I noticed a limp on one of my hens 2 days ago. Yesterday I saw her running in the yard and she looked fine with no limp. Today the limp was back. I found out she has a cut on her toe that is a pretty fair size. I soaked her feet in a mixture of water and hydrogen peroxide and slowly worked off the mud and gunk to clean the wound. I really dosed it to make sure the wound was clean under the flap of skin etc. Then i bandaged it up with bacitracin, a bandaid and some electrical tape to try and keep it all attached to her (I know, but it's all I had at the time). She is still keeping the weight off that foot, but can get around when she wants.
All other parts of her are fine; no parasites, clear, healthy eyes, vent, etc- eating and drinking well. My main concern is will this heal? And keeping dirt out of the wound to prevent further infection. The toe looked a little swollen. I have no idea how this cut happened, except that she is the lowest in the pecking order and is harrassed a lot. She is flighty and may have flapped away from one of the others and hit her foot on the hardware cloth wall? Also, rodents have found a way to get into the run but the wound did not look like a bite. Would mice or rats go after her wound? Even if wrapped?
What treatments would you recommend? How can I keep this wrapped and protected from the elements?
All other parts of her are fine; no parasites, clear, healthy eyes, vent, etc- eating and drinking well. My main concern is will this heal? And keeping dirt out of the wound to prevent further infection. The toe looked a little swollen. I have no idea how this cut happened, except that she is the lowest in the pecking order and is harrassed a lot. She is flighty and may have flapped away from one of the others and hit her foot on the hardware cloth wall? Also, rodents have found a way to get into the run but the wound did not look like a bite. Would mice or rats go after her wound? Even if wrapped?
What treatments would you recommend? How can I keep this wrapped and protected from the elements?