Please help! I cut off her toe!

I can't believe I did this. I feel sick to my stomach. I was putting zip ties on for leg bands and as I was snipping off the end, the chick moved suddenly and her toe got caught in the scissors. I'm just feeling totally panicked and horrible. It's just the tip, right where the claw meets the toe. It is bleeding a moderate amount. I cleaned it with an alcohol pad and packed gauze around it and taped it up as best I could. Right now she is separated from the others in a small terrarium with a heat lamp, food, and water with quick chick. Is there anything else I can do? Obviously, keep it clean and dry and watch for infection. Should I use antibiotic ointment? Is there anything I can put on it to make it less painful? Will she be ok? Please help me. I feel terrible. I can't believe I did this.

I know you feel awful. My sympathies. If it is behind the nail, I think she'll be fine, but more experienced folks will chime in soon, I'm sure.

What are the leg bands for?

Also, she is in her little isolation brooder and she is lying down under the heat lamp with her legs tucked under her and her head down, when I move she puts her head up and cheeps. Please help and let me know if there is anything else I can do. I don't have pictures bc I bandaged it up first thing.

The leg bands are so I can tell the difference between the austrolorps. I'm a teacher and not very experienced with chickens so all the little black and white ones look the same to me. We hatched 17 this year, mostly austrolorps (one died suddenly, soon after hatch) I want to take a few of them home with me (the rest go to one of the student's parents' large farm) and I'm trying to get a sense of their personalities and which ones will be calm and quiet as I live in the city, relatively close to my neighbors. It seemed like a good idea and now it just seems like a terrible and unnecessary idea.

Oh, and I'm trying to keep track of which ones have tail feathers right now and which ones don't because I've read on this site that tail feather development can be a good indicator of sex and I want hens to take home.

Does anyone else have any advice? I really want to make this better. I had to use a tiny bandaid for the 'gauze' part of the original bandage. I found some real gauze and will use that when I change the dressing. My people first aid is pretty solid but what should I do for a chicken? How often should I change the dressing? Should I use ointment? I know not to use 'caine' drugs from reading the forum. Is there anything else I should/should not do? Thanks in advance.

Use some stop bleed... and them maybe some blu-kote to keep other chickens away from it. Accidents happen. Thats why they are accidents...

Firstly, don't panic - accidents happen.

Is the cut still bleeding - if so, you need to stop the bleeding. Either:
*A people product (don't remember the name) from the drugstore - but, it's a type of styptic powder
*From a pet store, Quik Stop, used to stop the bleeding when dogs/cats nails get quicked (cut back too far) or any other brand of styptic powder. Put a good pinch of this powder in the cut, and hold until the bleeding stops.
*as an alternative, if she is currently bleeding badly, and you don't have these available immediately, (or chose not to have the expense) you can cauterise the wound by holding the heated part of a car cigarette lighter on the cut toe for a second or two.

*Use an antibiotic ointment, eithe Bacitrain or Polysporin (or the generic equivalent), not polysporin.

* Either apply blue-cote or cover the wound. Chicks love to pick at red - you need to make sure theri is not red toe/wound to be picked at.

If it were me, once there was no red showing, I'd want to get her back in with the other chicks relatively quickly

It's ok, the chick will be ok. Turkey poults have the tips of their toes cut off for the 4-H shows and they do just fine. Clean the wound and give it a few days away from the rest of the chicks. Like the post above says clean and treat it and isolate.
These things happen just learn from it and continue on.

Best of luck!

Oh thank you so much for the replies! I will follow all your good advice. The bleeding seems to have stopped...at least she is not bleeding through the bandage. I have her little toe all wrapped up in gauze and paper medical tape. When I change the bandage I will put some bacitracin on as well, and I will pick up the clotting agent at the pet store this afternoon. She is doing well....

so well in fact that she just flapped out of the terrarium and roosted on the edge. I had the lid propped back to get the heat lamp in the right spot...anyway, she is eating and drinking and chirping really loudly and does not seem to like being isolated at all. There is no red showing but I am afraid of putting her back in with the others because of the bandage (worried they would peck at it) and because of infection potential...I clean the brooder everyday but there is definitely more potential for the wound to get wet and poopy if she is in with the others.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can't tell you all how much I appreciate this forum