Hi,
I’m sorry to hear about your chick. Do you raise these bird or is this a chick you acquired? I’m asking because I have had some experience as a vet tech with these birds. All of the ratite’s as chicks can be surprisingly delicate and need a special diet that includes a balance of calcium, phosphorus and other minerals. The breeders I knew kept the chicks under special lights, as well as giving them access to natural sunlight, and fed a special diet that included daily fresh greens which supplied some of the minerals they needed. Without the right balance, the chicks would lose the use of their legs. It’s possible that the chick was already suffering from leg weakness which caused the fall. The chick may or may not be injured – this could be the known leg issue if you didn’t have the right balance of minerals. If you are experienced with raising these chicks, then we are back to the fall. But if you got this chick and were not instructed about the diet, it’s possible the chick is deficient in what it needs. I do not know if this is reversible if the cause was nutritional. But I would recommend researching the diet and trying to find an experienced ratite breeder to get advice from. Any ratite breeders in your area would also know a vet who will treat these birds. Even if you can’t get the bird vet care, it’s worth trying to provide the nutrients he might be lacking. Give him a few weeks on the supplements to see if there is any improvement. Birds do have an amazing ability to recover from nutritional deficiencies and paralysis caused by trauma, but it can take anywhere from weeks to months – even a year or more. Unfortunately being a flightless bird, your little guy doesn’t have time on his side. As he gets larger, if he is still unable to walk, he will begin to suffer and his internal organs can be compromised from the constant pressure on them. I do not usually bring up euthanasia when a pet bird can’t stand or walk, because if flighted, they can overcome the disability and have a great quality of life. Sadly with a flightless, heavy bodied bird like an Emu, he has no hope for a quality of life once he is fully grown if he can’t use his legs. For now, see what you can do about finding an expert to help you with the diet and hopefully a Vet. But understand that if there is no improvement, you may have to make the difficult decision to let him go rather than let him suffer.
Take care,
Brenda
