Feet misshapen 6wks old

sog1997

Chirping
9 Years
Jul 23, 2010
26
2
87
I have 40 new chicks, they are assorted breeds, layers ( but for the males). I have 2 whose feet are wrong. I took pictures of 1 chicks, the other I have not but can if it will help. They are 6 weeks old, all in the same environment. I know if the footing is bad they can develop weird feet. This was not the case, they were in shavings, on roofing shingles. This one looks as if her feet were broken, but it is the same toe on each foot that is crooked. She seems to get along fine, I am wondering about long term issues with feet like this. I am not sure if she is in pain, she does not run about all day like the others but she is active. Any thoughts or experience is appreciated!
The other chicks feet or toes. There is mainly just one, the middle longest one that curves around similar to this chicks left foot middle toe/claw.
 
Most schools of thought on this are that this is genetics, or that the chick's last day or so in the shell had them contorted in such a way as to malshape the feet. It's pretty common, and affected chickens don't appear to be in pain or have significant quality-of-life issues. I have seen chickens at swaps with toes that were much more curled, and they seemed just fine.Hope this info is at least useful, if not hope-inspiring.
 

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