Curled Toes/Cant Walk

We have a Autralorp that has curled toes (this is the same chicken with the eyelid problem) with curled toes that can't support herself. I read some stuff on here that suggested maybe the chicken needs "boots." What is the best way to make these for a 3 month old chicken?

I'm not familiar with the eyelid problem; can you please link the thread? Likely they're related and I think it's best to carry it on with the other situation as well. I'd like to help.

Ok all this advise was given to me by Glenda L Heywood:

ORTHOPEDICS FOR POULTRY MADE EASY FOR BEGINNERS
By D.C. Townsend

These treatments have been tested and proven effective. I developed them for peafowl but they
may be used for any poultry. The key to success is to begin treatment promptly. In some cases delay
will kill or cripple the chick.

CHICK SHOE
Not Actual Size
HALF SHOE
Not Actual Size
In the 1995 hatch, I had a number of peachicks with a kink in the outer toe of one or both feet.
They were well past a week old when I decided that I must do something about it. I made HALF SHOES of black pipe cleaner. I tore off a quarter inch-wide stripe of duck tape several inches long and secured
the HALF SHOE to the middle and the outer toe. Several days of treatment were needed. Some of the
HALF SHOES came off and had to be taped on again, but all treated peachicks had straight toes at the
end of the treatment. There is a young peacock that I missed treating. Now it is too late and he will
always have a kink in his outer toe


HOBBLE BRACE
ACHILLES TENDON OUT OF THE GROOVE
When the Achilles tendon slips out of the groove on the hock joint, a peachick will not be able to
straighten its leg. The problem needs prompt attention because the struggling peachick will put
its weight on the hock joint which will damage the skin and cause swelling in the joint. The tendon
can be pushed back in place with just one finger or a very gentle squeeze between the thumb and index
finger. Sometimes just one treatment will give a complete cure that seems like a miracle. Other
times several treatments are needed. Stubborn cases require advanced treatment that is too difficult to
explain here. I treated both legs of a peachick for two weeks; She grew up to be a healthy peahen.

STRADDLE LEGS
This problem can occur even if you take the precaution of having quarter inch hardware cloth
under your peachicks. Sometimes it is caused by the struggles of a chick with its toes rolled into
fists. In that case, both problems must be treated at the same time. I cut a piece of tape four or
five inches long and from the HOBBLE BRACE with the legs far enough apart so that the peachick can walk. The tape must go the whole way around and cover its sticky side so that it does not stick to the
peachick's fuzz when it sits down. Usually 24 hours of treatment is sufficient, but sometimes more is
required. CHICK SHOES and the HOBBLE BRACE can be used at the same time.

email me PM if you have more questions
Glenda L Heywood Brookings SD
[email protected]



BE SURE TO DO SUPPORTIVE CARE AS WELL. ELECTROLYTES AND VITAMINS IN THE WATER

Quote:
This is the original post, and I recieved a hyperlink from someone else that said it sounded familiar.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=179393

Yesterday she was limping, but today both feet are curled. Does the curled toe happen suddenly in a 3 month old chicken, or is it gradual? Can it be corrected with vitamines?

Quote:
This is the original post, and I recieved a hyperlink from someone else that said it sounded familiar.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=179393

Yesterday she was limping, but today both feet are curled. Does the curled toe happen suddenly in a 3 month old chicken, or is it gradual? Can it be corrected with vitamines?

Everyones opinion is different. BUT in my experience with the same (except mine were younger) is that yes electrolytes and vitamins in the water along with poly vi sol (yes for human infants) with NO iron. Works wonders too. Sometimes a chick or 2 will just need an extra vitamin boost to get them up and running again. (MINE DID). It worked wonders for me.

What was weird with mine was over 2 days she went from wanting to sit (back on her haunches) all the time to keeping the foot kind of up a little then toes curling in then always sitting and only if it was nessary she would try and walk somewhere.

All this ended 2 days after I started giving vitamins. Needless to say I was thrilled!

There are so many cases where these things are nutritional. Complete feeds are the way to go, but the feedstores just don't always store them just right - or they sit on the shelves for a while, etc. And vitamins degrade. So sometimes you get chicks that just need more.

I always am relieved to hear of cases where people gave vitamins and these things corrected themselves.

Thank you everyone who replied so quickly.I am on my way to get some vitamins.I will let you all know how it turns out. Would it hurt to put vitamins in the water on a regular basis. I already give them probiotics regularly to keep them healthy.

No it wouldn't hurt to do that. It is just a matter of opinion at that point.
I did for the first few weeks. After that I make sure they get a balanced diet as much as I can.
Yes keep us posted.

It won't hurt to use vitamins in the water, but really the best way to do it is on their food or directly. The vitamins that will most often degrade in food (A, D, E) are oil based vitamins and they don't do well in water mixes. They do best, and are absorbed correctly, in oil.

That's one of the reasons I like the Enfamil PolyViSol (without iron) idea so much is that it's given indivually. That's also the reason why I used wheat germ oil and the like on my show poultry line (before the raccoons enjoyed my well conditioned "chicken dinner"). Wheat germ oil doesn't cover all the bases, but it does allow oil vitamin supplementation. For them, for healthy non-breeding birds (my breeders were a weak line so I wouldn't call them quite 'normal') I'd use it once a week max, twice a month more usually, once a month sometimes.

Then yogurt treats take care of helping the body's bacteria produce the range of B vitamins as well as adding D for calcium absorbtion. Minerals and whatnot don't degrade as easily in vitamin packages in feeds so there's less worry with those, although selenium is an issue in some states.

The complete feed is supposed to (and generally does) take care of the balance of nutrition. I believe that giving all the vitamins isn't necessary as the body is supposed to make some on its own. It throws the balance off. Letting the bacteria make the B allows for the body to know when there's too much without stressing the cleansing system of the body to take the excess out. In the case of ADE, you also don't want to give too much (or synthetic too often) because they're oil vitamins and will store up in the body. And honestly there's a lot of talk about synthetized forms of these vitamins not processing and absorbing right.

Just my opinion, but it's based on a lot of research into nutrition and the dynamics of interrelationships between nutrients.