3 week old chick limping

[Glenbogel06]

I just noticed this morning that one of my 3 week olds is limping. It's kid of holding its one leg away from it's body, and won't bear full weight on the leg. My three week olds have been in the same cage with some 6 week olds who are really energetic (one little roo in particular) and I am wondering if maybe the chick was injured by him. I hadn't noticed any problem with it's legs up until now. Is there anything I can do to help the leg at this point. He gets around and is eating and drinking just fine, but there is a definite limp and reluctance to bear full weight.

FYI - The older chicks going to be separated from the young ones as of tonight, because they are turning into crazy little "teens".

 

[donnavee]

I'm pretty new with chickens and I'm sure you will get some more helpful replies. But, last year when my chicks were about 4 weeks old and we moved them to their outdoor home all was well until about the 3rd day when we noticed one of the RIRs was just sitting around. Finally, when she moved, we noticed a limp. She went to roost that night, but the next morning seemed to favor the leg even more. So, we examined her leg and foot for injuries and only saw what appeared to be a little scratch - not something one would think would keep her from putting weight on the leg. But we decided to soak her leg in warm water with a little epsom salts added. Then we applied neosporin, bandaged the leg, and kept her in a small box in the house for the next couple of days. She was reluctant to move so I hand fed her food and water - gave her some yogurt and also, I crushed up a little bit of baby aspirin and added to her water. Not very much, I think maybe 1/4 of aspirin dissolved in a quart of water. On the 2nd day, we brought in a buddy chick to keep her company. She was walking much better in about 3 days so we put her back with her sisters but kept soaking and rebandaging the leg until she showed no signs of limping. I think it was about 2 weeks in all. I suspect she may have jumped off something and sprained her leg, but we will never know exactly what happened.

So, definitely examine the leg for signs of injury.