Broken toe

[Cchurchill91]

I had an incident today with of my 6 week old chickens. I went to close the window by the brooder and the sound startled them all causing one to jump right toward the window as it was closing. One of their toes got caught in the window (it’s a heavy old window and closes fast when the support is taken out). I opened it back up as quickly as I could but the damage was already done. The toe seems to be bent outward and is definitely injured. It’s their outer toe. He or she is still walking around but is mostly laying or standing on one leg. Anyone have any idea on what I should do? Thanks.

 

[Mamatomany123]

I would possibly treat it like a human toe. Tape it straight and let it heal that way. Watch for infection (swelling, heat, red). Poor girl is probably hurting which us why shes not walking much.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I am interested to see what someone else says because I'm a newbie chicken keeper myself (chickens for 2 years). Is there an open wound? If there is an open wound, wash the foot, put antiseptic (with no pain reliever in it) on the wound. I'd fabricate a splint using household materials such as cardboard, Popsicle sticks, etc. I would splint all of the toes and foot and tape it on using either painters tape or masking tape stick it to your own skin a few times so it's not too sticky) and then wrap the whole foot and ankle in vet wrap. If you have access to an avian vet, you can go that route but you're going to be looking at a hefty bill. Isolate the chicken for several days and don't take off the bandage either for at least two. After that I'd take it off to clean the foot, apply more antiseptic if needed, and re-splint. It sucks for you and the chicken but I think it'll be fine.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Also, you can put 5 asprin in a gallon of water as a pain reliever and anti-inflammatory.

 

[coach723]

Since the toes are still very tiny, a chick shoe type splint may work best. Some use pipecleaners/chenille stems to make splints for toes also. A lid from a plastic food container like yogurt or sour cream can be cut down to make the correct size. Depending on where the break is you may need to do a shoe that holds all the toes in position in order for it to stay on. Put the toe in as close to normal position as you can, and secure it in the position. Don't wrap to tightly, it may swell and you don't want to cut off circulation. Check often for swelling and you may need to resplint as the foot grows. Also make sure any splinting material is padded so it won't abrade the toe.
A couple of pictures and a splinting file attached. You can google lots of different options.

 

[Cchurchill91]

Thanks everyone. Believe I was wrong about the toe being broken. Now that Ive had a good look at it and gave it a good clean, it looks like more of an internal cut. She can still bend it and move around normally. I tried to wipe down the area with a warm cloth compress multiple times after a good long soak and applied anti septic but the red doesn’t come clean. Unfortunately the redness attracts all the other chickens who peck at her as soon as she stands up. I’m keeping her separate for now so she has a better chance to heal. I wasn’t able to get a very good photo but here is the toe. If anyone has an ideas on what else I could do please let me know. Shes taking a nap in a seperate brooder. I’m worried keeping them seperate might stress her out but it’s hard to keep the area clean with all of them together and I want to reduce the risk of infection. Plus the pecking. I stuck in the eco glow to keep her warm over night if she needs it.

 

[coach723]

To disguise the red and stop pecking you can try blu-kote if you can get it there, but it's messy and stains, so apply it carefully. Or you can wrap the toe (loosely) in vet wrap and then continue the wrap around the ankle a couple times to help keep it on.

 

[Cchurchill91]

I read a bit about the blu-kote but it doesn’t seem to be available in Canada. I’ve had issues finding just about anything veterinary related here. We either pay a hefty vet bill or find alternative solutions. I will try the wrap. She seems to be content in the separate brooder for now but I’m worried about the whole reintroduction process so I may opt for putting her back in if the wrap is a success.

To disguise the red and stop pecking you can try blu-kote if you can get it there, but it's messy and stains, so apply it carefully. Or you can wrap the toe (loosely) in vet wrap and then continue the wrap around the ankle a couple times to help keep it on.

 

[Cchurchill91]

Also, you can put 5 asprin in a gallon of water as a pain reliever and anti-inflammatory.

Thank you for your help. After a few cleanings its looking like we don’t have a broken toe after all but there is a wound and we are keeping her separated. I’m going to give the aspirin a try to help her feel better. I know I’d appreciate some if I squished my toe!