Newly hatched chick swollen feet

[samsr]

I have a newly hatched chick that apears to have swollen feet. It does not get up and run around with the other chicks. This chick is under 4 hours old. Does anyone have a clue as to what is going on with it. The other 8 are all normal up running around and enjoying being out of the egg at this point.

 

[PoultryPedia]

What kind of flooring are they on? He probably would need some that's soft but smooth enough he won't stumble--such as paper towels on top of pine shavings.

I don't know what else to recommend, other than to wait & see if the swelling goes down in the next couple days. Do you have any essential oils that are anti-inflammatory that you could rub on his feet? Maybe he struggled a lot coming out of the shell & sprained his feet somehow.

Wishing you the best

 

[chooks4life]

A photo might help.

If you do use essential oils, remember to dilute them with a carrier like olive oil, because some can burn and others are so concentrated they can be toxic if overdosed. Sorry if you already knew that, some don't.

My only guess at the moment regarding a potential cause is that it could be right-side heart failure. Right-side heart failure causes oedema of the legs, left-side heart failure causes fluid in the lungs. At least, in humans and animals with similar hearts, but chicken hearts are different from ours so I'm not 100% positive about that. However heart failure in many species often causes fluid buildup in limbs including in chickens. If it is heart failure chances are it's genetic and the animal won't last long.

But I don't know, there are many things which could cause fluid buildup in the legs. Is the chick herniated? What pose does it adopt? Is there any specific manner to its movement if/when it moves?