How to vetwrap a very small chicken's feet with curled toes?

[citychicks99]

My smallest hen weighs less than 3 pounds and has curled toes and I'm seeing early stages of Bumblefoot. She has a cut on one of her toes that I'll need to soak and wrap to prevent it from getting worse. She's so small though and she already has a limp because of her curled toes. The other day I tried wrapping 1" vetwrap on her and it seemed too big. So I cut it in half to .5" but when I checked it later poop got in. It also made her struggle to walk even more. Wondering if there are any alternatives? Maybe a hydrocolloid dressing and chicken booties?

 

[Debbie292d]

Has she always had curled toes or this just started because she got a cut?

It might be easier to put her in a chick chair, at least until the cut heals. If you scroll through this thread, you'll see examples for adult chickens. I like the clothes basket one.

If she's had curled toes for her whole life, I doubt you can fix them now, but I'd put her in a chick chair, then cut a piece of hard plastic the shape of her foot with the toes. Then plant her foot on it and tape it to it. We have double-sided tape that makes those temporary chick shoes work better.

B-complex will also help. I'd give her 1/2 of one of the human pills, and additionally put Poultry Cell in their water. If you've got some triple antibiotic ointment, w/o painkiller, I'd put that on her cut.

 

[ChickyCh00k]

I refer to this article on wrapping chicken feet :

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-to-correctly-wrap-a-chickens-foot.77028/

The method in the article doesn't address curled toes. I would suggest doing the method in the article for the bumblefoot (should work on any size foot). Then, wrap each toe separately with the vet wrap (cut in half) all the way to the base of the toenail and go over the vet wrap with surgical tape on each toe to keep it in place (but not too tight).

I have a Bielefelder with curled toes (so much bigger foot), and wrapping each toe individually works well to keep her walking, roosting, jumping up/down while keeping her toes straight.

Edit: I took a screen grab from the article and drew (tried to draw) how I wrap my Bielefelder's toes separately. For the curled toes, I do not wrap the ankle or the pad of her foot (because she doesn't have bumblefoot). In your case, I would do both.

 

[Eggcessive]

How old is she? How long has she had curled under toes? Does she also sit or walk on her hocks? Will her toes flatten when you position them normally? Usually curled toes in chicks are taped flat as in this article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...s-with-tape-picture-tutorial-and-video.75247/
Curled under toes and sitting on hocks is a sign of riboflavin (B2) deficiency. If treated early with some extra riboflavin or B complex, it can be reversed. I would use 1/4 tablet daily, crushed into a treat of egg. If it goes on, it can become permanent. Mareks disease sometimes can cause curled leg paralysis.

 

[citychicks99]

Has she always had curled toes or this just started because she got a cut?

It might be easier to put her in a chick chair, at least until the cut heals. If you scroll through this thread, you'll see examples for adult chickens. I like the clothes basket one.

If she's had curled toes for her whole life, I doubt you can fix them now, but I'd put her in a chick chair, then cut a piece of hard plastic the shape of her foot with the toes. Then plant her foot on it and tape it to it. We have double-sided tape that makes those temporary chick shoes work better.

B-complex will also help. I'd give her 1/2 of one of the human pills, and additionally put Poultry Cell in their water. If you've got some triple antibiotic ointment, w/o painkiller, I'd put that on her cut.

Cute pics from that thread. I got her when she was a year old and it was already like that. I don't think I'd be able to fix it. Just trying to prevent Bumblefoot from getting worse. I'll start putting Poultry Cell in their water. I have the Costco brand super b-complex with electrolytes. That might be too strong for her. I'll get the regular kind.

 

[citychicks99]

How old is she? How long has she had curled under toes? Does she also sit or walk on her hocks? Will her toes flatten when you position them normally? Usually curled toes in chicks are taped flat as in this article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...s-with-tape-picture-tutorial-and-video.75247/
Curled under toes and sitting on hocks is a sign of riboflavin (B2) deficiency. If treated early with some extra riboflavin or B complex, it can be reversed. I would use 1/4 tablet daily, crushed into a treat of egg. If it goes on, it can become permanent. Mareks disease sometimes can cause curled leg paralysis.

She's currently 4 years old. I got her when she was 1 and her feet were already like that. She does sit but doesn't walk on her hocks. She just stumbles about clumsily and is a bit slow but can still move around. It's already permanent. Would b-complex do anything at this point? I'll still give them poultry cell to help their immune system with bumblefoot.

 

[Eggcessive]

No, I don’t think that the B complex would correct the curled under toes now. It has to be treated early, or it becomes permanent. It won’t hurt her if you want to still try it.

 

[citychicks99]

No, I don’t think that the B complex would correct the curled under toes now. It has to be treated early, or it becomes permanent. It won’t hurt her if you want to still try it.

Ahh ok, if it won't do much then I'd rather not add more stress than needed.