Bent toes

[ringaring]

I noticed 2 toes on one of my jersey giants are bent sideways. They are 9 wks old. The toes are not twisted, just angle left at a 45 degree angle. It walks fine, no indication of discomfort or distress, moves the toes while walking & does not appear to be due to injury. I just noticed it this week & think this might be the rooster I'm hearing. Has anyone seen a genetic defect like this? If it is genetic & this is the rooster, I don't want it passed on to any chicks. Do chickens tolerate injury to their feet well, to the point of showing no discomfort? Culling starts in 5 wks so I need to know if he will go on the list. TIA

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Cab we get a picture? From the description I would say either genetic or broken.

 

[Mrs. K]

As he is walking fine now, no evidence of difficulty I would say this is genetic as I am pretty sure if it was broken, he'd have been limping for a while. He would be on my cull list, as often times a defect in the foot, will cause excessive wear on the hen's feathers while breeding, depending on severity.

IMO, one should be very picky about a rooster, his genetics will be spread across the flock much faster than a single hen. There are a lot of roosters, keep a good one. Or if you don't have one, get a good rooster.

Mrs K

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I have a hen that has had broken toes her whole life. Not sure how they got hurt, but they're definitely broke. She gets around fine though and seems to not be in any pain

 

[Birdie mom]

i personally wouldn't cull just because their toes were crooked. some of my older hens have slightly crooked toes but none of their chicks have it. it is probably an injury they got whenever they were little and it just stayed that way when it healed. some pictures would be great.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

My sumatras we think got bent tpws as chicks and young teens because of a vitamin deficiency. Every now and then it's really noticable and some days hardly

 

[Alaskan]

I too have seen bent toes from vitamin deficiency. I live in po-dunk-ville so I am sure the feed was ancient.

Anyway, a bunch of nutritional yeast made stuff better.

BUT, that in my book that also counts as a genetic issue since the entire flock had the same feed, but only 2 of my hens were affected. So... I guess those 2 hens had a tougher time digesting the nutrients from the feed.... or some such.

 

[ringaring]

Unfortunately, I have been unable to upload pics from iPad or phone for the last month. If I ever figure it out, I'll be posting photos.

Cab we get a picture? From the description I would say either genetic or broken.

 

[LaFleche]

I noticed 2 toes on one of my jersey giants are bent sideways. They are 9 wks old. The toes are not twisted, just angle left at a 45 degree angle. It walks fine, no indication of discomfort or distress, moves the toes while walking & does not appear to be due to injury. I just noticed it this week & think this might be the rooster I'm hearing. Has anyone seen a genetic defect like this? If it is genetic & this is the rooster, I don't want it passed on to any chicks. Do chickens tolerate injury to their feet well, to the point of showing no discomfort? Culling starts in 5 wks so I need to know if he will go on the list. TIA

These slightly inwards bending toes might occur with youngsters of large breeds experiencing a growth spurt. The sinews do not grow as fast and need some time to adjust properly. Feeding them brewers yeast regularly helps to prevent and cure this condition.

 

[aart]

Unfortunately, I have been unable to upload pics from iPad or phone for the last month. If I ever figure it out, I'll be posting photos.

Might find the solution here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/announcements-feedback-issues-guides.3/?prefix_id=3

Or ask here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/announcements-feedback-issues-guides.3/