How to Treat Crooked Toes in Chicks
by Alexa Lehr | The Pioneer Chicks | May 16, 2023
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So, the chicks have hatched and are now running around the brooder like wild things… all except one, who seems to hop, skip, and jump instead of walking normally. Upon closer inspection, you realize its toes are curled in awkward positions! Don’t panic. This condition, know as crooked toes, is generally not fatal for a chick as long as the chick can still move around to get food, water, and heat. However, you may choose to fix the condition for the health and comfort of the chick. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about crooked toes in the homestead brood!
What is Crooked Toes?
Crooked toes is a condition that causes a chick’s toes to curl to the side rather than point straight out. The crookedness may be evident in all the toes on one foot or only in a few toes. The condition can affect both feet of a chick or only be present in one foot.
Crooked toes is a condition that only affects young chicks. It is usually present almost directly from hatch and the condition rarely develops after the chicks are a week old. An adult chicken can have crooked toes if the condition was not fixed when the chicken was young.
While crooked toes does not generally affect how well a chick can stand, they can inhibit how well a chick walks or is able to get around the brooder. Chicks with crooked toes often develop a slightly limping gait or a hopping gait when they try to move quickly. The condition is usually not painful for the chick, but it can be uncomfortable or awkward.
Chicks can survive with crooked toes. However, if the crooked toes inhibits a chick from being able to get proper food, water, and heat the chick will suffer. Crooked toes will be fatal if the chick cannot access food, water, heat. You should also make sure that chicks with crooked toes are not getting bullied or pecked on by other chicks.
Crooked Toes vs Curled Toe Paralysis
Another condition that sometimes gets confused with crooked toes is curled toe paralysis. Curled toe paralysis is a metabolic condition that causes a chick’s toes to curl under the foot in a fist like fashion. Curled toe paralysis is caused by a vitamin B2 (riboflavin) deficiency. Vitamin B2 is needed for proper nerve function. A deficiency of vitamin B2 can lead to degeneration of the sciatic nerve which in turn causes the chick’s toes to curl.
Chicks with curled toe paralysis won’t be able to stand and walk properly since their toes won’t spread out and support them. They often resort to ‘walking’ on their hocks. In most cases, chicks with curled toe paralysis cannot move around adequately and the condition becomes fatal when the chick can’t access food, water, or heat.
Here are some ways to distinguish between curled toe paralysis and crooked toes:
- toe position– Curled toe paralysis causes the toes to curl under the foot. Crooked toes causes the toes to just bend to the side.
- age– Curled toe paralysis usually develops about 2 weeks after a chick hatches due to a vitamin B2 deficiency. Crooked toes is generally apparent right from hatch.
In same cases, chicks may hatch with curled toe paralysis, which is a result from a poor breeder diet being fed to the parent birds. Chicks who hatch with clubbed down and curled toe paralysis are a sure indicator of a vitamin B2 deficiency in the breeder diet.
Causes of Crooked Toes in Chicks
Chicks generally hatch with crooked toes since the condition is usually caused by improper incubating or hatching conditions. Here are some causes of crooked toes in newly hatched chicks:
- temperature too high early on in incubation
- temperature too low throughout incubation or during the hatch
- excessive activity directly after hatching
While not common, crooked toes can develop in newly hatched chicks shortly after they hatch. Crooked toes that develop after a chick hatches are caused by environmental factors such as overcrowding in the brooder or too smooth of a brooder floor.
Other factors that can lead to crooked toes in newly hatched chicks include a nutritional deficiency in the breeder diet or the chick’s diet, injury to the foot or leg, or genetics. Crooked toes can be a hereditary condition, so avoid keeping birds with crooked toes in breeding programs.
Sometimes chicks will appear like they have crooked toes directly after they hatch but the condition then corrects itself within 24 hours as the chick fluffs out and moves around. Chicks are in a curled, cramped condition when they are in the egg. After they hatch, they will stumble around as they gain strength and their legs and toes uncurl and straighten into the normal positions. Don’t panic if it seems all your chicks are hatching with curled or crooked toes! Give the condition 24 hours to correct itself before deciding to treat the crooked toes.
