Crooked toes - how old to too late to treat?

I'm very interested to see if you're able to straighten out their toes. About half of my welsummer chicks which are 2 weeks old developed crooked toes at about 5 days old. Their parents which I bought as chicks last year developed crooked toes too. I also have Easter eggers and black sexlinks that hatched at the same time and don't have the crooked toes so I think it's genetic? I haven't tried splints yet.
 
I found paper taped toes to work great. Tape where the adhesive isnt strong like a bandaid.








Just change the tape regularly. I say not strong adhesive because you don't want to tear their little scales off while changing. Hope this helps.
 
Hello all, I'm hoping u can help us. We just took on a 3 month (approx) chick from a Freind of a coworker whom had her raised from a chick in there home.
She is very sweet and personable however doesn't walk well due to her crooked toes. I read the above suggestions and am willing to try the cardboard suggestion! However how long do u keep trying to straighten them out and does it truly work? Looking forward to hearing back! Thank you!
 
I know this is an old thread but curious how it turned out for the little chick. I have one with two crooked toes and going to try make a "shoe" to straighten it out.
Wondering if it actually works.
 
Got chicks from a local breeder; the two Rhode Island reds both have crooked toes - curled sideways not under. The chicks are 4 weeks old - is it too late to try and boot the babies to correct the toes? They seem to be getting worse...

I know this is an old post, but this is for people still looking at your post.

It works best in chicks up to a week old. After that the cartilage hardens. The older they get the less likely it is to help. Plus it's very painful. Imagine someone bending your finger backwards a little at a time and taping it. It's not meant to be done in older chicks.
 

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