I have 5-week old chicks in a large brooder in my house still, we're just finishing the coop and plan to move them out tomorrow. However, I noticed that on one of our girls the outer toe on each foot is curled. In fact, they're curled out to the side and straight back. I don't see any other signs of illness, she's full of energy, eating well, etc. We still have them strictly on medicated chick starter, they haven't really had any other treats yet because I'm new to this and I didn't want to risk them not getting all the nutrients they need.
I've read that curled toes could be a riboflavin definciency - can that happen even if they're only eating chick starter? I thought the chick starter had everything they need, do I need to supplement with anything?
And I read in another post where a person suggested Marek's but my birds haven't even left my house yet, they're all from the same breeder and none of the others seem to have issues. Is that something I need to worry about?
If she's doing well otherwise and has no issues getting around do I need to do anything to correct this? And is 5-weeks too old to fix this with splints/shoes?
Sorry for all the questions, I'm feeling terrible that we didn't notice before now. I can't be certain whether this is a new issue or not. We try to handle the birds every day but she's always been one of the shy ones so it's quite possible she's been like this for a while.
Thanks in advance, any help is appreciated!
I've read that curled toes could be a riboflavin definciency - can that happen even if they're only eating chick starter? I thought the chick starter had everything they need, do I need to supplement with anything?
And I read in another post where a person suggested Marek's but my birds haven't even left my house yet, they're all from the same breeder and none of the others seem to have issues. Is that something I need to worry about?
If she's doing well otherwise and has no issues getting around do I need to do anything to correct this? And is 5-weeks too old to fix this with splints/shoes?
Sorry for all the questions, I'm feeling terrible that we didn't notice before now. I can't be certain whether this is a new issue or not. We try to handle the birds every day but she's always been one of the shy ones so it's quite possible she's been like this for a while.
Thanks in advance, any help is appreciated!
