tape as it gets soiled, or when you need to change the position. Every 2-3 days you can bring the legs closer in 1/4 inch increments until they are in a normal position right under the body.  By slipping a pair of blunt, but sharp scissors between each leg and the tape you can easily cut the split off as needed.

Leave the tape on for at least an additional  two weeks once they are in the correct position. This will ensure the muscles and tendons are ready to support themselves without the aid of the tape so the problem does not reoccur.

It will take a little bit of practice to get it right with a wiggling little budgie, but you will be an expert at it in no time.

Thankfully the problem of splayed legs is easy to avoid with a few simple precautions, and is easy to correct when caught and corrected early!