Broken shoulder and dying wing flesh

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Joneil7

Hatching
Sep 1, 2025
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I have a chicken who has sustained a pretty bad wing injury. I wrapped it and soaked her but now it seems the flesh on the bottom of the wing is dying. After some research it appears it's the shoulder and not the wing itself that was the issue. Now what can I do to help her

She is eating and drinking good. She is ambulating even with being wrapped up. She even laid her first egg today.

Please help I don't want to cull her if I don't have to.
 
Joneil7 said:
I have a chicken who has sustained a pretty bad wing injury. I wrapped it and soaked her but now it seems the flesh on the bottom of the wing is dying. After some research it appears it's the shoulder and not the wing itself that was the issue. Now what can I do to help her

She is eating and drinking good. She is ambulating even with being wrapped up. She even laid her first egg today.

Please help I don't want to cull her if I don't have to.
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Oh goodness that's awful! How'd she sustain such an injury? Do you know? I'd definitely recommend bringing her to a vet as soon as possible. Is there any open wound? Does it smell? What's the coloration? A photo would definitely help the more experienced members on here to tell you how to help her
 
It's very very good that's she's eating and drinking though. Birds are very strong and resilient and can still manage to live good loves even without a working wing so as long as she's eating and drinking I would worry too much about having to cull her. I have a friend who died falconry and her hawk broke his wing in an accident but made a full recovery, hopefully your hen will recover too!
 
Sir Sacabambaspis said:
Oh goodness that's awful! How'd she sustain such an injury? Do you know? I'd definitely recommend bringing her to a vet as soon as possible. Is there any open wound? Does it smell? What's the coloration? A photo would definitely help the more experienced members on here to tell you how to help her
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I believe she was being picked on and she got behind something then started flailing around because she got stuck which has never happened in over a year of having chickens. The wing is really dark colored and it does smell really bad. The top of the wing is opened down to the bone.
 
Sir Sacabambaspis said:
It's very very good that's she's eating and drinking though. Birds are very strong and resilient and can still manage to live good loves even without a working wing so as long as she's eating and drinking I would worry too much about having to cull her. I have a friend who died falconry and her hawk broke his wing in an accident but made a full recovery, hopefully your hen will recover too!
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I did not want to cull her because she is in such great spirits and still doing all of her normals but the wing smells very bad and the flesh is definitely dying. We do not have a vet local that will deal with birds nor do I have the funds to spend thousands to do so.
 
Do you have pictures? I don’t have any experience with wing injuries, but it sounds like you need to disinfect her wound with Hibiclens chlorhexidene or Betadine. Both Hibiclens or generic Equate First Aid Antiseptic (Betadine ) are available in the first aid aisle at Walmart. Make some saline with a quart of water and 2 tsp of salt, simmering for 15 minutes, then cool it, and you can use that with a spray bottle once the infection and odor are gone. Plain triple antibiotic ointment can be applied to the wound once gone. An antibiotic may be needed as well. If you can see a vet, that may be best. Her wound may need to be debrided.
 
It sounds like the wing needs to be amputated. Chickens are very good at self amputating things like toes and combs, but a whole wing would be a problem. Right now you're running the risk of her dying from sepsis from the rotting wing. The  best option is a veterinarian. I can't say how expensive it would be, in my area it wouldn't be thousands but it definitely would be several hundred dollars to treat. Home amputation is risky and could be prosecutable as animal cruelty depending on your local laws (then again, leaving a bird with a rotting wing without veterinary care may also be prosecutable as animal cruelty or neglect). It's a tough situation to be in. Maybe there's a farm vet who would be willing to help?
 
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