Two days ago I've put a day old chick from another broody with a group of 2 week old chicks and their momma (14 in total) and everything went perfect. Nobody noticed anything suspect and the lil chick integrated pretty well. It must be said that prior to integration I made sure that chick can...
I have 3 BR + 3 SS roosters and most of them developed slower but now everybody looks about the same size.... except my smallest BR chick (he was half the size of everybody else) who now is the big daddy of the flock. Roos do tend to feather/grow slower.
I'm sorry to hear the bad news!
I've heard about the leg brace but I don't know much about it. I put pine shavings as bedding and for the first few days I will put paper towels on top of the shavings. It's better for their legs especially in your situation.
PS. And never use cedar shavings...
I've got 3 Speckled Sussex and 3 Barred Rock roosters and they get on very well together. They were raised together, along with 30 ladies. They fought for a short while when they were really young (3-4mo) but now they cooperate well.
It can take a day or two for them to gather some strength.
Few days ago I've had the same problem with some newly hatched chicks. Maybe the cardboard is too slippery for them. Not all the chicks are equal. Put some paper towels on the floor.
I also put in their water Bragg's apple cider...
Among other things, on 28 April I bought 15 BR chicks (pullets) from Cackle hatchery, and now, on 30 Nov (7 months later) despite the freezing weather in WV and having small pullets egg, a broody BR just hatched 11 chicks and she still has 3 unhatched eggs to go. And that's not all because I...