Chick With Curled Toes

[Chickymama83]

Thanks so much! Sounds like it might be worth a try... I will attempt my best even though I know it will be a struggle with this one!
I got Jasmine (and our other 3) at our local feed store so they could have been from anywhere also! They sold her as an Amaurcana but after poking around on this website enough I figured out she is really an Easter Egger Now I am just hoping She is really a "she" ;-)
I gave them a crushed egg yolk this morning and they all went crazy for it... I have only tried giving them some lettus and a piece of an apple before and they had no interest but they loved the egg yolk! Hopefully it will help Jazzy get the nutrients she needs and I will try my best with the shoes!

 

[Chickymama83]

Ok... I gave it my best go... I tried to get them in the right position as much as I could without hurting her. I was surprised she really didn't seem to notice me bending her toes... Anyway, we shall see how long it lasts... she is already pecking at the shoes and I couldn't get her to hang in there long enough for me to trim them to a smaller fit...

 

[Chickymama83]

In case anyone was wondering... the shoes did not work for Jasmine. She let me put them on and kept them on fine but after a few days there was still no change. I think 4.5 weeks might have just been too old for her specific case. She has very thick feet.

 

[Blooie]

I know you did your best. Sometimes things just work out differently than we plan. But Scout is doing great out in the coop and the run, and his toes on both feet are so curled they are practically non-existent as far as usefulness goes. Jasmine will adapt and sometimes you'll find yourself giggling as she learns to do the stuff the other birds do without hesitation. Watching Scout learning to scratch in the dirt made me grin like a fool - he tried scratching with his hocks! He was anything but successful, and ended up so off balance that he fell on his hiney several times. But now he can scratch with the best of them - he's just learned to pick softer ground! He can fly up to the roosts and back down again so well that unless you look at his feet you can't even tell he had a problem!

Maybe it's because I have a granddaughter whose feet don't work either that I have so much confidence in Scout's ability to be a chicken despite his "disability", just like I'm sure Jasmine will. Kendra has no nerves and feeling in her feet so she can't tell when she's in contact with the ground or the floor, making learning to walk extremely difficult for her. But she's 3, she's persistent, and she does a great job of looking her situation over and then choosing a route to take to get what other kids do naturally.

Keep us posted as Jasmine grows and takes her rightful place in the flock!

Edited to add a recent picture of Scout being the head roo in the flock. Notice his feet. He has no idea they don't work right!

 

[Chickymama83]

Thanks for the encouragement Blooie! Scout is beautiful

 

[Blooie]

Thanks...after all we went through for him he's a keeper, that's for sure!

 

[coleson12]

Update on Little Miss Two Shoes: At least I hope she is a she. I took them off and she seems to be doing quite well. Thanks for all your help.

I live in iredell county too, and I just hatched silkie. 1 has curled toes and is having trouble moving around. DId yours have a hard time walking?

 

[CyndiD]

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry
thanks to my friend i got on this site and helped my wittle hen.. i will keep you updated on the results of my assistance w/her splayed legs and curly feet.

looks a bit much, huh? poor thing

 

[Blooie]

I used Vet Wrap when Scout first froze his feet.


This was how they looked when the Vet Wrap came off.


But a week or so later, the damage was so deep to the underlying tissues that his feet curled horribly.


So we did Bandaids.....the ultimate insult for a handsome little roo is becoming a duckling!


The correction didn't work, but that's because he lost so much when they froze. But it sure didn't stop him - deformed feet and all he was out there doing all the things any chicken does - flying up and down to and from the roosts, scratching in the dirt, running, and even breeding the girls. Gosh, I miss that rascal, but I'm glad that we accepted him curled feet and all. We knew he wasn't in pain so we just let him be.

 

[PoultryPedia]

What you are doing looks great! It can take a bit of peculiar specialized effort to help with these problems. I'm glad you found info here & are tackling them!

If the chick's toes don't straighten as much as you think good within a few days, you can also look at further techniques. Below are pics of 2 kinds, and there is info on them at https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/710778/deformed-claw-unable-to-fix-now-what#post_9696805

*Note: Be SURE to change the tape every 2-4 days on young chicks. Their feet are growing so fast at that age that you have to be careful to keep the tape from becoming too tight on their growing toes.

* When changing the tape, use baby oil to gently and easily remove sticky tape. Then use waterless instant antibacterial hand cleaner/sanitizer to amazingly easily clean off baby oil.
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Note: This illustration shows only 1 toe taped but all of them actually need to be taped to "chick shoe".



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For some cases, individual toe wraps work better.



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Some birds get good benefits from having their toes treated, but a bird's toes don't necessarily need to end up completely straight. A significant percent of chickens do have some amount of twisting in their toes and experience minimal problems from that over their lifetimes.