Crooked Toes

[bigT88]

Just noticed my one chick about 5 or 6 weeks old has crooked toes. I believe this is new never noticed it before. Kinda freaks me out, look even more like an alien. Anyways it gets around fine, doesnt seem to bother the chick. Can i fix this, and if so is it beneficial.

 

[dc3085]

If you are seeing the crooked toes develop in older birds there is an environment issue causing it, or it was there from chickhood and didn't get noticed. The only real solution is culling birds who cannot live a healthy life due to movement problems. You can fix some problems with the feet when they are chicks but by 3-4 weeks you are really out of options unless you take a $2 dollar bird for a $100+ vet visit. There are plenty of healthy happy birds out there with crooked toes, just remember to do the right thing if they ever cause quality of life issues for the bird.

 

[chooks4life]

I just noticed my oldest hen, a Bantam Cochin, about 5 0r 6, has lost a toe! Her toes have gotten brittle- looking and twig-like, and her nails are VERY long. Should I have been trimming her nails? Is it too late now? She's eldest in a flock of 7 laying hens, in a nice coop with a big run, and gets let out to forage in the garden several afternoons a week.

For more replies it helps to post in a new thread, since many people won't even see your post in this old one.

On to your question: sounds to me maybe like there are other health problems here. Very thin toes generally means the rest of the bird is wasted as well. It may be a sign of advanced scaly leg mite though. They can and do lose toes in advanced cases.

In a coop with the ability to scratch around, rather than live on mesh or concrete, her claws wouldn't normally need trimming. Does she scratch around at all? It's also possible that she's been ill for a long time, not exhibiting normal foraging behavior or exercising more than necessary to survive, and you've only just noticed now. They can be very good at hiding it.

Can you check her at night time on the perch, feel her crop, her breast muscle, and her abdomen?

If the crop is rock hard, or very squishy like it's full of water but no food, either of those extremes can indicate issues; for example crop impaction or blockage in the case of a hard crop, which can cause wasting, or squishiness in the case of sour crop which can also cause wasting.

If her breast muscle is mostly gone, there's a good chance she's in trouble. They can lose a heck of a lot of muscle mass without dying, but once they've gone too far getting them back to full health is obviously less likely. I would also check your other hens if I were you, feel their crops, breasts and bellies/abdomens as well, to both get a good idea of their state of health and also something to compare your chook with issues to. If you're not very familiar with chook anatomy that is.

If her breast muscle is mainly gone and her abdomen is full and heavy, or even tight, it may be internal tumors, such as are pretty common due to a variety of causes including Avian Leukosis Virus and reproductive tumors in layer breeds. Could also be internal laying issues. They can all impact how normal a chicken's legs and toes look, as strange as that might sound. If her abdomen is also shrunken, something is quite off, obviously.

Very thin, twiggy looking legs and toes are usually a cause for concern because they usually indicate other, more serious problems elsewhere, but there's a chance it's just scaly leg mite. If so, any oil you soak her feet and legs in will help, it will drown them and after a few treatments (perches, nestboxes, and other chooks may need treating too) it will be gone. You would need to soak her up to the feathers on the thighs, because even if they're not obvious they can still be residing all over the legs. You don't have to soak her, really, just rub it in until the legs are good and oily.

Good luck.

 

[7L Farm]

I have one who has crooked toes. She was easy to name. You can fixs them but I doubt at 6 weeks. Mines over a year old & she does fine.

 

[Greyfox Farm]

I have an 8-week old Speckled Sussex who's left outside toe is rotated 90 degress so the "claw" faces backwards instead of down. She eats, perches, flys and lands just fine. She's a sweetie and seems not even to notice. I'm leaving mine alone as she's happy, healthy and getting along fine and I'm guessing that yours will be o.k. as well. Good luck with her.

 

[Chick01]

I have 2 chickens that have more then 1 crooked toe.it is starting to freak me out.one of them can't walk!

 

[Euphillia]

One of my EE's has curved outer toes on both feet. No idea why. They don't seem to affect her.

 

[bucky52]

My Americana and EE pullet have crocked toes.Last summer the EEO did get her toe hung in a crack on a board.i almost lost her.she was suspended up side down and the other chickens pecked her bald.so DH went through the coop and run and made sure the boards were covered .other wise they eat drink and walk just fine.

 

[SD Bird Lady]

I have two EEs with the outside toe that appears twisted so the nail faces back. My question is: are crooked toes an inherited trait or a hatching/ incubator issue?

 

[daniel rainey]

it you get them wile there young it is so easy to cure, you just have to get a piece of small tubing like really small to go around the toe holding it stait and tape it there. leave that for like 1-2 weeks and it will heal, however it dose not effect a hen to have a crocked toe it is undesirable in show terms