9-Week-Old With Crooked Toe; Too Late To Cure?

[Henrik Petersson]

I have a 9-week-old Creme Legbar cockerel who's had two toes that are bent 90° sideways since week two or so. At first, I thought "whatever. It's a cockerel. I'll only spare one in the end anyway, I'll just cull the ones with deformities". So I didn't do anything about it.

You might already have guessed how this story ends: I decided to save that one rooster anyway! He's the most beautiful of the cockerels, and the only one of his breed, so it's good against inbreeding (I know, fowl are insensitive to inbreeding, but I want to improve the odds a little anyway). Long story short, I'm wondering if it's too late to fix the toes? I mean, he still has a long way to grow. Heck, even adult humans can fix their teeth if they get braces, right? I might be able to cure them with a little wrapping and whatnot.

 

[Eggcessive]

No, it is not possible to correct his toes now, and it usually is only successful to do that within the first week or two when their toes are pliable. Now it would be painful and not helpful to do it. Many toe problems are a result of temperature or humidity issues during incubation. I would make sure that your breeders have plenty of balanced feed with vitamins and trace minerals to assure that their offspring have a good chance of not passing it on. Some bone deformities are genetic, nutritional (minerals, vitamins,) and from incubation problems.