Help! Less than week old chick issues !

[HoneyHillHens]

One of my birds has been having issue after issue. First it started with pasty butt, now she is having an issue where she constantly picks up on of her feet like she’s in pain. Her legs look fine there isn’t any swelling.

Upon investigation, there is a bright red vein that goes from her hock down to her middle toe and her toenail has blood in it(she’s not actively bleeding).

Shes eating and drinking okay, but she sticks to herself a lot under my ecoglow brooder. She’s also much smaller than the others (under a week old she is still the only one who doesn’t have any wing feathers). What’s wrong with her? How can i help her? i hate seeing she’s uncomfortable.

 

[coach723]

Sorry your chick is having troubles. Pictures would be helpful.

 

[HoneyHillHens]

Here are some pictures

 

[coach723]

It looks a little swollen and inflamed. Probably an injury, maybe got the toe caught and hurt it pulling on it. Make sure she's getting enough access to feed and water, and is warm enough. If she's getting trampled you may need to separate her until she's stronger. Unfortunately there is only so much that can be done for them when they are this small, and some chicks fail to thrive for unknown reasons. If she's not drinking well on her own I would give her fluids every half hour or so, dehydration is serious. I hold them in my hand with the tip of the beak resting in the crease of my finger and drip it down the crease. When it runs into the beak she will swallow. I give as much as they will take and then let them rest. I would give plain fresh water or alternate plain fresh water with electrolite water. You can also mix a bit of raw egg yolk with water and give that.

 

[HoneyHillHens]

does it look like an infection to you? A couple of people on Facebook said it looks almost like an infection but idk how she would have gotten one. She has no open wounds anywhere. I’ve triple checked her feet.

 

[coach723]

I don't know at less than a week old how it could have gotten infected either. It looks inflamed. If the toenail was broken at the base, that could possibly let infection in. I think I would just give it some time, see what happens. If it gets worse, reassess. Sometimes being patient and letting things heal is the hardest thing, but it is often the best thing to do.