Hurt Leg on 3 day old Chick

[mosier]

I have four chicks that are now 3 days old. One of them, my light brahma has a hurt left leg. She is eating, drinking, pooping fine...she seems to have enough energy and resiliancy so far. And she does stand and walk/hobble around frequently. The other chicks get along with her fine (in fact, she uses them for support to stand occasionally). She keeps her good right leg underneath her to stand on and the left hurt leg slightly out in front. Sometimes she falls forward on her face because it seems like she can't put much pressure on her forward left leg.

Is there anything that I should do? Leave her like she is and hope she mends on her own? Use a bandaid to split her two legs together like I've read about for splayed leg chicks? Or something else?

I'd love to hear your advice. This is my first time having chickens and I am super excited. They're so much fun to watch. I really want them all to pull through.

 

[Queen of the Lilliputians]

Did you get her this way, or has it happened since?

 

[mosier]

Quote:
I just got her today and she was this way from the beginning. The chicks just arrived this morning (a batch of 19, I went in on an order with friend)...they were supposed to arrive yesterday but got stuck en route somewhere in the mail.

 

[Equest94]

OMG! I have the same issue with my little Cochin. I'm new to this chicken-thing as well and also have 4 chicks that I just got. 3 are roughly a week+days old and my little Cochin is the smaller/"runt"/acutally younger (about 5 days old), and she actually did something to her right leg (we think she somehow diclocated it). Like your's, she tends to lay down most of the time but when she does stand up she'll hold her hurt leg out infront of her and hop/hobble/lunge wherever she needs to go. She eats, drinks, poops, etc just fine. The issue with my little flock is that they're all a bit rambunctious so they tend to run around in their brooster and tend to (accidently) step on her or tramble her as she's laying down so I acutally decided to separate her from them. I put her in a box lined with pine shavings with a layer of paper towel over it (soft bedding...the paper towel makes for s smoother surface for her to move across). She has a mirror in there and a little stuffed animal to keep her company so she doesn't get lonely along with food, slightly sugared-water and a mild heat lamp shining on one end... I'm not really sure what to do with her, and I've been running around talking to people about what to do and the most common response I got was to just leave her be, just wait and let nature take it's course, just give it time and as the chick moves around and grows - it's leg should pop back into place... so taken that our situations seem also pretty identicle, I suggest you try that as well. Good luck.

 

[mosier]

Thanks for the advice. It seems like she is doing a little bit better than this morning when I first got her and observed her leg. She's just as active as the other three and now (it seems, but maybe it's just my imagination) she walks with her foot not so forward in front of her. But when she sits/lays down it is still at an odd angle. She's just as big as the others so she's not getting picked on really, except by the Rhode Island Red who has just turned into a rascal/bully in the last two hours. The RIR is treating everyone about the same though--she's really dominant. I guess they established their pecking order. I'm hoping she'll chill out a bit though....when the other three are sleeping the RIR will occasionally go over to them and "accidentally" step on their head or nudge them.