HELP! First Ever Chicks, One Has Deformed Toes...Leave Or Splint?

[my_first_chicks_]

I figured that out when I googled it. I have not tried the splint, I'm waiting for my boyfriend to get home so he can hold her while I do it. Would you recommend the bandaid splint wire splint or scotch tape splint as being the most effective?

Side note:

I have a German Shorthaired Pointer and live in the woods. I want the dog and chickens to get used to eachother, and I want to get the chickens outside ASAP. Should I be worried about the dog giving them any diseases? (He just sits next to them watches them and sometimes drools in their box). We also live in a pretty tick/mosquito heavy area. Should I be worried about ticks and mosquitos?

 

[DancingHen]

I used the scotch tape splint with great success. I tried the band aid but it fell off a lot....not as sticky as tape. I have not tried the wire splint so I can't say how it works. I imagine the wire is stronger, and could be useful if the tape fails to hold her toes in position. Good luck.

 

[my_first_chicks_]

It turns out we were off on estimating the age of our chicks, they are all one week old today. (Happy Birthday to them!) We have not splinted her toes because my boyfriend thinks it is already too late since the website said it has to be done within days. He thinks at this point, it will do more harm than good. Is it too late to splint her?! I cannot find anywhere how long it takes the bones to harden. But, I was able to bend her toes straight last night without putting her in distress.

 

[sadies chicks]

I think if you can still move her toes you should be in good shape. Don't worry about hurting her too much (and you won't), they are resilient little buggars. I would try it.

I had a chick at maybe 4 weeks that got a toe caught in between two branches. It was competely bent backwards. I freaked and got her loose and she just walked away like nothing had happened. It is perfectly straight and she is 4 months now.

 

[LoreenH]

We ended up using the bandaid splint on our crooked toe chick, we used just the sticky ends. We tried pipe cleaners with tape first but she kept getting them off. She was about a week old when we tried it. With all the handling we did in the two days of trying various orthotics, she now HATES being handled.

This was our first attempt.

This was our fifth & final attempt.

She is the gold EE in the pic, she is almost 16 weeks now. Her toes are still somewhat crooked (they looked like loosely curled fists when we first got her), but they don't impair her ability to do anything (other than she sometimes steps on her own toes).

 

[my_first_chicks_]

Awww! How cute. I never knew there was so much to chickens, or that they could be so fun and adorable. She seems to lay down a lot more than the other chicks, but I am not sure if its because she's uncomfortable and in pain or because she's just more docile. I have observed he standing on that foot while stretching the other one. I am going to try placing the toes in between sterile pads and scotch taping around them to hold them and secure her. If that does not work, I shall buy some wire.

 

[LoreenH]

One main thing I will suggest is patience, lots & lots of patience when fixing her toes. It's hard to get pieces of tape around their tiny toes. That was part of the reason I ended up using the sticky ends of fabric bandaids (the plastic ones didn't stick as well); that way I could stick on the bottom of one toe, then adjust and stick the others. I then put another end piece on top making sure it was sticking on the bottom piece between the toes. I left it on 2 days. To get it off, put baby oil on a cotton swab, cotton ball, etc. and soak the piece of bandaids...top & bottom. Slowly start taking it off and it should come off very easily without worrying about skin damage. Good luck!