Injured Toes

[sg1junkie]

Joined: 5/2015Post: 1online

I have a peachick that was hatched on May 1st 2015 along with a sibling. At 7 days old I saw the mother picking at the toes of one of them. I thought she was trying to get it to come under her wing. A few days later I noticed one limping. I gathered up the chicks and found that one had a toe completely amputated. It was not bleeding but very swollen. The mother had started pecking on the chicks other toes. Upon looking at the other chick I found it had several blackened toes. I took the chicks away and brought them into the house and put them in a small plastic container I use for hatchling finches that are abandoned. They were on a heating pad with a thermometer. I kept the temp at 90°. I gently cleaned the amputated toe and put polysporin on. A few days later the chick died. The remaining chick is eating and drinking. Moving around well but has several blackened toes. I have him on chicken starter feed, medicated,which he ignores. He loves scrambled eggs that are microwaved then broken up into small pieces. I used to feed him 15 grain bread but i stopped that because I thought he need better nutrition. He has been eating and growing. Today at 29 days old he started having trouble standing. He flaps around trying to get his balance then just sits. His appetite is still good. I am thinking he has finally got big enough that his compromised toes are not able to support his weight. I don't know if he needs more exercise, change of diet (still eating just eggs) or what I can do to help him. Does he need a low perc

 

[Peafowlssssssss]

The last time i had a chick that can't stand, but acting healthy, I discovered its a deficiency of Vitamins A and D, after giving him vitamins in the water he got back to normal the next day.

Don't know if its the same here.

 

[DylansMom]

Joined: 5/2015Post: 1online

I have a peachick that was hatched on May 1st 2015 along with a sibling. At 7 days old I saw the mother picking at the toes of one of them. I thought she was trying to get it to come under her wing. A few days later I noticed one limping. I gathered up the chicks and found that one had a toe completely amputated. It was not bleeding but very swollen. The mother had started pecking on the chicks other toes. Upon looking at the other chick I found it had several blackened toes. I took the chicks away and brought them into the house and put them in a small plastic container I use for hatchling finches that are abandoned. They were on a heating pad with a thermometer. I kept the temp at 90°. I gently cleaned the amputated toe and put polysporin on. A few days later the chick died. The remaining chick is eating and drinking. Moving around well but has several blackened toes. I have him on chicken starter feed, medicated,which he ignores. He loves scrambled eggs that are microwaved then broken up into small pieces. I used to feed him 15 grain bread but i stopped that because I thought he need better nutrition. He has been eating and growing. Today at 29 days old he started having trouble standing. He flaps around trying to get his balance then just sits. His appetite is still good. I am thinking he has finally got big enough that his compromised toes are not able to support his weight. I don't know if he needs more exercise, change of diet (still eating just eggs) or what I can do to help him. Does he need a low perc

These toes look dead to me, at least the blackened parts do. This is what we see when toes get frost bitten or burned somehow. Is there any way either of these things could have happened to the feet. Where are you located? When was your last frost/freeze and do you use any heat tape on any roosts/perches? If he/she loses what is blackened it could still possibly get around, I've seen an adult missing more, and he does fine. You need to get him off the egg and onto chick starter, medicated with amprolium, start by mixing the starter into the egg before you cook it. IMO a diet of nothing but egg is way too much protein, and that can cause leg problems, his back toes are crooked as well, but it's too late for shoes now. More exercise would not hurt, and I would expect those black toes will fall off if he starts running around on them. You might want to check out some threads on frostbitten toes.

 

[KsKingBee]

I don't think that egg alone would be a healthy diet. We start our chicks out on hard boiled egg and crumbles 50/50,through a blender, and decrease the amount of egg by week three they don't get anymore. It is a great way to get them to hand feed.

 

[sg1junkie]

I live in Colorado on the plains. We did have a snowfall after he was hatched but the temp got to barely freezing one time and his mother was keeping him under her wings. I did witness her pecking at one of the chicks feet so roughly that she flipped it into the air. That's when I removed the chicks. So I now have removed the eggs but I don't think he will eat the medicated starter feed. Should he still have a heated enclosure? He is on a heating pad but his feet were black when I brought him into the house. I keep the room he is in at 70-75°. I'm turning the heating pad off and adding Daily Essentials 2 vitamins to his water. Setting the room temp to 75. I made a mixture of egg and starter mix but I think it was too much starter mix because he flapped\stumbled over to the plate and ate just one piece of egg that was yellow (less starter mix in it). If he doesn't see the yellow egg he won't eat it. Any more suggestions?
I feel he is on a downward spiral. His efforts to get to the food and water are so wild that he scatters the food all over and flaps in his water.

 

[MinxFox]

If you wet the medicated chick starter the peachicks like eating it more. You get it damp and then peck at it with your fingers to get them to eat.

Also you might want to put 2 marbles in the peachick's water to make sure that they drink. They peck at the marbles because they are curious about them and then they learn to drink that way.

Now that you are raising them you have to pretend to be the peahen by pecking at the food with your fingers and getting them interested in eating. It can take some time but they should take to the starter especially if it is wet. My peachicks would always prefer the starter to be wet and I even tested it wet versus dry and they always eat more of the wet than the dry.

It does spoil sooner when wet so don't put a whole lot out at a time to prevent wasting some.

What could have happened is the peahen only has so much room for all of her peachicks. This peachick with the hurt toes could have been an unlucky one that was not able to get right up to the peahen's body and then the chick got frost bite.

I don't know if making peachick shoes for this peachick would help it get around better but you could try that if it is really having trouble moving around.

 

[sg1junkie]

I had to put the peachick down as it was the achellies tendon that slipped and now the femurs are rotating. He was also beating himself black and blue from flapping around even after I put him in a padded bowl. Vet said it is part genetics too and suspects that is why the mother was pecking the feet of the chicks.

Thank you everybody for your advice and time. Wish me better luck with my India Blue Peahen that is sitting on egg\eggs.