Curling Chick Toes + Temperature // New Chicken Mama's Questions of Late

[Brennigan]

Once the brooder reaches my house temperature (we usually keep the house between 68 and 70), do I just turn the heating lamp off and replace it with a regular lamp to control lighting throughout the day? I know the chicks can go outside all night once its 50 degrees, but that's not predicted until late May. I don't want to waste electricity, but I want them to get used to the temperatures before going outside!

My silver-laced wyandotte has a crooked side-toe. It looks like its just curling backwards. She walks just fine and will fly and roost okay too. She is almost a month old, but I didn't know if I should be fixing it or not. I don't plan on showing any of my birds -- just have them for pets and egg-laying. The picture below isn't a picture of her, but it is most like her side-toe curling.

 

[CMV]

At a month old the toe is probably too set to fix although you can still try if you wish. Taping the toes down to a piece of stiff cardboard cut into a foot-shape may help to straighten it out. You will need to tape down all the toes so the one toe doesn't just roll back into its poor shape. It's kind of a pain, but I like to tape each toe separately with some thin gauze padding between the tape and the toe. This ensures the toes stay in proper alignment while also preventing the tape from damaging the scales on the foot.

For their age they should still have a heat lamp available to them in case they need it because they are still wanting the temps to be around 80 degrees. They start out at 95 degrees at one week, and then it can be dropped 5 degrees a week until they are fully fledged.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[Brennigan]

At a month old the toe is probably too set to fix although you can still try if you wish. Taping the toes down to a piece of stiff cardboard cut into a foot-shape may help to straighten it out. You will need to tape down all the toes so the one toe doesn't just roll back into its poor shape. It's kind of a pain, but I like to tape each toe separately with some thin gauze padding between the tape and the toe. This ensures the toes stay in proper alignment while also preventing the tape from damaging the scales on the foot.

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I hope this helps. Good luck.

Thank you, @CMV !

Do I have to set it? Will she suffer in the future if I don't set it? I've seen various posts on taping, but my land, it does seem like a pain! She runs and jumps just fine and doesn't appear to be in any pain.

 

[CMV]

I would not even try. If it is not bothering her then I say leave it be. The only thing you will have to watch out for in the future is a slightly increased risk of her getting bumblefoot. Birds that walk on the wrong part of their toes have a greater chance of getting this because they are not walking on the pad of the toe. I would simply check her toe slightly more often than you would in a normal bird. No big deal. It will give you an excuse to pay her a little extra attention.

Good luck with her.

 

[Brennigan]

I would not even try. If it is not bothering her then I say leave it be. The only thing you will have to watch out for in the future is a slightly increased risk of her getting bumblefoot. Birds that walk on the wrong part of their toes have a greater chance of getting this because they are not walking on the pad of the toe. I would simply check her toe slightly more often than you would in a normal bird. No big deal. It will give you an excuse to pay her a little extra attention.

Good luck with her.

She seems to be the boss of my little flock and I can't wait for her to feather out fully (silver-laced wyandotte)...I'm sure she'll be getting plenty of attention! Thank you!