Guinea with curled toes on both feet

[critters]

the little guy was due to hatch on the 19th, tomorrow.
He came early on the 17th...and weak with both feet curled....
or at least his toes are curled.

I have had guineas with one foot where the toes were curled
but not both feet. I have taped his feet with his toes spread out
like they should be but he never tried to walk.
Now I have made "boots" for both feet yet he seems pretty weak
as well....still not trying to walk...any movement he does is by
pulling/pushing himself around...

what else do I need to be doing....I know he needs his strength
first but really unsure how to help him. I take him to water
every so often and he drinks but tell me....what else should I try????

 

[PeepsCA]

I would try adding vitamins into his water (make him drink often), and try offering some crumbled yolk from a hard boiled egg for extra protein. When I have had weak keets hatch out that don't get up on their feet I'll put them in a cup/small bowl (with something non-slip on the bottom for traction) so that they do squats, repetitively trying to stand up to get out of the cup, and that helps strengthen their legs. You might give that a try, especially once you have other keets in the brooder that will stimulate him to want to get out of the cup and join them. Be sure to offer him water and food frequently on and off thru the day while he is in the cup.


(This keet also had a splayed leg, hence the vetwrap brace around the legs)

The egg he hatched from may have been in a warmer spot in the incubator so he developed faster than the others... which can cause issues like this. Good luck with him.

 

[critters]

thanks Peeps...already have him in a cup...
should I keep his feet wrapped up still??

I'll go fix an egg for him right now...need to do one for my
Chihuahua anyway as she has a 2 week old pup and the
egg yoke gives her that extra protein too!

 

[PeepsCA]

If his toes are curled, then yes I'd keep his feet taped for at least a couple days... hopefully he will stand/get up on his feet soon and won't need the taped feet. It's not a good sign if you've already been trying the cup trick with no improvement so far tho...

 

[critters]

thanks....will let you know all turns out

 

[critters]

Peeps, first look into room and notice the extra movement in brooder...
something popping up and down over and over...very cute!

so the little guy is doing better..
took him out of the cup he kept popping up from and sat him among the
other keets....finally some normal steps,then a roll but maybe another
day or something strenghting the legs,feet and toes he will walk like the
others with those toes flat out in front of him....
just wanted to post the update but not claiming success yet.....
but he is getting stronger and entertaining us at the same time!

 

[critters]

YEAH!! He's walking good today but have kept tape on his toes to
help the strenghtning process....guess just really needed to give
him that little extra time to build a bit more strength up.

 

[JLeigh]

I had a "bicyler" - a keet who laid on its side and pedaled his feet like on a bike. Poor thing, although it was funny to watch. I taped it up as directed by Peeps and within a few days we couldn't tell which one had the problem. Your keet will probably be the same! Yay!

 

[PeepsCA]

YEAH!! He's walking good today but have kept tape on his toes to
help the strenghtning process....guess just really needed to give
him that little extra time to build a bit more strength up.

Congrats critters! Glad you re-habbed him

Sometimes a little extra TLC is all they need.

 

[cherryville]

We had a little guy with curled toes, and besides some gentle massage, we didn't do anything. While he was in the brooder, on newspaper, the feet did not improve a whole lot, but when we put him out in the coop, he was able to stretch them out on his own. He can now roost and do most everything the others do. Having a 3/4 inch layer of sand in the bottom of the coop, and a low roosting branch (just a few inches in diameter) allowed him to self-massage and straighten it out on his own. If we had provided sand earlier, he may have been able to completely restore his foot on his own.