Hi, sorry if this has already been covered. My wife came home with 4 quail eggs and in the spur of a moment decision we knocked together an incubator. Unfortunately 3 didnt hatch and the 1 which has feet are bent back on themselves, he's making plenty of noise but just has a few problems waddling about. Has anyone got any suggestions ? They would be much appreciated
Farming Friends Forum » Quail
new quail chicks have bent feet
(6 posts)-
Posted 2 years ago #
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Hi Jai,
Welcome to the farmingfriends forum. I am sorry that only one quail hatched and sorry that the chicks feet are bent.On occasions a quail can hatch out with toes that are curled up into a fist shape. Sometimes they may straighten out on their own in the first day or so but if they don’t you can make a pipe cleaner shoe for the chick to wear which will help to straighten out the toes.
The pipe cleaner needs to be bent into the shape of a chicks foot and then attached to the chicks foot with a bandaid or elastaplast. Cut three pieces of bandaid to go over all three toes. A larger piece will be needed for the middle toe.
The temporary chick shoe can be kept on for about 8 hours. Remove the shoe and see if the foot has straightened out. If need be the shoe can be refitted to help the chick’s foot get better and allow it to stand properly.
I was recently asked what help could be given to a newly hatched guinea fowl keet with a curled foot.
Gill said that after wearing the keet shoe, “The curled foot is quite good, a little more turned in than the norm but he can now stand properly.”
hope this helps. Let us know how you get on.
kind regards
sara @ farmingfriendsPosted 2 years ago # -
Hi thanks for the info, i'll let you know how we get on
Posted 2 years ago # -
Hi Jai,
You can also use a piece of card ie cut from a cornflake pack to arrange the feet so the toes are straight. I had problems with some of my quail but that was mainly splay legs. I did research the internet and found the toe curling cures on a chicken site.
The toes will not fix themselves. This is what they said You need to make a little boot with a piece of cardboard on the bottom of the foot and the sticky parts of a bandaid across the top to hold each toe in place. If you go to http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=51112It explains how to do it and has pictures.
Hope it helps
Sallie.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Thanks to everyone for the advice. Getting shoes on a tiny quail was tricky but i took them off today and all looks good, so thanks
Posted 2 years ago # -
Hi Jai,
Glad that the shoes worked and your quails feet are straightened out.
Kind regards
sara @ farmingfriendsPosted 2 years ago #
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