Save the cripple

greenaus · **Posted:** Tue Apr 29, 2008 1:01 am

Due to crooked toes which are worsening, I am thinking of giving this chick a quick exit to save it a life of suffering, embarrassment and harrassment from other chicks calling it "cripple", etc. This is not something I am particularly comfortable with and I will probably cry for days or weeks, but I think it may be for the best. But, I want to be sure first it isn't anything "special".

Note: I apologise if posting each picture/pictures and related questions ruins your day by taking up half the Chicken Chat page when you logon on Tuesday morning, but I assure you each is a different photo with different chicks to the other photos and I've posted each because I genuinely want to learn and confirm. Posting each in a new topic ensures that we all know which photo is being discussed.

debbieo4914 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 29, 2008 7:35 am

Every chicken that is sent to us is "special", Charles, and this unique little soul is no exception...................

Sorry, just having a play!

I'm not sure what it is, but admire you for being able to act quickly to prevent suffering if that is what is required. I'm sure I cause suffering by not being strong enough sometimes (eg. my 16yo dog needs to be put down but I'm having trouble getting up the courage

).

Have you tried splinting its toes/legs to see if that helps straighten them - although that usually needs to be done in the first couple of days I think. I did have a young pekin chick that needed a brace for a couple of days and he turned out normal (well, I didn't hear any teasing or anything from the others when he grew up). There is a sticky on crooked toes/legs in the health & wellbeing section.

Good luck with it.

Deb :-D

frasers_zoo · **Posted:** Tue Apr 29, 2008 9:22 am

Hi Charles

When you say this little one has crooked toes - how bad are they?
The reason I ask is we hatched a plymouth for a friend and it came out with crooked toes and didn't look like it was going to be able to stand. We put it in a box with Natty Cat litter (it is a lucerne based pellet which is used as kitty litter). About a week later its toes had straightened out enough that it was able to get around and feed itself ok. It was still a bit wobbly but a LOT better than what it was when it hatched.
Try putting it on a good firm base like the Natty Cat so its legs don't slip out from under it and its toes will be uncurled a bit by going through the litter. The little sort of holds itself together so it makes an excellent base for the little battlers that we are destined to get from time to time.

HTH

Ange

Lou · **Joined:** Mon Nov 19, 2007 11:12 am **Posts:** 387

I have taped splayed legs on new hatchlings & had them come good in less than 12 hours & the same batch of keets had bent up toes which came good as well. Have a look in the health & wellbeing, sticky of bent, crooked toes & splayed legs, something like that, you will know it when you see it. Don't give up yet just follow the instructions & keep him by himself if he gets picked on, I have a large brooder & have a piece of plastic gutter guard in a circle about a foot round that I put late arrivals or cripples into untill they can keep up with the others. I have found if they need taping etc the longer you leave it without doing something the harder it will be to fix. Goodluck

greenaus · **Posted:** Tue Apr 29, 2008 6:46 pm

I've known about the crooked toes since it was quite young, but was too lazy to make the "toe-straightener frame" which I had read about a while ago.

It hasn't been picked on, but the crookedness has got worse in recent days.

To me, it has always got around about as well as the others.

I don't have the camera, my wife took it with her (the memory card is here, she'll be happy), so I can't take a photo.

I went looking online and found a chick that bears quite some resemblance to my chick. In the Google image results I thought somehow a photo of one of my ex-battery chicks had been found. Amazing.

http://www.freewebs.com/professorchicke ... mities.htm

My chick's has three crooked toes on it's right foot, but none is as crooked as the one in the photo.

It also says not to keep chicks on newspaper.

Anyone got thoughts on that?

Peter16 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 29, 2008 7:47 pm

greenaus wrote:

Note: I apologise if posting each picture/pictures and related questions ruins your day by taking up half the Chicken Chat page

I think ill accept that seeing as though chances are im not going to look at them......

fuzzfly · **Joined:** Wed Apr 09, 2008 10:42 pm **Posts:** 253

I keep chicks on my ferret/rat litter. There are 2 types I use, one is called cop rice the other is a recycled phonebook/newspaper litter. Both I use because small animals tend to get respitory and eye problems with wood shavings and other dusty litters.

I have a chick with bent middle toes incubated by a pigeon, braced it at day 1 but when I took it off a week later it didn't get better, hadn't got worse either. It seems to cope just fine as is, walks normal and does normal chooky things. Chose not to cull because it doesn't appear to have any problems with it's long term health.

greenaus · **Posted:** Wed Apr 30, 2008 2:05 am

Peter16 wrote:

greenaus wrote:

Note: I apologise if posting each picture/pictures and related questions ruins your day by taking up half the Chicken Chat page

I think ill accept that seeing as though chances are im not going to look at them......

Exactly the point I have made in another post or two.

Makes me wonder why I bother.

But the alternative (going out into the back yard) is not a decision I want to make.

frasers_zoo · **Posted:** Wed Apr 30, 2008 8:57 am

Hi Charles

The issue with keeping them on newspaper is that it has no grip. If you have chicks that are having leg problems it will tend to make it worse. Paper is really bad for those that have either one or both legs splayed out as well.

Think of it this way, if you had a tricky knee the last thing you would be wanting to do is go walking across an ice skating ring. That's why I don't skate :lol:

Unstable surfaces definately don't help.

We use the Natty Cat because I like the smell of lucerne

horse owner from way back

cheers
Ange

Lou · **Joined:** Mon Nov 19, 2007 11:12 am **Posts:** 387

I use wood shavings, but for wonkie legs I put them on a piece of toweling. I forgot to say I have a sussex cockerel who is now 4 months old whose outside toes on each foot sit under his foot, someone suggested I cut them off but I'm to quemish for that. He gets around fine & they don't seem to bother him, he's very cheeky & always first in the mash bucket & I mean in it, he will be way to big soon to fit.

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