2 week old chick with curled toes

[happyhensny]

When we hatched the chick I did not notice that it's toes were curled. Now they are quite visibly bent. Why? Is is too late to tape/splint them?

Thanks!

Annie

 

[dieselgrl48]

Well you could try taping it.Usualy they should be taped within the first week but it may be fixable.Not sure if anyone else here has had any sucess with taping method I have some.Maybe someone else has some more help.

 

[chookchick]

Here is a great article on chick orthopedics:
http://sites.google.com/a/larsencreek.com/chicken-orthopedics/leg-braces
I would go ahead and make the "shoes". I would also give her poly-vi-sol (without iron) drops-(dilute by half)--two drops per day, put them by her beak until she slurps it in (don't put in the water, tastes bad). Do this for a few days just in case it is a deficiency problem. Keep us posted on her progress!

 

[nuts4chickens]

My incubator temps ran low on my last hatch and I had 2 chicks hatch with curled toes. I made them boots out of bandaids and they straightened out just fine. I had one I didn't notice for a week because he has feathered feet but we were able to correct it just after a few days.

 

[happyhensny]

Just put splints on her toes. Poor little one. Walked tippy toes for a few minutes then seemed ok. Thanks a bunch!

 

[ctaynton]

It is possible to fix them within the first few weeks anyways. I had one that got really bad by the age of 2 weeks. I straightened out the toes and stuck the foot to tape. The toes stayed straight and the chick wore the so-called shoes for about 2 weeks or so. It worked. She overcame it and has normal feet now. It worked for me but I don't know about if they are older, if it will work as well. Hope that helps.