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Rooster with a hurt toe

post #1 of 5
2/25/12 at 6:21pm
Thread Starter 

One of my roosters did something to his toe. When I went in to feed this evening I saw that there was blood on the perch where they all roost. Took me a while to figure out who it was but it seems one of the roosters did something to his toe. He's not super friendly so I wasn't able to catch him to give it a good look. It looks a bit swollen and like he possible ripped a toenail out. I'm not really sure. By the time I got out there the bleeding had stopped. He wasn't limping or anything and he's the alpha so no one was really bothering him. Is there anything I should put on it or should I just leave it be? He's kind of stand-off-ish so I'm not sure how easy he will be to get a hold of. Will he be ok? Are chickens known to healing on their own? I'm new to chickens so I really have no clue what to do.

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post #2 of 5
2/25/12 at 7:19pm

I can start by saying I am not an expert or vet.  About a month ago I came into a similar situation with one of hens I went in and her toe was bleeding, the other chickens noticed and all pecked at her toe (they all had blood on their beaks).  By the timei got to her she only had half her toe left.  I ended up isolating her to protect her for a week and a half and bandaged her toe with clean gauze med tape and neosporin. She never seemed to be really bothered by it but she also let me easily bandage her toe.  She is doing fine.  If he is hard to grab and the bleeding has stopped just keep an eye on him and see if notice anything odd in behavior or if his toe begins to bleed again.  Good luck

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post #3 of 5
2/25/12 at 7:36pm

Neosporin would be a good idea. You could put a little on while he is roosting at night (Just take a flashlight & shine it toward his face so it blinds him a little while you are picking him up). It absorbs quickly so should help even if some gets rubbed off pretty quickly. Applying it once or twice will probably be enough to minimize risk of infection, but if the toe does become infected you can apply more often, & if needed you can give him Penicillin (It's great for clearing up infections like that).

 

Caution: Don't use any "with pain relief" triple antibiotic ointment that has a pain relief ingredient ending in "caine". Those are not good for chickens.

 

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post #4 of 5
2/26/12 at 6:46am
Thread Starter 

Thanks everyone. His toe looked a little better this morning. A bit swollen but hasn't bled anymore and no one seems to be messing with him. I'll try to get a little neosporin on it tonight. Should I try cleaning with peroxide or something first?

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post #5 of 5
2/26/12 at 4:42pm
Personally, I wouldn't really bother to clean it unless you see gunk blocking an open hole in his foot & it seems easy to clear out & unlikely to start bleeding again. I would just use water because it doesn't sting (HP does some, doesn't it?) & the ointment afterward should do enough toward fighting germs.
Neosporin & its generics are really effective stuff. I would expect it'll get enough antibacterial action going in the area to keep infection out.

 

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Please read ISSUES page for Nov 6 election.

 

 

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