broken toe did we do the right thing?

[african chickens]

so i went outside to put a trelace around the bush i just planted in the guinea cage when i noticed alot of blood like everywhere so i found the bird and we treated him his name is naomi and we treated him by positioning the toe sprayed it with poultry wound spray and wrapped it before putting him alone in a seperate space two questions first did we do the right thing and two how did he break it

wrapped it

put him in a seperate enhclosure (water isnt dirty its poultry booster)

now this perch had the most blood (i put the trelace there after the incident)

and this one also had a bunch of blood just not as much

and there was also some blood in their stall

 

[african chickens]

hes still alive just hasnt drank any water from what i can tell

 

[coach723]

Sorry this happened, hard to say what actually caused it, but likely it got hung up somewhere and it was broken during the struggle to get loose. Since it's apparently a compound fracture (broken bone with the skin also broken), infection is a higher risk. I would watch carefully for any signs of infection and start an oral antibiotic if needed. You should check often for swelling, a break can swell even afterwards, and change your splint as needed, make sure it's not rubbing or causing irritation, and you don't want to cut off circulation. Plain neosporin or plain triple antibiotic ointment would be good to use on the wound. A shoe type splint often works best for toes, keeps them straighter and stays put better. I will attach a splinting manual below that might be helpful, it shows songbirds, but the anatomy is the same, you just adjust for the size of the bird.

 

[african chickens]

Sorry this happened, hard to say what actually caused it, but likely it got hung up somewhere and it was broken during the struggle to get loose. Since it's apparently a compound fracture (broken bone with the skin also broken), infection is a higher risk. I would watch carefully for any signs of infection and start an oral antibiotic if needed. You should check often for swelling, a break can swell even afterwards, and change your splint as needed, make sure it's not rubbing or causing irritation, and you don't want to cut off circulation. Plain neosporin or plain triple antibiotic ointment would be good to use on the wound. A shoe type splint often works best for toes, keeps them straighter and stays put better. I will attach a splinting manual below that might be helpful, it shows songbirds, but the anatomy is the same, you just adjust for the size of the bird.

thanks so much coach this is very helpful i feel like i let him down my dads a paramedic so we use his human medical training to help with things like this

 

[coach723]

As long as it doesn't get infected, it will most likely be just fine. Birds break toes, the bones are so small and they are long and thin, it happens. Even if it didn't heal perfectly straight, most of them adapt just fine and do just fine. Lots of birds have wonky toes, as long as they can get around ok, all should be well. It will likely be several weeks before it's strong enough to leave off the splint without risk of re-breaking it. And a bone callus may form, so there may be a lump at the point of the break when it heals, the more displaced the bones are, the larger that might be, those will sometimes reduce with time. I would try to make sure that for the next short term, you try to keep him where he won't be jumping up and down from things.

 

[african chickens]

As long as it doesn't get infected, it will most likely be just fine. Birds break toes, the bones are so small and they are long and thin, it happens. Even if it didn't heal perfectly straight, most of them adapt just fine and do just fine. Lots of birds have wonky toes, as long as they can get around ok, all should be well. It will likely be several weeks before it's strong enough to leave off the splint without risk of re-breaking it. And a bone callus may form, so there may be a lump at the point of the break when it heals, the more displaced the bones are, the larger that might be, those will sometimes reduce with time. I would try to make sure that for the next short term, you try to keep him where he won't be jumping up and down from things.

if you look at the cage hes in its in our barn away from the other birds and its covered so he should be ok im worried though because he still has not drank anything

 

[african chickens]

As long as it doesn't get infected, it will most likely be just fine. Birds break toes, the bones are so small and they are long and thin, it happens. Even if it didn't heal perfectly straight, most of them adapt just fine and do just fine. Lots of birds have wonky toes, as long as they can get around ok, all should be well. It will likely be several weeks before it's strong enough to leave off the splint without risk of re-breaking it. And a bone callus may form, so there may be a lump at the point of the break when it heals, the more displaced the bones are, the larger that might be, those will sometimes reduce with time. I would try to make sure that for the next short term, you try to keep him where he won't be jumping up and down from things.

oh, and he has what looks like a bone callus on one of his other toes so apparently he has done this before?

 

[coach723]

Maybe he has....
Can you move the crate into the run with the other birds? That is often less stressful for them, they can still see the others, and be seen, they feel like they are still with the flock but can't be hurt. Just make sure he's safe from predators overnight. If needed, take him out in the crate during the day and then bring him inside for the night. He may do better that way. If he won't drink the water with poultry booster in it, try plain, fresh water. For some birds, any additive can put them off the water.

 

[african chickens]

Maybe he has....
Can you move the crate into the run with the other birds? That is often less stressful for them, they can still see the others, and be seen, they feel like they are still with the flock but can't be hurt. Just make sure he's safe from predators overnight. If needed, take him out in the crate during the day and then bring him inside for the night. He may do better that way. If he won't drink the water with poultry booster in it, try plain, fresh water. For some birds, any additive can put them off the water.

he now has access to both medicated water and fresh water I fed him and he did eat so that's good I will be sticking to my method of keeping them away from the flock especially since they all hate each other right now i wouldn't want him to get hurt

 

[african chickens]

i would move him to the stall but currently, his flock mates are in war mode so i don't feel comfortable letting them near him he's doing ok so far he is learning to walk with the splint and is mostly laying down and resting if he does stand he takes a few painful steps then collapses he has also been tipping forward when standing