Not quite an emergancy, some advice would be great.

[vickichicki]

This chick is almost three weeks old. Did not have a foot issue before. However... Giving them a good looking over this morning I noticed all his toes are curling inwards. He defiantly did not have this issue since we got him. Although having several of the same breed in one brooder means I could have just not grabbed him while inspecting, thinking I had checked them all. However as a day old chick, he never had toe issues.

He is in a flat bottomed brooder. There is not overcrowding going on. He eats and drinks. As you can see from the photos he has the ability to stand. Moves around the brooder without issue.

Any suggestions on the cause and a possible fix?




Thanking you all for taking the time to have a look.

 

[chippysmom327]

Hm. What type of bedding are you using?

 

[vickichicki]

I was actually using newspaper with paper towels on top. Just put shavings in this saturday. Nothing on the floor I that would be constrictive or cause hazards (like hardware cloth)

 

[chippysmom327]

I think I read somewhere if you use just newspaper or something totally flat they had a risk of developing crooked toes. Shavings are the best in my opinion, so it's good you bought them .

 

[vickichicki]

Ah, well the paper towels were more the connivance of rolling it up and throwing it away. Also did not want the chicks deciding that the shavings were a whole lot tastier than food.
Wonder if the shavings will actually help with it. I can see the possibility of a flat surface being an issue. Not much to scratch on either. Think they will work themselves out? Or maybe they require toe splints.

 

[chippysmom327]

The way they are I'm thinking you should correct them now. If it doesn't correct in a few days I would just correct them myself. It's better to do it now then have him grow up and have problems with it.

 

[vickichicki]

Not sure exactly how to make a full foot splint for both feet. Can not wrap them together as none of them are straight. Could find a way to attach them to a board and wrap them I guess.

 

[casportpony]

Not sure exactly how to make a full foot splint for both feet. Can not wrap them together as none of them are straight. Could find a way to attach them to a board and wrap them I guess.

You could try taping them top and bottom with a stiff, sticky tape, then cut the excess off.

 

[vickichicki]

Ok, here is a picture of what I did to my poor chick this morning,






I used a small syringe (ones for babies medicine) cut them down, attached a cut ice lolly stick to tape to the tops. The syringe tubes fit perfectly over the toes and did some creative tapping with the foot to the foot to keep them straight. I only had enough room to fit two splints on each foot. Hoping the big toe and the outside toes straighten, then I can fix the inside toes. Going to give him a few days like this and take them off to see how it is looking. I can tell you he is able to move around, trying to catch him to make sure they were still on was rather fun.

Guess I will post an update in a few days and let you know if I was successful.

Thanks for your help guys.