How to correct duck foot in day old chick

[Lillith37]

Hello,

I have a day day old chick who was born with crooked toes and sits on its haunches. I have made progress correctly the feet with sandals, but I have realised the chick has “duck foot” where the back toe points forwards.

Does anyone have any advice on how to tape the toes or make a sandal that will position the back toe correctly?

I’m thinking roughly an L shaped folded piece of cardboard wrapped in vetwrap with a hole for the back toe, and secure the foot/toes in place with more vetwrap.

I would love some further guidance or ideas if anyone has dealt with this before?

 

[picklestheduck]

I’ve never dealt with this before, so unfortunately I don’t have any insight on this, but wishing you the best of luck! And my post will bump this up in the new threads again.

 

[coach723]

Pictures of your chicks feet would help. For a small chick a shoe type splint would probably be best. You can make one out of a plastic lid from a food container, cut to size and shape, that goes on the bottom of the foot. And then tape the toes into the correct position. If the chick is still very small then sometimes just layers of co wrap or vet wrap can work, to hold things in place. The back toe may have to be repositioned gradually over time, depending on how crooked it is. Make sure you don't use a very sticky tape, or you could injure the toes further getting it off. Co wrap or vet wrap is best for this. Bandaids can work.

 

[Lillith37]

Thanks guys. @coach723 I had initially made those sorts of flat sandals because the chick’s whole feet and toes were curled in and it was hobbling around on the outside of its ankles. It worked and fixed the curly problem in less than two days. But the chick would still sit back on its hocks and that’s when I realised the back toe was sliding forward and it had no brace to stand properly. My sandal design worked well to retrain the foot and front toes but somehow didn’t support/realign the back toe effectively.

I wanted to address it ASAP and I think I found a decent solution. I cut the thinnest piece of vetwrap that I could and wrapped it around the back toe, then around the foot and between each toes. As soon as I put the chick down it could stand properly. I checked progress yesterday afternoon and it was working to retrain the toe, but the chick was not completely stable so I rewrapped. Little peeper is zooming around now. I’ll take the wraps off at some point today and see how it’s going.

 

[coach723]

I would also give 1/4 of a B complex tablet or capsule daily (human ones). Riboflavin deficiency can cause hock sitting, curled toes, and balance issues. The B's are very safe, no risk of too much, any extra will be excreted. Even very young chicks can be deficient, it can be passed from the parent stock while they are still in the egg.

 

[Lillith37]

I would also give 1/4 of a B complex tablet or capsule daily (human ones). Riboflavin deficiency can cause hock sitting, curled toes, and balance issues. The B's are very safe, no risk of too much, any extra will be excreted. Even very young chicks can be deficient, it can be passed from the parent stock while they are still in the egg.

Thanks for the suggestion! It was very slow on the uptake with food at first so I was giving B complex mixed with sugar water via dropper. Now that it’s doing better it’s much more interested in food and capable of eating so I’ve been sprinkling it over food. The bright orange poops when they excrete the excess sure is something to see haha.

 

[Lillith37]

I took the wraps off and the chick seemed stable so I’ve left them off for a couple of hours — still going strong. The family will stay inside for 2-3 more days so the chick can build up a bit more strength, and until we have warmer and dryer weather. Then they can go start their life outside.

It took three days total to correct the feet. I put on the first sandals as soon as the chick was dry, a couple of hours post hatch. Goes to show how quickly they can heal if you act as soon as possible.