[Tessh]

Hi, one of my chicks has got curly toe and I was reading on another website that she should be put down. Is this right?
She can walk ok, but she not very good at scratching up the dirt but since most of the food comes from a feeder (or my hand ) I cant see to much of a problem.
Any advice would be useful, I don't want her to suffer but I don't want to put her down if there is no real reason.
By the way what causes it and why was only one chick in the brood affected.
Thanks Tess

[Aunt Sally]

Were they brooded in a incubator Tess  :?:

[Tessh]

Yes, was that what caused the problem

[muntjac]

tessh can i suggest that you dont bother with that siteb agaian . curly toe is nothing to worry about if you dont listen to prats ....
 it can be caused by not enough riboflavin in the diet ,so correct this and seek a vets help or feed suppliers for added ribo .. and in older birds 99 times out of a hundred its cos the birds cant roost or havent got enough roosting perches of the right diameter or shape .birds dont roost on square wood .the other 1 percent is genetic . so who ever told ya to kil it in my opinion is an ass who probably falls into the weekend expert catagory :x  :x  :x  :x  :x

 oh and another thing .. the bird may have had an injury when young that would show the same symptoms  :roll:

[Aunt Sally]

Which leg condition is it that happens to incubator hatched chicks Munty  :?:

[muntjac]

i think you means squats or something similar .as you know i dont mess with them .so really cant say to be honest .but most of them are just some people treating them as a dam fashion statement :x

[Aunt Sally]

i think you means squats or something similar .as you know i dont mess with them .so really cant say to be honest .but most of them are just some people treating them as a dam fashion statement :x

Sorry Munty - didn't understand a word of that post  :oops:

[muntjac]

ok do you mean splay leg? its as a result of being in the incubator to long .. the fashion statment bits means some folks will kill a brid just because it has a defect like curly toe etc  

[Aunt Sally]

Thanks Munty - All is now clear  

[Bodger]

Curly toes or bent toes come about through two or three basic reasons.

The wrong temperature in the incubator causes bent toes.

It can be a genetic problem.

Or it can possibly caused by a poor diet or lighting when they are young. I'm never too sure about this last one though.

If the bird has a reasonable standard of life, there's absolutely no reason why you should cull it.

[muntjac]

Curly toes or bent toes come about through two or three basic reasons.

The wrong temperature in the incubator causes bent toes.

It can be a genetic problem.

Or it can possibly caused by a poor diet or lighting when they are young. I'm never too sure about this last one though.

If the bird has a reasonable standard of life, there's absolutely no reason why you should cull it.

 ear ear  

[agapanthus]

Please don't dispose of it.....

[mambo]

Hi Tessh,

How old is your chick? My rooster, Scratchy, was incubator hatched and all the toes on one foot were curled under

I made a 'shoe' out of 2.5cm masking tape. You cut two pieces about 1.5 times the width of the chicks foot.  Place one piece on level surface sticky side upwards and carefully holding the chick  (this is a two person job) you need to spread the foot and stick it to the masking tape uncurling the toes and ensuring there is a gap between each. Make sure that the claws are free of the tape. Next, take the second piece of tape and stick it over the top of the foot so it is inline with the first, making sure that you define each toe as you stick the two pieces together. If necessary carefully trim around the shoe with nail scissors. You will need to replace the shoe at least twice a day, but try to maintain this process for at least 5 days.

Scratchy  now has a completely flat foot with only one bent toe. I got this advice from an american web site and I believe this works on chicks up to 10 days old. It certainly worked for us!
 
Best wishes Mambo

[Tessh]

Mambo that's brilliant I wish I'd thought of trying something like that but it never occured to me (something to remember for the future though). she's too old now for that now but the kids love her to pieces, she's growing well and seems happy so she'll hopefully live a long and pampered life.

Thanks for the advice.

[alan42]

curly toe is nothing to worry about if you dont listen to prats ....
yes it is something to worry about from an icubator it means as already mentioned a fault in humidity or temperature nothing at all to do with a lack of anything else as the chick is born with it it usualy not always but usualy leads to the chick dying. your oppinion is not law it is just that an opinion not born out of sientific proof but an opinion formed by yourself to call everybody who states something diffrent a prat or weekend expert is in my opinion wrong. I accknowledge that you as self appointed expert in all things contribut a lot to this site but when you state that only you can be right and to follow your advice and not to go to other sites just frightens other people away from giving advice and so you end up being the only one giving advice.
ps i hope the bird does well and in your case i am wrong.
alan