Curling Toes

[BiggestLittleCityChickens]

Hi everyone,

I have an Ameracauna chick that started out with one middle digit that curled. I taped her toes straight and would recheck every 48 hours. It would stay straight for awhile untaped but then go back to curled. I just resigned to the fact that she would not be absolutely perfect. However, now she is getting bigger and a toe on the other foot has curled within the last day. She is currently on chick starter (and growing like a weed). Is there something I am doing wrong b/c the other 5 with her are doing fine? Do these guys get issues with growing too quickly like large breed dogs? What are your thought? I now have both her little feet taped straight but I doubt this will correct her problem.

Puzzling!

 

[CMV]

This issue has nothing to do with anything you are doing. It is likely a hatch defect that is getting progressively worse over time. Several defects do get worse as time passes. Have you tried applying a boot to the foot? Not just straightening the toes out, but actually supporting the whole foot as well? I think I would try that (if you haven't already) before I gave up hope for a normal foot. Here's a helpful page that offers some great info on orthopedic problems and their solutions:

https://sites.google.com/a/larsencreek.com/chicken-orthopedics/leg-braces

I hope this helps. Good luck.