What’s wrong with this guys head?

[Eggcessive]

The feet look scabby and ankles look swollen. Could you get better pictures of them in good light?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I use a brooder plate, not a lamp, and I have felt the plate - not even close to hot enough to burn.

There are 4 same-age chicks (hatch mates) in a 3 sq. ft. kennel in our coop. The big birds can’t really get much access to them.

Can you post photos of his feet in better lighting? Bottom of them too?

How much space is in the kennel? Do you have photos of that?
3sq ft and a brooder plate takes up how much space?

The baldness on the head to me is consistent with being under a brooder plate. It's almost like he has a flat spot from being pressed up against a roof.
Possible he was scalped or something else, but many people have reported areas that are bald due to brooder plates.
Don't get me wrong, I love using the plates, I have 2 of them and they work great.

Please post some well-lit photos of the chick's feet and the bottom of the too, Thank You.

I agree with @Tookie they look rough, especially for a 4 week old chick, they look swollen at the joints and just a bit off.

How tight is that leg band on the left leg? I'd check that too.

Roughly 4 week old

 

[schambo]

The kennel has 3 sq. ft. of space, and the brooder takes less than 1 sq. ft. I have a larger brooder arriving shortly.


Some of the chicks are showing similar bald heads, so I think the brooder plate is likely the culprit. I tried raising it, will see if they improve. They will be fully feathered soon, so I can take it out pretty soon, but they’re in an unheated coop and daytime temps around here are 10-30°F (colder at night).

These are his feet. The leg band is not at all tight (slides up and down easily). They look maybe a bit swollen? They aren’t scabby, just dirty.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The kennel has 3 sq. ft. of space, and the brooder takes less than 1 sq. ft. I have a larger brooder arriving shortly.
View attachment 3747893

Some of the chicks are showing similar bald heads, so I think the brooder plate is likely the culprit. I tried raising it, will see if they improve. They will be fully feathered soon, so I can take it out pretty soon, but they’re in an unheated coop and daytime temps around here are 10-30°F (colder at night).

These are his feet. The leg band is not at all tight (slides up and down easily). They look maybe a bit swollen? They aren’t scabby, just dirty.

View attachment 3747894View attachment 3747896

I think providing more space and raising the plate up higher will help a lot.

Time will tell if the bald spots fill in. Likely they will when they go through another juvenile molt.

As for the legs, they do look a bit puffy. Hard to know what's causing that. It may just be the case of being so tightly confined, that once they have more room and being moving about a lot more the swelling and puffiness resolves on its own.