baby chick with little balls on his toes

[ruthiesue]

One of our chicks has what I would describe as little round balls on three of his toes on each foot. These are pretty wild little guys and at first I thought he just had lumps of mud on his feet. Now, as he is a little bigger, it seems pretty obvious that they are round balls that are growing. I really cannot catch these chicks without scaring them half to death, so have not pushed the issue. He is very active, appears totally healthy, eats, runs, etc. What are these and are they perhaps from breeding back with siblings? He taps when he walks on wood. Very weird. Thanks.

 

[mypicklebird]

you need to catch them to better look at them. try at night when they are settled down. or just catch them with a net. they won't like it, but if not seriously ill, they will not be harmed by the handling. In fact, it is a good idea to handle all of your chickens on a regular basis- so when you have to do it when they are ill- they will be used to it, and not as stressed.
they can get mud balls on their feet- which can be soaked off. you might also be looking at pox or odd presentation of bumblefoot, or something else... catch the chicks and it the bumps are actually part of the chick- take some pictures.

 

[onthespot]

usually from scratching around in moist manure. It is probably dried poop. You can get their feet wet and wait for a minute or so and they they pull right off.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

But be very careful not to accidentally pull off a toe.

 

[onthespot]

I agree, when I said pull, I meant gently slip, not yank or tug hard.