Limping chick

[sclyde47]

Our first-time broody hen hatched 5 half Salmon Faverolle chicks a few days ago. They’re all about 3-4 days old.

Yesterday we had hurricane weather so had to put them all in a large dog cage in our main coop (previously they were in a long dog kennel with plenty of space).

We noticed one of the chicks started limping yesterday but couldn’t do much about it because of the weather.

Today I got pics and looked at it more closely. Her foot looks very bruised and is swollen. Any idea of what I can do to help it heal? I’m probably going to pull it and one other chick and raise them separately because she’s already having a hard time keeping up with her mom and siblings. Plus, I’m afraid the mom will accidentally step on her - one of her other chicks died earlier this week because of that.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[chickenlittle21]

Maybe her mom stepped on her foot

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

I had two broodies fight over a chick and injure her leg. She limped/hopped for a couple of days and then she was fine. If the weather is 50F or higher during the day, I’d leave them with mama. They will be able to cuddle under her at night and catch up to her periodically during the day. Four day old chicks are able to take a good punting from mama and be ok so your little chick will heal. It’s just hard to watch for a couple of days.

If these are your first hen-raised chicks, I’m very interested to know what you think about how they differ from brooder chicks as they mature. I much prefer to have the hens raise them now that I’ve had that experience myself!