Curled Toes and Spraddle Legs

Over the last few months I have seen many posts on Facebook with pictures of chicks wearing little homemade "shoes" for curled toes.  Thank goodness I did because last month when I realized that one of our day old babies was walking on the side of her feet and her legs were slipping out from underneath her, I knew right away how to help!

I started off with a heavy piece of paper (I used a thick folder) and attempted to trace the bottom of the chicks foot.  I have to admit that I failed miserably.  There really was no way I was going to be able to cut the shape of the foot out and I was causing more distress to the chick trying to cut out a precise outline than good. I ended up throwing in the towel and cutting out a circle that was roughly the same size as the bottom of her foot. I was ready to use the pipe cleaners that were suggested, but again there was just no way that I was going to be able to do it.

 I took the paper circle that I had cut out and pressed the foot as flat as possible.  I cut the sticky side of a standard bandaid off and laid it on top of the toes (don't worry about removing the bandaid and hurting feathered legs. As long as you are using cloth bandaid, baby oil will slide it right off).  Sandwich the foot in between the bandaid and the circle cut out.  To give the shoe traction, I cut a piece of medical tape (the cloth kind) and wrapped it around the entire foot so that the baby would not slip. If you do decide to do this, please monitor your chick closely.  Shoes can cause tripping and result in a possible drowning if the chick were to fall face first into the water.  

Although it was a little awkward at first and she did trip up a bit,  considering the alternative the temporary clumsiness outweighed the risk of her feet and legs not straightening out. When the time was up I soaked her foot in baby oil and the bandaid fell right off and I was able to remove the "shoe" without problem.  Baby silkie wore her shoe for approximately 5 hours and is a happy and healthy chick today.