Chick with hurt toe

[Itcus]

I received 24 chicks the other day and most are doing well. I have one with curled toes but everyone is getting vitamins so I’m monitoring for now. Another has a degloving injury to a toe. I spray vetricyin twice a day and have soaked in chlorhex. It is swollen and he limps on it but is eating. I have injectable Tetracycline but he is so tiny. Plus not sure it will grow tissue back onto the bone. It seems to be peeled from the middle of the toe to the nail.

Suggestions?

 

[azygous]

Can you repost a photo of a closeup of the black toe? Select full size image this time so we can see more detail.

It appears the tissue is necrotic (dying). The swelling may indicate the toe may be getting ready to fall off up to the beginning of the swollen part.

You've been giving the injury good care, but chickens are very prone to walling off a toe injury and letting their immune system auto-amputate it.

 

[Itcus]

 

[Itcus]

It would be awesome if his little body would just let it fall off. I just hate the swelling and worry that the infection will spread.

 

[ChickNanny13]

The redness & swelling looks like it's moving up, see some on the toe to the left/opposite side of the middle ....

The curly toe is probably Riboflavin deficiency, checkout Poultry Pedia website.

 

[azygous]

Thanks for reposting the photo. That really helped.

It does appear her body is walling off the injury and the tissue is necrotic. Don't worry. Chickens have a nifty immune response when a toe or comb gets damaged and the tissue dies. To prevent infection from spreading, they wall off the dead part and it dries up and falls off.

Keep soaking it every day, and that will help keep the undamaged tissue above the black part healthy, and after the toe falls off, the swelling should then go down.

 

[Itcus]

This makes me feel so much better! I’m used to dog and cat injuries and ailments where this would need ABs. It’s time for his soak tonight. The kids were calling him penguin so I looked up famous penguin names and there is a series of books about Tacky the penguin. I told him he was Tacky to show up at my house with a worrisome injury!
Thanks guys, off to soak Tacky’s toe.