Tips on restraining a chicken for inspection?

[Kentuckiana Chicken Lady]

I had my first chicken that appeared to be limping pretty bad yesterday and I gained a new appreciation for how futile it is to try to catch and then get a good safe grip on a panicked hen AND somehow get her still enough to examine by yourself.

My husband is rarely available to help me by holding them for me - any tips from more seasoned chicken keepers on how that could have gone more smoothly? (She's totally fine today, no idea what that was about yesterday lol)

 

[Not-so Slick Chicken]

My suggestions are Leg hook, catch pen, or getting them at night.

Hook- can be difficult to use. Supposed to keep it low to the ground and gently sweep it to their leg to grab them.
My birds manage to get their feet out before I can catch them. I chose a hook over a net as reviews said the net is more stressful, but maybe you'll have better luck with a net

Catch pen- can have a couple dog crates permanently in your run that they can walk in and out of, and when you need to catch one try to herd them in (they'll catch on to the trick fast)
Can be baited with some food tossed in.

Night- for a non-emergency situation. Using minimal light, you can wait for them to be roosting and catch one.
My roosts make this difficult for me to reach specific birds, so I have closed them out of the coop into the run until it's dark and then can catch them, check them, then put them in the coop on the roosts. (*layers need access to the nests, so I lock them out in the evening for this.)

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I grab them off the roost at night and hold them like a football.

 

[Yardmom]

Can you reach your birds when roosted? Catching can be easier at night.
We hold chickens during the day without issues. Once caught hold the wings down with firm pressure and hold their body against yours.

 

[Smokerbill]

I've learned that using a flashing/strobing light at night disorients the chickens and makes them even easier to grab from the roost.

I tried a leg hook one time and it didn't catch the cockerel but made him go crazy trying (and succeeding) to escape the run.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

For non-emergency, and for me that is something that I think can safely go a few hours before I get a look at the bird hands-on, I just wait until dusk and scoop them up as they are settling in on the roost. Slide your hand under the bird from the front allowing your fingers to naturally split around the legs and then tighten those fingers around the legs and lift the bird up you have control of the legs and the body in this way and can turn the bird any direction you wish in front of you to get a look at all the body parts as well as being able to freely manipulate things such as wings if that is the part that you're wanting to inspect. Alternatively, a football hold is another effective way to fully control the bird's body, wings included this time, which can be helpful for things such as looking at the bottoms of feet, manipulating legs or dosing/applying medication. The key thing is getting ahold of the bird, establishing control of the bird and doing it in a way that you are exposing the body part that you wish to have access to. It takes a little practice but pretty soon it's second nature.
An emergency situations where you can't afford to wait for the easy catch at dusk, everything above still applies as far as once you get a hold of the bird how to handle it, but the trick is actually getting a hold of the bird. I prefer moving slow and easy and pushing the bird into a smaller and smaller area to where I know that I can get a hold of the bird with his little fuss and stress as possible. Corners are great for this as are any place within the area you're working that you can create a funnel type setup where the bird is naturally moving away from you and into the tighter confined space where you can easily then reach down and get a hold of the bird