Deformed claw - unable to fix. Now what?

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Fridasmum

Fridasmum

Hatching
8 Years
Jan 19, 2012
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Simi Valley
Hello. We received our first batch (4) of chicks in the mail three weeks ago. One of the chicks had two deformed claws and was having a very difficult time standing and walking. I had read about this deformity before the arrival of the chicks and was prepared to take corrective action.

Soon after the chick's arrival I immidiatlly taped up the chick's claws as I had read - replacing the tape a few times to keep her special shoes clean. Thankfully 'Forest Gump's (we named her after the movie character) left claw straightened out nicely, but the right claw is slightly deformed. I placed a pic. Of Forest in my BYC album. Forest is able to run and stand okay. However, I am afraid her right claw will continue to curl as she grows.
:/
I have tried to tape, use craft pipe cleaners, coffee stirrers, and Popsicle sticks and they have not worked out very well.

Has anyone had/has a chick with such a crooked claw and did s/he function normally as an adult? Any other recommendations on what else I can do to correct Forest's jacked up foot?
 
I would cut a rounded triangle of light weight but fairly stiff paper/board, etc, like the cover of a notebook. Apply a piece of tape over the straightened toes and wrap around to the underside of the rounded triangle. It shouldn't need changing until it falls off.
 
A "chick shoe" like nurseturtle described is what I would recommend, too. It is an ideal treatment for a young chick. The only details that I'd add would be to be sure that the toes were spaced the correct (natural) amount apart on the cardboard & to stick the tape pretty tightly to the cardboard between each toe so it keeps each toe securely where it belongs. I'm guessing you (nurseturtle) meant all that as part of the design, anyway.
smile.png


Forest is old enough that you will need to modify the design to make it stronger.

I would use white cloth-type sports tape for your splint/shoe. The stickiness of other kinds of tape would probably be too weak or too strong.

Before attaching the "shoe", wrap each toe individually to create a fairly stiff, straight cast. (You probably would want to also tape the normal toe to help keep it balanced with the two taped crooked toes, but you could experiment leaving it off & see if it starts to get twisted.) You might need to wrap 2 or 3 layers around to get enough strength. I would not wrap TOO tight, as that could cause a circulation problem or other trouble. Cut little V-shaped slits near the top end of each cast, to create notches the webbing between the toes can fit in, so the webbing isn't getting rubbed by the tape.

*Note: Tape is shown in yellow, but would actually be white.

For the shoe's "sole," you may need to use stiff plastic (like from the lid of a cottage cheese container) or a double layer of the thin cereal-box cardboard to keep Forest from being able to bend the shoe's "sole".

Because Forest's feet are pretty strong by now, I'd modify the shape of the sole. Rather than a triangle, I would cut the shape to be a little bigger than the outline of how Forest's footprint should be. As in—3 toes connected by a footpad.


Make the length of each toe outline on the sole a tiny bit shorter than the end of the toenail, so the tip of the chick's toenail can curl naturally over the end of the shoe edge a little. (But if it doesn't end up exactly that length, don't sweat it too much.)

Then position Forest's foot on the sole & tape each actual toe to each cardboard toe shape by wrapping a complete wrap or 2 of sports tape around both of them to hold them together.
You might also wrap some tape from the center of her foot over her sole if you think it's needed to keep it attached more securely.

*Note: Though in illustration I showed just one toe wrapped, the other toes should also have casts & be wrapped.

If it is very hard to stretch out her toes straight, don't force them too much. Just pull them a little straighter every couple days until they can be straightened more easily.

If a toe can be stretched out easily, you can fully extend it for taping, & then also rotate it a little if it would help treatment. You can tape to the cardboard such that the toe is rolled a little bit to one side or the other. Just pull the tape a little more tightly one way before pressing the tape to the cardboard. Thus you can pull a crooked toe slightly opposite of its incorrect curl direction to provide extra resistance when Forest strains to curl her toe the wrong way again.

I would have Forest wear the shoe probably 7-14 days. Watch for any tape getting loose or toes getting moved out of place & retape problem areas. Every 3 or 4 days, you should remove some or all of the shoe & cast, and loosen and make bigger as needed for her growing size. See "Special Note on Removing Tape from Legs, Feet & Toes" on www.PoultryPedia.com to avoid damaging her toes when doing this.

It would likely also help to do physical therapy with her after you put on the shoe, so she practices moving her legs in a correct manner where her one leg isn't twisting to accommodate the twisted toes.

Hopefully the toe problems can be helped by this treatment.

But if the crookedness of the toes is partly due to problems higher up her legs, or her brain has become too accustomed to incorrect movement patterns, improvements from this treatment may not last. I've tried this exact treatment on only 1 chick & this was the case with her problems.

However, I have had somewhat similar treatments work on other birds.

Whatever you decide to do, please let us know how things go with her!
 
Last edited:
SpeckledHills said:
A "chick shoe" like nurseturtle described is what I would recommend, too. It is an ideal treatment for a young chick. The only details that I'd add would be to be sure that the toes were spaced the correct (natural) amount apart on the cardboard & to stick the tape pretty tightly to the cardboard between each toe so it keeps each toe securely where it belongs. I'm guessing you (nurseturtle) meant all that as part of the design, anyway.
smile.png


Forest is old enough that you will need to modify the design to make it stronger.

