Curled feet

[Zinja]

Hey I'm new to this forum and I've just had my first hatch ever!

Only one egg has hatched so far, however I've noticed his feet are curled. I had a look through the various threads on here but I just wanted to get abit more knowledge.

How long should I wait to see if his feet will straighten out by themselves? (Before i try to straighten them with card) It's been about 7 hours since he hatched.

Also, if I was to try to straighten them, how long should I leave them tapped to the card?

And finally is this a genetic thing?

 

[GitaBooks]

Welcome to BYC!

I think curled feet can be genetic, though also could just be positioning in the egg. I would suggest taping them pretty quickly, as they will heal quicker the sooner they are correctly positioned. They probably only need taped for a day or so at this young an age.

Best of luck!

 

[Zinja]

oh great, thank you for the advice!

 

[dc3085]

99.9% of the time curled feet in quail are due to environmental condition in the incubator. They can be genetic but almost never are when it comes to coturnix.

If your humidity fluctuates in your incubator you will end up with some chicks with curled toes. Another common cause is the chicks getting stuck in the egg after they've opened it, for an extended period of time. Often this will correct itself within the first week, severe cases require treatment or euthanasia. If it the bird can walk no treatment is usually required. However if you're motivated enough there are ways to straighten curled toes but require a lot of care.