First Annual Cinco de Mayo Turkey Hatchathon- Join us! Set Day: Easter

[zookeeper15133]

I'm with SCG, never been able to break a broody. Last summer I had 5 in 2 nests. The other girls still managed to get in and lay. Half of the few eggs I did get got broken from them fighting over them!

 

[Arielle]

I can see now that I need to make a separate pen for the broodies. At least get them out of the way somehow! THey quit when they want to quit.

 

[Wisher1000]

Well, guys and gals, I think this hatch is winding down. I see fewer and fewer people here every time I come. I hope to 'see' you all around the site and hope that you all will keep in touch with me. I have enjoyed this hatch immensely and feel I have a whole bunch of new friends as a result. Y'all take care of those birds and of yourselves. Catch you later.......

 

[HappyAcresKY]

I'm desperate again

thanks for all the advice on the sticky poult... ended up losing it in the end

it has not been a good week on the farm, we also lost a pregnant ewe, have 2 gimpy ewes in the barn and our turkey hen got attacked by a coon or something last night

so again I'm on here for advice (sorry, I feel like that's the only time I get on here to post) I just found her less then an hour ago, she was sitting on eggs in a dog house up against the garage when I went to do my daily check of her I only saw feathers and busted eggs, I thought for sure she was dead and gone. When I went to the barn this afternoon I found her, the only obvious wound is to her leg but it's a really bad one. It looks like her thigh skin has been pulled down (feathers still attached) and is exposing the tissues. We've only had her a month or so and she is not tame at all, plus everything she's gone through she's a bit on the aggressive side right now, which is totally understandable. I was able to catch her, after a very impressive one legged sprint on her part, and now have her confined to a cage.
Now to my question... what is the best way to restrain her so I can properly care for her wound? I want to stress her as little as possible... my plan is to rinse the wound thoroughly with warm water, then hydrogen peroxide, apply an antibiotic ointment, I also have blue Kot for the sheep I could spray it with, I was also thinking about adding antibiotics and electrolytes to her water... We've been lucky up until now so I've never treated a wound like this (or any) before so if there is a better approach I'm open to any suggestions. Thanks in advance, you guys have been amazingly helpful!

 

[HEChicken]

I have found that putting a towel over their head calms them immensely. I'm wondering if you could have one person hold her with a towel over her head, while the other treats the wound?

 

[superchemicalgirl]

what is the best way to restrain her so I can properly care for her wound?

They'll poop a lot in this position, towels on the ground are also a good idea.

 

[HappyAcresKY]

we cleaned the wound but I'm not sure she will recover from it

it's pretty severe... AS you can see from the picture most of her thigh has no skin or feathers anymore and she has a few large puncture holes... we rinsed everything then squirted her down with betadine then applied an antibiotic ointment but it didn't stick very well, I'm pretty sure she'll need some actual antibiotics, any suggestions on type and dosage?... she is still very with it so I want to give her a chance if she has one but also don't want her to suffer unnecessarily.

 

[Arielle]

we cleaned the wound but I'm not sure she will recover from it

it's pretty severe... AS you can see from the picture most of her thigh has no skin or feathers anymore and she has a few large puncture holes... we rinsed everything then squirted her down with betadine then applied an antibiotic ointment but it didn't stick very well, I'm pretty sure she'll need some actual antibiotics, any suggestions on type and dosage?... she is still very with it so I want to give her a chance if she has one but also don't want her to suffer unnecessarily.

Betadine is good for cleaning but it must be rinsed off and not left on the tissue. Keep the area moist . Rinse the punctures by squirting diluted iodine into the hole and then rinse by sqquirting clean sterile water into the wound. Pull the skin up the best you can, after cleaning the underside. We use furacin ointment in horses, maybe someone can verify if it's ok for chickens. Use it to keep the tissues moist. THey can't dry out.

I have seen horses with similar wounds heal given time and care. ANd antibiotics. I suggest looking into treating fever in a chicken as infection = fever = not eating and drinking = poor results.

You have had a stressful week. You have had your three.

 

[Arielle]

Do a search for pennicillian or LA100 I don't know the dosages but they are here on BYC on someones page. YOu may need to order it if your feed store doesn't have it.

 

[chick-among-us]

This is just me...I had chcikens who have survived a hawk attack. I stitched up mine! Talons do a lot of damage and princess actually was gashed across the ribs and down one entire thigh... I dont know how you feel about it but I would stitch that up! They heal remarkably...and I would wash with betadine do the blue kote spray then stitch her up! They dont move alot when stitched.definatly antibiotics also!! tuck the towel and pull the edges of the skin together like a ripped coat...doesnt have to be perfect. I worked with a Vet for a year so I had no trouble stitching...I hope you can stomach it....it will help! IF you don't know how to do stitches conventionally a running stitch will work knot at each end,just loop it continuously then knot when done....THEN when it is time to take them out....you just snip one knot out and pull gently on the OTHER knot it will come out in one piece...I did this before I knew how to REALLY do them and used REgular thread from the sewing box since I had nothing else on hand...(certainly no time to go to the store) I must say I know nothing of turkeys at all and dont know if their pain threshold is the same as chickens...but it looked like since the restraining way to lay them for surgery is the same they are comparable. Good luck!

we cleaned the wound but I'm not sure she will recover from it

it's pretty severe... AS you can see from the picture most of her thigh has no skin or feathers anymore and she has a few large puncture holes... we rinsed everything then squirted her down with betadine then applied an antibiotic ointment but it didn't stick very well, I'm pretty sure she'll need some actual antibiotics, any suggestions on type and dosage?... she is still very with it so I want to give her a chance if she has one but also don't want her to suffer unnecessarily.