day-old chick with "curled feet" (last attempt before culling... )

[technodoll]

Well guess what!

DH and I set baby up with the "orthopedic shoes", she wasn't very happy during the process but is now walking much better with the shoes than before on curled toes! So I'm hoping it works - anything is better than the hobbling around on her belly she was doing. Now she actually stand and uses her legs normally, granted it's a bit of hard work moving those shoed-feet around but that baby's determined!

DH says we should call her "Flipper"

 

[wvgal61]

Please post a pic! Some one might learn from what you did.

 

[Cindiloohoo]

We did that with one of ours with super glue and cardboard 'shoes' too. Just be careful with it until it learns better balance on it's new improved feet...ours toppled into the water dish and couldn't get up. So, we took the dish out and only gave it water when we were observing several times a day. Good luck!! Sounds like it's working!! it only takes a couple days before the feet stay straight

 

[technodoll]

Baby is doing great!

Here's what we did...

He has no problem at all getting around, in fact before the "shoes" he would hobble along on his tummy but now he's up and running, using his legs properly. Looking forward to see if it helps his curled feet develop normally.

 

[technodoll]

Well, it's not working... chick's feet are the same as before, perhaps even worse.

We had to change the "shoes" 4 times now, she kept getting stuck with the first ones, then we tried dimes which made her walk like a ballerina in too-tight shoes, then we tried without cardboard and just the sticky bandaid material, that didn't work either. Back to the original shoes.

Poor sweetie, she's so patient with us...

Her ankles seem to be the problem: the don't bend backwards to let the toes lay flat with the ground.

It's like she's walking on closed fists.

The ankles do bend normally if you apply a slight pressure on them, but when you let go they go back to being fist-like with toes curled under the feet.

Poor baby isn't walking much, not sure what,s going to happen.

Any ideas on how to fix this???

PLEASE!!

 

[clothdiaperingmom]

My 1st hatch that hatched anything (1/9), the hatchling was born with what I looked up and thought was curly toes.

Then I realized that he/she was actually walking on the hock of the foot that had curly toes. Once I got him/her out of the bator and into a brooder, the poor little hock wasnt rubbing so much. Mine cant straighten the left leg at all.

Baby is about a week now. He has learned to balance/stand on the 1 good leg and hops on the 1 good leg. We finally had some other babies hatch and put in with him/her so he wasnt alone with his birdie stuffed animal. And the babies being smaller, wouldnt knock him over and such.

Im not sure how he will do as he gets older and more weight. But we are giving it a try. He was very alert, and strong, and getting more balanced by the day...I couldnt bear to cull. And it was our 1st hatchling (1st hatch was 0/13).... how sad to the kids (and me) to have to cull the very 1st hatchling.

Good luck!

 

[springchick91]

i had a similiar problem were a chick would walk on tip toe on one foot and she hardly did walk due to her foot. i gave her 2 drops of non iron ploy vi sol once aday for 4 days and she out grew it . shes all better and quite active.

 

[KKatknap]

I have heard there is a vitamin (B?) that will help with this...which may be why the polyvisol worked on the chick in the previous post. I'm going to checck it out and I'll post the info in a sec...

ETA - here's a thread on something similar - has good stuff in it: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=98232&p=1
Evidently the vit. is Riboflavin. Also has a link to another type of "splint" to try.

Good luck!!!

 

[technodoll]

Well, none of the shoes I've made for my little chick have helped - in fact her feet/ankles are getting worse

She can't walk and stays sitting in a corner of the brooder most of the time, it looks like she's in pain. She can hobble to food and water by walking on her curled toes but it seems to wear her out - her ankles just don't bend the right way.

DH and I have decided to put her down tomorrow, it breaks our hearts but it's the right thing to do.

She will never lead a normal life like this and she's in pain, the other chicks are starting to pick on her.

I'm devastated... it's like one giant test of faith one after the other since October: sickness after sickness and now deaths of my beloved.... one to cancer last week, one we have to cull because of a lame leg and then this baby, my first home-hatched sweeties.

I'm mad at the heavens right now

 

[LarryPQ]

Have you tried just using the sticky parts of a band-aid? No "hard" base? It may be the weight of the dimes is making it tired, as well as the need for constant balance. Perhaps a little more flexability?

Plus the double sticky will prevent the bandaid from being pulled off.

NEVERMIND- I saw you tried that as well.