Chick has outer toes fused to middle ones what to do?

[futurefarmer08]

Hi,
My day old chick was having trouble walking and I finally picked her up to look at her. I noticed that her outer toes were fully formed but they are stuck by extra skin to the middle toe. So she kind of has 2 V's If I took her to the vet would it be worth it to see if they could put some pain killer on her and cut them apart? The chick that hatched before her keeps picking at her feet and kind of picking on her in general.
Other than her feet she seems pretty normal. Eating, drinking etc. She gets around ok too. I just don't want the other chickens to pick on her. Is this something that she would pass on to offspring? Is there any way of knowing?

Any advice would be so helpful. She is a 1 day old black copper Marans chick.

 

[cwc362]

Never heard of that, but some one will probably chime in with suggestions. Good Luck!!

 

[MoodyChicken]

Wow, that's pretty odd! Could you get a picture? I want to see!

As long as there are bones in each toe, then yes, it's worth it. The middle toe is pretty important for balance. She would adapt around it, but if you're willing to have it fixed than I would.

It's probably just a birth defect. I doubt it's genetic but it could be. Only way to tell is to breed her when she's older and see what happens!

 

[pips&peeps]

Are they black copper marans chicks from a guy down south? If so, it appears to be a common defect.

 

[fourfeathers]

I have a cornish chick that I got from the feedstore that has this defect. She/he was quite sore the first several days of her life and had some trouble standing. Kept stretching her leg out or picking it up like it was uncomfortable to place down. The tendon down the side looked a little off too, and an area seemed to scab on the inner side of her leg although no open wounds. I placed her in a cage by herself on a towel and fleece blanket (cage wire too harsh). Her skin looked like it was sloughing off in some spots and she did not have down on a third of her body from under her "wingpit" to her toes and all the way around that half of the backside. I did not separate because it did not look as if the bones were all there (you can see somewhat if you hold up to light, the light shown through on her), no toenails, just one big toe and a little stub to side. I put bag balm on the dry scabby area and where the skin looked tight like it was stretching for a week and a half. The last couple days I have sprayed with blu kote. We are on day 10 and she still doesn't have down or feathers where she should, but the leg/foot is better. She is walking good, the skin has healed and she is growing well. I still have her on a blanket surface cage in the house, but she is with a friend now who has a healing broken leg.

 

[TimeMist]

Wow that's incredible!

Is the skin on the bottom of the foot proper foot skin? I suppose you could make a teeny tiny leather knee high boot if you thought it needed extra protection

 

[MoodyChicken]

Aw, she' s cute! Is she a Cornish cross? It looks like she's missing the femoral feather tract, so I wouldn't expect any feather growth there. If her foot is still sore, put MoleSkin on the bottom of it. It's meant for cracked heals on people, so it will protect her foot. You'll need to change it every couple of days though.

 

[fourfeathers]

Her foot is looking good and yes she is a Cornish cross. She is still on her blankets and not a wire bottom cage. She and her polish friend are doing well together, I want her to take up with someone at a young age because I have a feeling she will be picked on and I am going to have to be selective about who she cohabitates with.
Thanks Moody! That's interesting about the femoral tract for the loss of the feathers. She is surely bald back there. I suppose she may be susceptible to sunburn if she doesn't grow feathers. I do have moleskin from my days of practicing hand therapy. Where do you get more moleskin though aside from therapy catalogues? It use it for alot of pet uses and am running low. I hope that the other chick who started this post gets a chance!

 

[luvarabhorses]

Wow, you are a nice person! I hope the feed store gave her to you. I wondered who got the less than perfect chicks at the feed store.

 

[jvls1942]

if you choose to just leave it like it is, the chicken will adapt.. chickens are great adapters..

I have had splayed legged chickens
who didn't respond to treatment grow to adulthood.. of course, I would never allow that to happen again.. too painful for me to watch, and the chicken never developes fully.. but your chick is not that bad off.. I'll bet there are a lt of chickens running around with the same situation and nobody notices their feet..