Crooked Toe

[equinelyn]

This pullet was given to me because she was born with a crooked toe. Anybody ever heard of this?

 

[dsqard]

I have a pullet that has a crooked toe as well. She seems to get around fine. Unfortunately, I noticed it too late to do anything about it. If you want to straighten the toes, you have to catch it when they are within a few days old from what I have learned. I would just keep an eye on the nail of that toe since it won't get worn down like the other nails. You might have to clip it every now and again. I would also keep an eye on "her". Not sure what breed it is, but looking at "her" legs, they are looking mighty beefy for a girl but it could just be the angle of the picture.

 

[equinelyn]

She is a Rhode Island Red. The second toe was crooked too but it straightened out just fine after a week or so. I hope it's not a roo, but her comb is staying the same size as my black sex-link pullet. And the one black sex-link roo is getting a comb already. Thanks for the tip, I will have to keep an eye on the nail. I really dont want 2 roo's!

 

[Judy]

I would guess pullet, but I'm not great at guessing. I usually have at least one with a crooked toe. Only once, and he was a huge roo, did it seem to bother them, and he only developed a slight limp later in life. It can happen during hatch or from injury; I believe it is sometimes genetic. My hen with two of them has one on each foot that look much the same, so I figure genetic. She's the lead bully.

A little tape when they are day olds often fixes it. I have learned (along with 10,000 other things from BYC) to look at toes on new chicks.

 

[equinelyn]

Do you think since she is only a few weeks old, that if I took bandage tape and taped that toe to the middle toe it would straighten things out?

 

[Anianna]

I think you have a chance of straightening the toe since she still has growing to do. Check out the Poultry Podiatry site for more about foot and leg issues in chickens. You can probably make her a little "shoe" that trains her toe straight from something thin and sturdy and use surgical tape to hold everything in place. Just be careful that it doesn't get too tight as she grows.

As for her gender, I'm going to have to say she's a pullet. Here are my RIR roos at just under 5 weeks old: