Crushed foot - advice needed

[PollyWallyFrog]

Got a 5 month old chick that I discovered today has a crushed foot. The crazy thing about this is that I’m out there every day. I have 13 chickens, so not many and I have NEVER seen her move weird until this morning, so I never checked her until this morning. Her foot is completely crushed and I cannot figure out when this happened since she showed no signs of injury until today but it looks old. One toe is destroyed, at a full 90 degree angle and another is angled upward. The bottom of her foot is flat and the ankle has no movement.

Other than the hopping that started today, she acts fine. She eats fine, the other chickens don’t bully or mess with her. I don’t have any idea what to do. Do I try to get the toes straightened out? Do I amputate? Kill the bird? The last option seems extreme considering how she’s healthy in all other areas but the foot she’s barely using apparently. She doesn’t seem to care about me messing with it or anything. Since her leg is black naturally, hard to tell if there’s any discoloration.

I’m a new chicken owner so this is the first major injury I’ve encountered. I can post pictures if anyone wants them.

Edit to add; there’s pictures and a video link in the comments for more context

 

[CombNWattles]

Sorry you’re dealing with this. Please do post pictures! I have known of several chickens that got around with only one foot, so I think her chances are good. Infection is probably your biggest enemy here.

 

[PollyWallyFrog]

Sorry you’re dealing with this. Please do post pictures! I have known of several chickens that got around with only one foot, so I think her chances are good. Infection is probably your biggest enemy here.

Here’s her foot. There’s no way this is only a day old and I feel like sh*t for not noticing something wrong sooner…

 

[Floof]

To me, it doesn't look fresh. If it's healed like that then I wouldn't try to force it back into shape. If it's fresh you might try making her a little cardboard boot and wrapping it. I would not amputate or cull as I would prefer to wait and observe. Unless she is showing obvious signs of imminent death, I would give her a chance to resolve it with time and healing.

 

[PollyWallyFrog]

Also: I’ve attached a link to a video to show her movement and the way the other chickens act around her.
Video

 

[PollyWallyFrog]

To me, it doesn't look fresh. If it's healed like that then I wouldn't try to force it back into shape. If it's fresh you might try making her a little cardboard boot and wrapping it. I would not amputate or cull as I would prefer to wait and observe. Unless she is showing obvious signs of imminent death, I would give her a chance to resolve it with time and healing.

Yeah I’m pretty confident this isn’t new, which is so confusing to me that she showed no signs of trauma.. I feel like a bad chicken mom. I just added a video link (YouTube) to show how she’s moving and how the other chickens act with her.

 

[Anon112]

I have a few chickens who were born with twisted toes. They get around just fine. She may at some point need a wider roost if she can't grip with that foot.

I wonder if she got it stuck in something: is there any kind of cage/wire or a place where a foot could slip between boards? I only ask because you'd want to avoid another chicken getting pinched.

 

[PollyWallyFrog]

I have a few chickens who were born with twisted toes. They get around just fine. She may at some point need a wider roost if she can't grip with that foot.

I wonder if she got it stuck in something: is there any kind of cage/wire or a place where a foot could slip between boards? I only ask because you'd want to avoid another chicken getting pinched.

There was an incident a couple months ago when one of my older chickens somehow managed to get herself wedged behind a cinder block I had been using to hold up an old patio umbrella during the summer but don’t have up during the winter so the block just hangs out in there. But she was fine and I moved the block out. For the life of me I can not figure out where she’d have done this. It looks like something literally flattened it… I have nothing heavy in the coop or run that could do that that I can think of

 

[Floof]

Accidents and injuries happen. Don't beat yourself up about it.