broken leg

[Robert A Reuss]

A chicken was attacked by a racoon. I intervened before it was killed. The chicken now has a broken leg. I did splint it. I do not know if it will ever heal. I did not put on any medication on the wound since I did not know what to put on. The foot is warm, somewhat a darker color, but not black. The hen is eating and drinking OK. If I remove the splinting to put on medication, what do I use?

 

[AmyJane725]

Triple Antibiotic Ointment (no painkiller just to be safe) would be fine. Or Neosporin. Just make sure you clean the wound really well. If it's hot that's usually indicative of an infection. And raccoons are completely filthy. Oral antibiotics will probably be necessary down the line...

Pictures of the wound/foot/leg/whole bird would be helpful.

 

[coach723]

If the fracture is compound, meaning the skin where the break is is open, then antibiotics are necessary. For splinting this may help, it's important not to splint too tightly so if swelling occurs circulation isn't cut off, and some padding should be used.

 

[Eggcessive]

How long ago was the attack? I also would recommend seeing pictures, and checking to see that the splint is not too tight. If the skin is broken, a bone infection could be very serious, and that would require an strong antibiotic. Do you have any, or can you get some from a vet? A few may be available online. In feed stores injectable procaine penicillin G is about all that is sold without a vet.