The Poultry Keeper

zorbachick · Joined: 14 May 2008 Posts: 11 Location: Greece

Hello every body. We currently live in the Greek Islands and have just started to keep chickens. One of our new 1 week old chicks has just come in from the garden ( outside because of lovely weather) and appears to have damaged its leg with the claw/foot curling up. Leg seems very movable and does not seem in pain. Is this the bent toe syndrome we read about or is there something more sinister here?
It seems almost impossible for it to stand on it.
Please help Zorba chick.

mojo · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 9:05 pm Post subject:

a way to help your chick......spread a elastoplast sticky side up on a table place the toes in correct postion on plast fold ends over and apply another across top trim excess plaster...........it should look like a ducks web foot.....vaseline leg .....this is so much easyer if there are two grownups............after 2 days remove and replace do this for three times hopefully it will heal into shape

zorbachick · Joined: 14 May 2008 Posts: 11 Location: Greece

Many thanks. We will try that tomorrow.
Can you tell us what it is. We had one chick previously and it had a leg that was set completely in the wrong position and was restricted when we tried to put it in the correct position. We had to put it out of its misery but think we could have done something had we found this forum?

Kitsune · Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 1406 Location: Manchester

I had to deal with a chick that had dislocated it's hock joint which is what I think was the case with the other chick you're talking about - the one you had to cull, I don't think there was anything that could be done.

As for this first one, is there any way you can post pictures of it? It seems strange if it was fine going out that it would suddenly get curled toes during the period it was outside...

zorbachick · Joined: 14 May 2008 Posts: 11 Location: Greece

Thanks for your help can we email these pictures to you or do we put them on the forum.
Thanks again

Twigs · Joined: 10 Sep 2007 Posts: 99

Easier still is to make a little oval shape from lightweight card, position foot on top, spread toes out in correct position and secure with surgical tape as this is not as sticky as elastoplast and makes it very easy to remove!

Keep on for 3 days, if fine, then good, if not re-do, I have recently done this with a chick, although not perfect it is much improved.

This is best done immediately the chick has hatch as later than that and the bones will have hardened into that position and will be impossible to reset and you will hurt the chick by trying to do so.

I would say that curly/bent toes in a naturally brooded chick are a genetic/hereditry problem and those hens are best not bred from.

Kitsune · Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 1406 Location: Manchester

if you can post them on the forum it will be best, you can get more views on the problem then.

zorbachick · Joined: 14 May 2008 Posts: 11 Location: Greece

Thank you all very much we are trying now to sort this chick out. I am also sure that we may have a problem with this hen so take your advices on this. We will try to post pictures later today. Hot here today everybody, hope all is ok in the rest of Europe.
zorba chick

EGirl · Joined: 01 Nov 2007 Posts: 1277 Location: Dublin, Ireland

Welcome zorbachick, hope you get your chick's foot sorted. I am very jealous of you on your Greek Island!!! Wink

zorbachick · Joined: 14 May 2008 Posts: 11 Location: Greece

Hi thanks to all who helped us with our dodgy leg. The ideas all worked and chick is now doing very very well. Should be able to remove cement shoe in about three days.
Terrible weather here today only 28 degrees today.
Hi to everybody.
zorbachick