Ducky and her orthopedic shoes

This is Ducky.

These are Ducky's feet.

Notice how they curl?
Ducky can't straighten her toes.

In all my years of raising baby chicks, this is the first time I've encountered this.

I first noticed Ducky's feet when she was 2 days old..... I could tell she wasn't able to walk or stand very steady like the other chicks, so I picked her up and was shocked at what I saw. She also seemed to have some other problems- she was not interested in food or water and she was a lot smaller than any of the other chicks. I swallowed hard and thought maybe it was best to let nature take it's course, if you know what I mean....

But you know me- I couldn't let go without at least giving Ducky a fighting chance.

She was at once put on some drops of some special liquid baby formula (powdered vitamins and sugar water) and after spending several hours on the internet researching chicks with curled or deformed feet I found what I had been looking for. Apparently this is not an uncommon occurrence, and frankly I was a little surprised that I had never had this happen before. I'm still not sure what caused Ducky's problem, but according to some of the helpful websites I found it could have been caused by several different things. I also found the directions for making splints for the toes to correct the problem using cardboard and tape- but only if it was caught in time. I was optimistic that Ducky was young enough that her feet could be fixed- that is, if  she survived the next few days.

A day passed, then another... then another...

After three days of giving her my special formula, she seemed to be getting a little stronger.

Ducky was.... well, plucky!

I brought her into the house to fit her for her special booties to correct the toes, and had to get out my magnifying glasses because her feet were so tiny. To make matters worse, Silkies have 5 toes instead of 4 like other chickens do, and trying to cram the little toes of a squirmy baby chick onto a tiny piece of cardboard was going to be a real test of my patience. (Not to mention eyesight.)
But if Ducky was going to have a chance for normal feet it was now or never.

Lily, meet Ducky.
Ducky, Lily.

 Here are the "soles" of her booties....





Here we are with one shoe on, one to go; then it's just a matter of trimming off the excess tape and cardboard without cutting Ducky's feet. (As if this hasn't been nerve-wracking enough already...)

And here she is with her new shoes! Maybe this will help explain why I named her Ducky- she looks like she has webbed feet.

She continued getting her daily formula to build up her strength.

I waited for 3 days before taking off the booties.....

Here are Ducky's feet now!

Unfortunately, she lost the left shoe at some point without me noticing and it didn't have time to work like the other one did. You can see the middle toe is still curled some, but the right foot- which was actually worse than the left one anyway- looks great. The best part is she can walk and stand just like normal! I could splint the left one again, but Ducky seems to be glad to be rid of her special shoes and for now she is walking great so I may just leave it be.

Ducky still has along way to go... she is so much smaller than the other chicks. But she is back with the others and doing good, and I'll continue to give her formula until I'm satisfied she is eating and drinking like she should. Ducky has proven to be a tough little gal so far, so I'm hoping for the best!

Happy Wednesday, everyone!