Broken Wing

[Mrsfoote]

So today my husband was putting the roof on our coop and was getting it all situated when the plywood slid down and landed on one of our chickens

It was of course the chicken I couldn't stand and my husband started yelling I killed a chicken I killed a chicken when I cam to see what happened he said it fell on the chickens neck well the chicken went running and hid and after looking for her we found her next to our dog kennel hiding...it didn't fall on her neck but on her wing and broke it right at the joint inside her wing ( her armpit area if you could call it that) I tried to stabalize it but that seemed to make her more stressed out so i unwrapped it...she is eating and drinking I have her in a nice dog carrier inside and she is resting and getting around fine so will it be ok to keep it unstabalized?? Poor Girl I know I don't like her much but I felt horrible so did my husband

 

[CMV]

You need to stabilize that wing. She is not going to like it, but she'll get used to it. It will be less painful in the long run and may heal into some semblance of normalcy. She will need that wing to escape predators/pests and to be able to get up on her roost. Wrap it up in a natural position against her body with vet wrap. Change the bandages as needed when they get soiled. Leave it in place for 4 weeks. When you remove the dressing at last, maybe do a little birdie physical therapy to see what kind of range of motion she has in the wing. Start out slow and gentle- that wing will be weak and stiff for a long time after.

Good luck. Broken bones are a pain, but the easiest injury to fix.

 

[Mrsfoote]

Thats what I tried to do she could barely walk with it that way....so how do i wrap it then

 

[birdparadise]

You'll need to place the wing in a natural position against the body. This is important because this is the position that the bone will heal into. Go completely around the wing with the vet wrap, just enough to support it then go around the body, going under the wing on the other side. I would start on the upper part of the wing (the back of the bird) and go down and around the injured wing once or twice; then on the up pass of the injured wing just continue on around the bird (this should remind you of a sling when you're done). Sometimes you have to make one pass in front of the uninjured wing (towards the head) and one behind to keep the whole thing from sliding off. It has to be snug enough that your chicken won't pull it off but must leave room to breath. I would recommend changing the wrapping at least every couple of days. Physical therapy can begin almost immediately (within a couple of days when the wrapping is being changed) gently extend the wind only as far as the chicken will allow. You will see a gradual improvement. Birds heal very quickly and you will know when that wing is moving on its own again. This has been successful for me on small birds and a Peacock's leg! Best of luck to you.