How to Treat Crooked Toes in Chicks
In most cases, crooked toes do not inhibit a chick from moving around properly. However, if a chick has severe crooked toes it may have difficulty walking or moving quickly. You can treat crooked toes if the condition is addressed while the chick is still young and its muscles are still developing and growing.
I don’t advise treating crooked toes after a chick is one week old. By that age, it may be uncomfortable or even painful for the toes to be bent back into the proper position. The older a chick is when crooked toes are addressed, the longer and harder it will be to fix the condition.
For young chicks, you can create a brace or ‘sandal’ that will position the toes in the proper way so that as the chick grows, its toes begin to develop normally. Here is how to make a toe brace for a young chick:
How to Make a Brace for Crooked Toes:
- Stand a chick with normal toes on a piece of thin cardboard (tissue box or cereal box cardboard is usually sufficient) and trace around its foot and toes. Cut out the outline you traced from the cardboard.
- Cut a skinny, sturdy splint material to the length of the chick’s toe in a normal, straight position. Coffee stirrers, pipe cleaners, flat toothpicks, or thin wire are some splint options. You will need to cut a splint for each curled toe.
- Secure the splints to each toe using thin pieces of elastic Vetwrap. Secure the cardboard brace to the bottom of the chick’s foot using more Vetwrap and tape if necessary.
When creating a brace for crooked toe chicks, the main thing to keep in mind is not securing the brace or splints too tightly to the chick’s toes or leg. You don’t want to cut off circulation to the toes or leg. You also want to make sure the materials you use for the brace are safe and comfortable for the chick. Vetwrap is flexible, stretchy, soft, and won’t cut into a chick’s skin or stick to the chick’s down feathers.
Caring for Crooked Toe Chicks
Crooked toe braces will need to be replaced on a regular basis. Chicks grow fast, which is helpful for correcting the crooked toes condition quickly, but that also means constant brace upgrades. Try to replace the brace every day or every other day and check to see if the toes are growing into the proper position.
You want to make sure the chick learns how to walk and move around while wearing its toe brace. Chicks adapt quickly and will usually have no problem ignoring the brace on their toes. Make sure other chicks don’t bully the chick with the toe brace(s).
Once the toes are pointed straight like normal, the brace is no longer needed. This can take as short as 24 hours (in very young chicks) or a few days (in older chicks).
How to Prevent Crooked Toes
In order to prevent crooked toes from becoming an issue in your brood, you need to address the causes of crooked toes. Proper incubation and hatching conditions are essential for preventing crooked toe hatchlings. You will also want to practice good brooder management and make sure your chicks are being fed a balanced, nutritious diet.
Here are some ways to prevent crooked toes in chicks:
- high incubation temps– prevent temperature spikes from direct sunlight or warm ambient temperatures
- low incubation or hatch temps– prevent temperature dips from drafts or cool ambient temperatures
- minimize movement– encourage hatchlings to move around less in the incubator by keeping the incubator in a dark location during hatch time
- brooder space– make sure you supply adequate brooder space for the number of chicks you are raising (upgrade the brooder as they grow!)
- brooder litter– use a non-slip brooder floor litter such as textured paper towel or large flake wood shavings
If you collect eggs from your homestead flock to hatch, make sure you are feeding your breeding flock a nutrient-dense diet. Breeder feed is the ideal diet for breeding flocks, but that kind of feed can be hard to find in local feed stores or even online. A sufficient alternative would be to feed your flock a high quality layer feed and use an additional vitamin and mineral supplement in addition to the feed.
While crooked toes is usually not a fatal condition for chicks, it is still important to know how to recognize and address crooked toes in the homestead brood if necessary. Most chicks with crooked toes can survive and thrive without the condition being treated. However, you may choose to fix the condition for safety and health of the chick. You can prevent crooked toe problems by ensuring there are no temperature fluctuations during incubation and by practicing good brooder management. Don’t use any crooked toes birds in your breeding program to prevent the condition from being hereditary. Here’s to raising a healthy and happy homestead brood!
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