we been hatching eggs in our incubator, out of 50 chicks we are getting 2-3 chicks with bent curled toes. is this from something in incubating or is it just something that happens? and how can we fix it.
you make them little shoes. Bandaids and little pieces of thick paper, or thin cardboard, cardstock is best. you uncurl the little toes, flatten them out on the piece of paper/cardboard then with two bandaids per foot wrap them around. Helpful hint: don't put the sticky on the chicks feet, wrap it in a X pattern.
ok on my first hatch my only chick had this--you can see it in my avatar. I used band aids but my bird was stressed out by me putting it on. Also some band aids work better than others. I needed mine to stick to the bird if they are to stay on. I was just very careful when taking the band aids off. I tried one foot at a time. I was also told to give vitamin water to them. I did get the feet to uncurl but the toes are still curled. I was told these things would help if done early but I did not see a huge difference. Here is the thread that I posted https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/661906/does-my-chick-have-a-claw-foot/20#post_9078050
I give my newly hatched save-a-chick. If it is a vitamin issue it should resolve by three days. You can also try vetwrap, or masking tape. If those didn't resolve the issue then its an issue with the bator, or vitamin issue with the breeders pen.
mine definitely could have been incubation related. I just hatched a chick from my 2nd batch and thankfully its toes are fine!! I did get eggs from a different source this time though--just in case!
Try the corrective shoes. I had a chick that couldn't walk at all. It's one foot and toes on same foot were so curled and it's leg was retracted so it scooted on it's butt. I did the thin cardboard shoes (shaped like it's toes should be) and band-aid tape on both feet. I didn't want it using only the good leg so it got two corrective shoes. With in 24 hours it was walking with just a slight limp and had lost both shoes. In 3 days it was walking normally with totally straight toes.
what kind of chicks are they? I had a Marans hatch last winter where a number of the chicks had curled and fused toes. Some say its a genetic issue, others have told me its a "cook" issue. My temps for incubation were 100.1-100.3.. I have cut them back to 99.3 - 99.5 and have had no issues since. I also moved away from the source of the particular Marans. Oh yeah, I tried corrective shoes,bandaids for curled toes and they didnt work. With that said, the chicks didnt have an issue as they got older. I still have some no and they are fine. I have seen a roo with a pegleg that is okay. It lost a leg as a result of frostbite.