FOOT / LEG PROBLEMS IN CHICKS
Information provided for your convenience and written by CBF Super Quail about our own personal experiences.
We have occasionally seen club-foot
chicks in quail and in chickens. Sometimes within the first two-three
days, the problem will correct itself if the bird has appropriate
footing, like the rubbery shelf-liner (the kind that has holes through
it seems to work best and can be washed, disinfected and reused several
times). I have seen information regarding making some sort of foot
brace for chicks with this problem or hobbles for a spraw-legged
chicks. If you are raising birds to breed, I do not recommend
“fixing” these birds. If the chick is to be a pet or just
to enjoy watching it, and you want to try - go for it and I wish you
all the best of luck. I’ve decided that for breeding purposes I
would not “fix” or incorporate a bird who has had such a
problem into my breeders because IF the problem might possibly be
genetic, I did not want to propagate that in any of my stock!
I know that a common cause of
club-foot chicks is improper humidity or other incubation problems.
With that in mind, I have tried to raise some of these anyway and have
never been successful. They just never seem to grow like the other
birds, can have further leg problems or get their leg stuck in the
wire, sometimes dislocating a joint elsewhere in the process.
I’ve never had one make it to maturity, even giving it every
opportunity.
If you are trying to raise a quantity
of birds, you have to look at a problem chick like this and ask
yourself, “Is pampering this one chick worth possible damage or
bad habits that this one chick can encourage the other X number of
birds to develop?” If you choose to try to rehab such an animal,
I highly recommend a private rehab or hospital pen.
Because I was raising it as a pet, I
tried once to correct a sprawl-legged Button Quail. The quail was not
very receptive to the idea, it was so tiny and difficult to hold and
attempt to set any kind of brace or aid to its legs, and when I did, it
simply slipped right out of it! I tried for three days to brainstorm
and try something new - I’ve heard good results with pipe
cleaners, but that was too big for a button quail. Wire twist-ties like
for trash bags didn’t work, various types of string didn’t
work, tape doubled-over so the sticky part didn’t stick to the
bird didn’t work. Unfortunately, the little button quail was not
able to be saved. At four days, it died because it could not carry
itself from the food to the water to eat and drink enough.
I have made mention of Club Foot issues with Texas A&M, XLD1s and
Crosses - I wanted to make a note that usually only 1-3% or less of
those varieties that we raise have this problem; and it has been over 6
months since I have seen this in any chicken.