Rural Gardening: Chick acting funny, possibly splayed leg?, 1 by smedgekles

smedgekles wrote:
We have a group of 11 chicks that are all close to the same age all in a pen together. This morning we noticed one acting a bit funny. When it would get up to walk it stands straight up almost like it is dragging its butt on the ground. It eats and poops normally. We picked it up and examined it and when I put it back down it walked normally. Then when my son picked it up again he heard a popping sound and it was walking funny again. We had a chick with splayed leg once and it would stand straight up trying to keep its balance sort of like this one but it was much worse. This one doesn't seem as bad as it does walk when it stands straight up and sometimes walks normally.
What is there we can do for the poor thing? I'm not sure of the exact age but I think this group of chicks is maybe 6 to 8 weeks old.

This picture is of it sitting on its hunches and was trying to walk. I picked it up and when I set it back down it could walk normally again.