Chick with bent claw! Treatment?

[kmurray2501]

One of my chicks was very late hatching, almost 6 days after the others, he is walking about fine and accessing food and water will all of the other chicks, however one of his claws is bent underneath his foot (photos attached from the front and back view) is there a treatment for this or should I leave him as he is walking okay?

 

[Smileybans]

You can make sandals for him. This is where you take two pieces of tape and sandwich his foot between them. Making sure the toes are straight in the tape. I had to do this with one of my silkies. I only left it on for two days and she’s fine now.

I’m not sure what would happen if you left him alone. But I think as he grew it might get painful.

 

[AprilsZoo]

You can use just about any kind of tape, just as long as it won’t hurt their skin when you remove it (stay away from gorilla tape, for example). Paper first aid tape works especially well to hold their toesies in place.

You can cut the sole from a thin piece of cardboard (like a cereal box), or use a doubled- or tripled-over piece of duct tape. Try to trim it close so it’s not getting stepped on by the chick’s other foot, or by any of the other chicks in the brooder..

Personally, I think they can walk better, with less chance they'll slip & get hurt, if you leave the back toe ‘un-sandalled‘. That way they can still sorta grip the fl
Like smiley mentioned, the chick probably won’t need the corrective shoe for very long. Because they grow so quickly, chicks usually stop needing support after just a few days.

Google “corrective chick sandals examples“ and you can see several ways that others have made a chickie shoe.

Good luck!
Please be sure to come back & tell us how things turned out for the chick.

 

[kmurray2501]

Thank you for your advice, I have made them a shoe so hopefully this fixes it! They are one of the chicks hatched for a school incubator project but will be coming home to live with me!

 

[kmurray2501]

You can use just about any kind of tape, just as long as it won’t hurt their skin when you remove it (stay away from gorilla tape, for example). Paper first aid tape works especially well to hold their toesies in place.

You can cut the sole from a thin piece of cardboard (like a cereal box), or use a doubled- or tripled-over piece of duct tape. Try to trim it close so it’s not getting stepped on by the chick’s other foot, or by any of the other chicks in the brooder..

Personally, I think they can walk better, with less chance they'll slip & get hurt, if you leave the back toe ‘un-sandalled‘. That way they can still sorta grip the fl
Like smiley mentioned, the chick probably won’t need the corrective shoe for very long. Because they grow so quickly, chicks usually stop needing support after just a few days.

Google “corrective chick sandals examples“ and you can see several ways that others have made a chickie shoe.

Good luck!
Please be sure to come back & tell us how things turned out for the chick.

The chick has had the sandal on for a couple of days now and their claw is so much better! They seem to be walking okay and eating and drinking, but I’ve noticed they won’t lie down to sleep like the other chicks, he seems to only stand up, is this normal?

 

[AprilsZoo]

The chick has had the sandal on for a couple of days now and their claw is so much better! They seem to be walking okay and eating and drinking, but I’ve noticed they won’t lie down to sleep like the other chicks, he seems to only stand up, is this normal?

idk if it’s “normal”... I can say with certainty that chicks don’t read so there are always some that invent their own way of doing things instead of going by “the book”.
Check his legs that all the joints work, there’s no new lumps or swelling, etc. I think it’s reasonable to at least suspect that there might be other developmental “quirks” that could manifest as she grows. Most (read: in excess of 90-95%) are just fine, and grow and develop right on schedule just as expected.
Another thought that occurs to me— could there be an edge or point on the sandals that might be poking baby when he sits? It could be the tiniest protrusion, that might not even feel particularly sharp, but could still be uncomfortable to the chick. I’d look closely at the sandals with that possibility in mind.

 

[kmurray2501]

Update on our chick! I have attached a picture of her (still don’t know sex) now and she is doing amazing! The lady from where we got the eggs believes she is a miracle chick as she survived in the egg for much longer than the others. The caretaker at our school helped to get her out of the egg and she could not stand straight at all but is thriving now. She is smaller than the others in her brooder but is still growing and getting more confident every day