New chick limping, swollen/bruised leg: Is it broken? What to do?

Thanks for reaching out about Chika and including photos. First thought is the bitten toes were an access site for bacteria that settled in the joints or the trauma of the bites allowed a sub-clinical infection to manifest. Mycoplasma gallinaceum is a common joint infection in thickens. A veterinary visit is recommended to assess and provide a diagnostic/treatment plan. Warm compresses on the joints can help lower the swellings. Good luck.

It's possible your hen may have an injury to the leg such as a sprain or break, or even a potential nutrient deficiency causing weakness. If the leg isn't improving on its own, seeking veterinary care to have it looked at by a vet is best. They may be able to figure out the issue or create a brace while the leg heals to make sure it stays in the proper position.

Hello. If you can keep her indoors, that would be best. You could also start her on an antibiotic made for poultry available at your feed coop. Other than that, make sure she eats & drinks, & if the foot gets worse or does not seem to be healing, please consider having her seen by your veterinarian. This can cause your hen quite a bit of pain & she may need medication to help. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Poor Lily! The deformed limb issue can be common in chicks. Sometimes this deformity will correct itself as the chick develops. Veterinarians will often try to correct this type of issue with splinting the limb and teaching owners how to perform safe range of motion exercises to help the limb become normal. Sometimes surgery is an option too. Likely this would only be recommended when Lily is older and you would need to find a veterinarian comfortable with this type of orthopedic issue to find out timing and after-care requirements. I am concerned that Lily has two openings to her vent in addition to this limb issue and want to kindly caution you that more than one congenital abnormality is not good. I wonder about other abnormalities that could be internal. It would be best to have Lily examined by a veterinarian as soon as possible to ensure you are able to keep her healthy and happy.

Thanks for reaching out about Chicky. Swelling on the chest is often an overextended crop, possibly an obstruction or stasis. A veterinary visit is recommended to assess and provide a diagnostic/treatment plan. Ingested foreign bodies, infections (bacterial, yeast, fungal) and other causes are possible. Various viral disease, ingested toxins or metabolic disorders can result in ataxia and wobbly gait. Heat support is important in recovering animals. Sick animals should be isolated to prevent possible cross-contamination if infectious. Good luck.

Ideally Stella needs a vet visit to asses. She could have a fracture or dislocation or make have a viral infection suck as Marek's disease that can affect the nerves of the leg. In many cases a fracture or dislocation in a hen requires sedation to attempt to fix but because they are two legged animals it requires a lot of TLC and nursing care to help them recover. She needs to be kep inside and have a sling fashioned to help her stand upright. She may need help cleaning herself. And in the case of bone injury she should have pain medication. Many times culling or euthanasia is chosen for chickens with leg injuries because of the difficulty in recovery.

Sadly, I think that either this defect happened before Janice hatched or there could have been trauma or infection that has affected the joint of this leg. There is some redness I can see that makes me concerned that we do have infection in the joint now. Ideally I would take Janice to a veterinarian comfortable with poultry medicine to see if there are feasible treatment options. If not, you may have to consider humane euthanasia, particularly since she is not growing well. I'm sorry!