Bent toe: to treat or not to treat

[gracielove]

Hello! I have a chick with a bent toe that is causing it to walk on it’s foot sideways. It is about a week and a half old. It still gets around fine.

I’ve never tried to make a boot for a chick before so I’m nervous.

my question: can I leave it the way it is? I have a very small backyard flock of 6 birds.

 

[nchls school]

At five weeks the chick is probably to old for corrective measures. I'd leave it alone if it possess no mobility problems.

 

[gracielove]

It’s only a week and a half. Is this the right age?

 

[nchls school]

Sorry, I misread your post. Even at a week and a half the toe may not be an easy fix. You can try. If the chick is getting around fine is fixing the crooked toe worth putting the chick through the stress; only you can answer that. If you think it may cause problems as the chick grows, then yes, try to fix it.

 

[gracielove]

It’s a hard choice. Thanks for the input. It is completely bent under so I worry she may not be able to grip to roost at night. But maybe she will adapt? I’m so inexperienced I’m just not sure. Maybe I will try to make a boot for a day and see how it goes.

 

[aart]

Post some pics showing the problem