Chick hurt her wing, need advice

[firewalker1]

My son heard a chick screaming this morning so he ran down to the brooder to find a chick stuck on a wire. I had one of those chick treats that you hang. Somehow she managed to land perfectly so the wire that I hung it with went through her wing. I have no idea what to do at this point. It looks like a puncture and possibly a small break. Here is a picture.

 

[coach723]

Does the wing move, or does it hang down? I'm really hoping it's not broken, splinting is going to be a challenge on such a small chick. Clean it up, flush it well, with saline or veterycin, or a chlorhexidine solution (hibiclens), and then apply plain neosporin or plain triple antibiotic ointment to cover the wound. If it's just a wound then hopefully it will heal up well. If it's a break, with broken skin (compound fracture) then infection is a much bigger risk and possibly an oral antibiotic might be called for.
Here is a manual that explains how to examine for, and how to splint various types of fractures in birds (it uses songbirds, anatomy is the same). In a small chick that is growing fast, splints will have to be checked often and changed as they grow so that they don't become too tight.

 

[firewalker1]

Thankfully after cleaning it a bit I think it is just a wound and no break. She seems to be walking around fine with it and it’s not hanging down

 

[coach723]

I'm glad it's not broken. I would still use the ointment on it until it scabs over, and you will need to watch and make sure that the other chicks don't peck at it. Chicks peck at everything, and red will draw them to it, which will just make it a much bigger problem. If pecking becomes a problem then you might have to separate that chick, or divide the brooder with a screen so that it can still see the others and be seen until it's healed.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

@coach723 gave some great advice. Keeping it moist is KEY to fast healing. Chickens are extremely resilient when it comes to injuries. I have hopes that the little chick will heal just fine. Best wishes!