3-week old chick with curled toes... too old to fix or not?

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SeaChick

SeaChick

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12 Years
Apr 25, 2007
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I just noticed that this pretty 3-week-old EE chick has curled toes. Is it too late to try the sandal trick? Any recommendations for doing so at this age? Do I need VetRap or will bandaids do? Any tips welcome!


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I don't have enough experience to properly give you advice, but can definitely offer an opinion
big_smile.png


If it's doing the chicken thing (eating/drinking/sleeping/pooping) and not complaining non-stop, I'd just let nature do it's thing.

We have a hen and a rooster (our last purchased birds) that look like their feet got run over (repeatedly) by a tractor trailer and they are more than OK. Didn't even notice it until they were about 3 months old since it doesn't affect anything. In fact, the rooster is the dominant by a long shot.

The only thing I would do is make sure it has a high vitamin, high protein diet and see if things work themselves out. Which they always seem to do if possible.

That's just the way we do it here, others will do it differently. Hopefully they will chime in.

Good luck.
 
Pending expert advice, i agree that adding vitamin supplements / electrolytes to their water can help.

CT
 
I agree with above posters, vitamins won't hurt. B Vitamins can sometimes help the legs/feet.
I'm no expert on fixing foot problems but it's worth a try.
The following links give information on how to splint/tape or boot the feet to help correct the problem. I'm not sure how much her age will affect the outcome, but if you can correct them a little bit, it may help her in the long run.

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/leg-foot-and-toe-issues-in-poultry-of-all-ages
 
That splinting should be done in the 1st 3 days of life. This looks genetic. Or the chick could have been in the shell too long before it hatched. It it might have been raised on a slick surface like newspaper. Just let it be or put the chick down. Been there, done that.
Best,
Karen
 
3riverschick said:
That splinting should be done in the 1st 3 days of life. This looks genetic. Or the chick could have been in the shell too long before it hatched. It it might have been raised on a slick surface like newspaper. Just let it be or put the chick down. Been there, done that.
Best,
Karen
Click to expand...

Good to know this. It's always a learning experience for me, and input from someone who has "been there" is very helpful. Just asking, if the curling doesn't get any worse, is it possible that she may do ok?
 
Last year I received a chick that was so bad, the feet were curled into little balls. I managed to straighten them, the trick was to adjust the foot a little each day. If this were my chick, I would try to straighten those feet. If you just leave them, they may get worse, but they certainly won't get better. I still think you can do something for them even at this age. those feet will still do a lot of growing. I just used heavy card stock paper and scotch tape. The scotch tape was nice because it's clear and you can see if the toe has improved. Don't try to straighten them out all at once, tape them as straight as they will go without forcing, and re- tape each day, adjusting as much as you can without forcing the toe too much. When the feet are straight, you can leave the shoes on for a few more days to make sure the toes stay straight.
Even if you can straighten them a little, this little chick will have a much better quality of life than if you do nothing. The absolute worst thing that can happen is no change, if you are careful you won't harm the chick so it's definitely worth a try IMO. If nothing happens your chick will still be able to get along just fine, but life is easier with good feet! Good luck.
 
CanadianBuckeye said:
Last year I received a chick that was so bad, the feet were curled into little balls. I managed to straighten them, the trick was to adjust the foot a little each day. If this were my chick, I would try to straighten those feet. If you just leave them, they may get worse, but they certainly won't get better. I still think you can do something for them even at this age. those feet will still do a lot of growing. I just used heavy card stock paper and scotch tape. The scotch tape was nice because it's clear and you can see if the toe has improved. Don't try to straighten them out all at once, tape them as straight as they will go without forcing, and re- tape each day, adjusting as much as you can without forcing the toe too much. When the feet are straight, you can leave the shoes on for a few more days to make sure the toes stay straight.
Even if you can straighten them a little, this little chick will have a much better quality of life than if you do nothing. The absolute worst thing that can happen is no change, if you are careful you won't harm the chick so it's definitely worth a try IMO. If nothing happens your chick will still be able to get along just fine, but life is easier with good feet! Good luck.
Click to expand...
Great advice. I just stinted my 7 week old. So far so good. I’m also supplementing with the chick vitamins.
 

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