4 week old chick limping

[Ingo]

I have a 4 week old rosecomb bantam who just started limping a couple days ago. She shares a little outdoor fenced in area with 15 other bantam chicks. However, I take them in when it gets dark to sleep in a indoor brooder. She now spends a lot of her time laying with her foot poking out. I did check for bumble foot because that is already a problem I have in my chicken flock from the black berries that grow around my property but I cant see any physical differences she has on the foot that she is limping on. No puffiness or scab. She is still eating eating and drinking alright besides her immobility to the feeder and waterer.

I can send photos if needed.

(Also, I am new to this forum and don't know how to use it very well so I apologize if I make and errors.)

 

[Saveria]

Welcome to BYC! If it is an injury with no visible signs, keeping her off it for a few days should do the trick. I usually put them in a dog or cat carrier where it is safe from predators, but the rest of the flock can see them.

If she lays down and looks like she is doing the splits, that could potentially be mareks, so you'll want to look into that as well. If you can you can post a video that would be great. Let me know if you need help doing that.

 

[Ingo]

Thanks, I am pretty positive she doesn't have mareks. I tried nearly everything to upload a video of her and know people will make youtube accounts for putting up videos but I feel like its not worth the effort so I put in to images of her instead. She hops on 1 foot to walk. Do you think should splint it or anything?

 

[Saveria]

Hmm... It is tricky to tell because of the color of her legs. Does she flinch if you put gentle pressure on any place on her leg?

That is good that she is having no mareks signs. You can splint it, but they often find a way to get it off. Keeping her mostly in one place instead of walking around is key. Make sure she can't jump down off of a roost, whatever you do.

 

[Saveria]

Actually, that could be a male with a reddening comb at 4 weeks.

 

[Ingo]

he** doesn't flinch but you can tell it hurts when you touch it because of how tense he stayed and the noises he made. I am going to put him in a crate inside of the his pen so he can stay more content with his buddies.

thank you for telling me about the little guys comb, I have deuton color blindness so that really helps out. I never had a rose comb and was questioning why it was so big.

 

[Saveria]

You can never know for sure till they grow up, but you can watch that one.

Yeah, let me know how it goes. Mine that limped was okay within about 24-48 hours, so I am guessing you will see results relatively quickly if it is a mild injury.