I would use white cloth-type sports tape for your splint/shoe. The stickiness of other kinds of tape would probably be too weak or too strong.

Before attaching the "shoe", wrap each toe individually to create a fairly stiff, straight cast. (You probably would want to also tape the normal toe to help keep it balanced with the two taped crooked toes, but you could experiment leaving it off & see if it starts to get twisted.) You might need to wrap 2 or 3 layers around to get enough strength. I would not wrap TOO tight, as that could cause a circulation problem or other trouble. Cut little V-shaped slits near the top end of each cast, to create notches the webbing between the toes can fit in, so the webbing isn't getting rubbed by the tape.

*Note: Tape is shown in yellow, but would actually be white.

For the shoe's "sole," you may need to use stiff plastic (like from the lid of a cottage cheese container) or a double layer of the thin cereal-box cardboard to keep Forest from being able to bend the shoe's "sole".

Because Forest's feet are pretty strong by now, I'd modify the shape of the sole. Rather than a triangle, I would cut the shape to be a little bigger than the outline of how Forest's footprint should be. As in—3 toes connected by a footpad.


Make the length of each toe outline on the sole a tiny bit shorter than the end of the toenail, so the tip of the chick's toenail can curl naturally over the end of the shoe edge a little. (But if it doesn't end up exactly that length, don't sweat it too much.)

Then position Forest's foot on the sole & tape each actual toe to each cardboard toe shape by wrapping a complete wrap or 2 of sports tape around both of them to hold them together.
You might also wrap some tape from the center of her foot over her sole if you think it's needed to keep it attached more securely.

*Note: Though in illustration I showed just one toe wrapped, the other toes should also have casts & be wrapped.

If it is very hard to stretch out her toes straight, don't force them too much. Just pull them a little straighter every couple days until they can be straightened more easily.

If a toe can be stretched out easily, you can fully extend it for taping, & then also rotate it a little if it would help treatment. You can tape to the cardboard such that the toe is rolled a little bit to one side or the other. Just pull the tape a little more tightly one way before pressing the tape to the cardboard. Thus you can pull a crooked toe slightly opposite of its incorrect curl direction to provide extra resistance when Forest strains to curl her toe the wrong way again.

I would have Forest wear the shoe probably 7-14 days. Watch for any tape getting loose or toes getting moved out of place & retape problem areas. Every 3 or 4 days, you should remove some or all of the shoe & cast, and loosen and make bigger as needed for her growing size. See "Special Note on Removing Tape from Legs, Feet & Toes" on www.PoultryPedia.com to avoid damaging her toes when doing this.

It would likely also help to do physical therapy with her after you put on the shoe, so she practices moving her legs in a correct manner where her one leg isn't twisting to accommodate the twisted toes.

Hopefully the toe problems can be helped by this treatment.

But if the crookedness of the toes is partly due to problems higher up her legs, or her brain has become too accustomed to incorrect movement patterns, improvements from this treatment may not last. I've tried this exact treatment on only 1 chick & this was the case with her problems.

However, I have had somewhat similar treatments work on other birds.

Whatever you decide to do, please let us know how things go with her!
Click to expand...

What is the oldest chicken you have worked with?

You seem so knowledgeable about this. I have taken in a chicken with really badly curled feet. I was told animal attack as chick, but I don't think so. She is approx 4 years old and I am not sure if I should try to help her feet or just let her be?

Any thoughts? Here are some pics.
image.jpeg
image.jpeg
image.jpeg
image.jpeg
image.jpeg


She can do most chicken things.
 
At 4 years old it's unlikely that they can be corrected. If she's getting along fine I would just leave her be, she seems to have adapted to her situation. Just keep nails trimmed since they will not wear down normally on their own, and examine often for injury or bumble foot signs.
 
I don't have silkies, but I understand they can have a bit different requirements, like not liking ramps. Whatever you end up getting or building, I would just take her feet into consideration. Make roosts low and wide, make sure the area is as safe for her and her feet as possible. I've had some pretty wonky toes on a few birds and they've adapted and done fine.
 
I have one lady with a crooked toe who does fine. When I saw this girls feet :eek: seriously I cried! I was told a raccoon got her feet at the breeders and she was taken in by a nice couple. But she could have been helped!

She does ok in the day pen with the ducks so I was thinking either a wood hip or dirt ramp into a low coop that would be just high enough to keep rain water out.
 
Would this information apply to a day old keet, I knewe we were in for trouble when I saw the position of her air cell on the side. She hatched out with slight help and appears to get around in the broader, darn autocorrect, brooder, but if I'm going to have to step in I know I need to do it soon. She is walking on the outsides of her feet.I told my husband when she hatched that her feet were curling towards themselves but he thought it would straighten out as she warmed up and acclimated to life outside the shell. Big surprise I was right he was wrong. I will pick up riboflavin from the feed store as well as the packets of probiotic. I have on hand now the poultry cell wHicham got my flock through upper respiratory infection this summer. Beyond that this is my first problem of this type in 8 years.
 
Poultry Cell has riboflavin. You may also use 1/4 to 1/2 of a vitamin B Complex tablet crushed into her food daily. The only one I know that doesn’t have riboflavin is NutriDrench. I would try the chick shoes as well.
 

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