possible injured chick

[jprice]

woke up this morning to one baby with her right foot/ toes curled under and lethargic, She is eating and drinking wont stand on curled toe/ leg. .
I have seperated her from the rest of the babies, and have taken a small piece of cardboard, placed it under her foot to keep her toes straight, then put a small piece of tape on top to hold her foot there. A couple of her toes are slightly discolored, than her other foot. any ideas? thanks in advance

 

[chookchick]

There is a nutritional deficiency that causes curled toes. I would pick up some poly-vi-sol without iron (at any drug store, baby section). Dilute it by half and give her 1 drop beside her beak (until she slurps it in) twice a day. Make sure she is on a chick starter and no treats for now. The splinting is probably good also.

If she is not getting run over by the others, you could keep her in with them, so she won't get lonely and "failure to thrive". You could also make a little area for her, with hardware cloth, in the corner of the brooder. She would need her own feed and water, and a portion of the heat lamp over her area.

Here's a good article with info on foot problems
http://sites.google.com/a/larsencreek.com/chicken-orthopedics/leg-braces