chick born with crooked feet, time to give up?

[aChickted]

I just hatched 2 chicks like this. They hatched on their own but have crooked legs with swollen joints and can't walk, they 'scoot'. Why does this happen? It is 2 chicks of the same breed.

 

[poultrycrazy]

I have raised three chicks with crooked toes and nothing wrong with there legs. They are now adults and they run and do everything a normal chicken would do.

 

[Steergirl]

Sounds like a slipped tendon or splayed leg. Look up a slipped tendon and make sure its not that cause the swelling and rawness you are talking about come with a slipped tendon, or maybe from it being dragged either way check it out!

ETA: Saw the answer to my question in an early post of yours.

 

[Chickie gal]

I had 2 chicks hatch with crooked feet last weekend (both are unimpaired now). After a quick Google search, the information I found indicated 2 causes for the crooked feet. 1. The humidity was too low during hatching (true in my chick's case). 2. The chick took too long to hatch.

I also read that it was 100% curable on one site (if caught in the first 2 days), and sometimes not curable (this site). The cure on the websites was to splint the feet. I chose the masking tape method (next time I may try medical tape instead since the masking tape was hard to remove).

None of this is new information. I did something a little different in my chick's case. Hopefully it is helpful to other people.

I noticed the problem when my chick was in the incubator (<24 hrs. old at this point). After reading it was probably the low humidity problem, I decided to put the chick back into the incubator (which I had refilled the water in). I don't know if the humidity had any effect, but what I know did have an effect was the fact that the incubator has a hard/flat surface for the chick to walk on. My chick was unable to bend at the ankles when I first taped its feet. Because of this, the chick could not walk on the wood-shavings that I have for bedding in my incubator. It scooted along the floor. Once it was in the incubator, however, it was better able to maintain its balance on its tip toes. Since it was up on its feet it was able to stretched the tendons/loosen the ankle joints. It also helped, that my crooked foot chick was trying to keep up with the newly hatched chick still in the incubator... (I felt like I had held it back a grade in school). After being in the incubator for another day & 1/2, it was able to bend the ankles. I removed the tape at that point & put it in the brooder with the other chicks. Now, you could not tell by looking at them which ones had the crooked feet.

 

[jacjac]

Hello,
I have a baby chick with a crooked foot I'm only a girl and these r my first baby chicks I have no idea what to do but she has a swollen leg joint she always leans on her good foot. What do I do? Here r some pics

 

[jacjac]

Hello,
I have a chick with a crooked foot this is my first time owning baby chicks and I don't know what to do she has a swollen leg joint she is always leaning on her good leg. What can I do to help her?

 

[jacjac]

 

[jhammett]

I have one with a foot like you are descirbing i didn't find it until i put them into their outside coop at 4 weeks. the bird is a bit smaller than the others but seems to be getting along ok. she eats and drinks normally. I actually made my roost and nesting box perch using the wide side of the 2x4s so the little guy could rest on them more easily.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I had one with a crooked foot she was a chick from a farmer's fridge. anyway after a week her foot got better and now she spreads her toes and walks normal.