Chicken First Aid Kit

[heatherkh]

Hi all! Relatively new here, also relatively new to owning chickens, tho I have been volunteering to care for chickens at a local farm.

I was wondering if you all had any suggestions for a good first aid kit to keep handy for my flock. As a pet owner, I'm well aware that if something bad is going to happen, it is going to happen when the vet or feed store is closed! Anyway, what would you recommend for a basic starter first aid kit? Wazine? Vet wrap? Latex gloves? Antibiotic ointment? Corid?

Thanks!!

 

[DazeGoneBy]

I have this very same question.

There is a chicken meet up group in my area, and they are giving a talk about this topic in November. I registered to go, but am worried something will happen before then. So, I've bookmarked various threads I've found listing medicines on BYC...but I'm even not sure where to get some named antibiotics, etc.

I went to a few local feeds stores and got vitamins and electrolites for their water, and gauze for bumblefoot wounds, but not sure where to get blue kote, etc.
It sure would be handy if someone sold such a first aid kit already put together with instructions on what remedies fixed what ailments and what the symptoms were.

I've subscribed to this thread, and am hopeful for some good insights. Especially from the local scientist: ChooksChick!

 

[heatherkh]

I know you can't prepare for every eventuality, but I think a little prep goes a long way. I dive the flock ACV in their water and keep the coop/run clean. I do have some DE, but haven't used it. I'm a bit hesitant to over-treat with vitamins and/or use any kind of antibiotics in a preventative way because I feel like that can lead to resistant strains of bacteria etc. But I'd like to have some basic stuff available should I notice something off or have an emergency.

 

[heatherkh]

Should have known to start with BYC search and/or Google, but just in case there are any more folks like Daze and me who need this info and don't want to go searching old threads for it, here are some useful links and information:

Chicken First Aid Kit (found in an older thread on this topic)

And this looks like a great basic list of things I've seen talked about here on BYC for chicken emergencies:

Item Purpose

Safety Glasses Protection
Face Mask Protection
Rubber Gloves Protection
Flashlight To locate chickens in the dark
Scissors To cut gauze and other bandages
Pliers/wire cutters To remove leg rings
Toenail clippers & nail file To trim beak and nails
Tweezers To remove small objects
Small gauge syringes For injecting
Small plastic containers To collect fecal droppings
First aid tape To cover wounds
Gauze pads To cover wounds
Vet Wrap/Stretch Gauze To protect wounds and bandages
Triple Antibiotic Ointment For cuts and broken skin
Tongue depressors/Popsicle sticks For splints
Cotton balls/Q-tips To clean wounds
Small soft brush To clean wounds
Nolvasan To clean wounds
Styptic powder To stop bleeding in minor cuts and peck wounds
Eye wash, drops or rinse To remove debris from eye
Vitamins and electrolytes For dehydration or shock
Honey For dehydration or shock
Baking Soda Add to water in hot weather to prevent acidosis
PolyAid A maltodextrin-based supplement for birds that are not eating
Apple cider vinegar For congestion and to break up mucous
Topical Menthol Ointment For congestion and to break up mucous
Probiotics To replenish good bacteria after an illness
Petroleum Jelly For egg binding and prolapses
Anti picking ointment To stop pecking

Emergency Numbers
Either use business cards or write down phone numbers for your veterinarian and the closest 24 hour emergency animal clinic, and post them inside your first aid kit so they are easy to find. Consider posting a bird inventory, housing diagram and list of care instructions for others in case you have to leave. It’s also a good idea to have a pet carrier on hand to make transporting your chickens to the vet easier.

(Apologies for wonky formatting).

 

[DazeGoneBy]

Looks like a good list, but, for example:
Anti picking ointment : To stop pecking

isn't so helpful. What, exactly, is "anti picking ointment". We need actual medicine names.

From the older first aid kit link, that seems to have been written by a UK resident. So, I have no idea what PolyAid is, for example. Is that Neosporin?

I think if someone knowledgable could recommend medicine and dosage, and what it cures, potentially with a photo of the item, that would be so super helpful. I asked my local feed store for Corid to cure potential Coccidia, and the 17-yr-old working the cash register was stumped. She got on the store intercom and called up an older fellow who had NO IDEA what I was talking about. In this case, perhaps even a photo wouldn't help, but it might give me a headstart to talk to my local vet or see if I could find it online for sale.

Plus, this made me

Flashlight : To locate chickens in the dark

 

[BlackberryFarm]

Just off of the top of my head...

You can find what Corid looks like at Jefferspet.com. That's where I get mine.

I use saline solution as an eye wash. It's usually cheaper and you can irrigate wounds with it, too.

And having a dog crate helps if you have to separate a chicken from the rest of the flock.

 

[heatherkh]

And having a dog crate helps if you have to separate a chicken from the rest of the flock.

Yep - the first link lists that as well (we have an old rabbit hutch as our chicken hospital).

One brand of anti-pecking stuff that I've seen mentioned around BYC is Rooster Booster Pick No More. But I think there are other brands and a feed store would be able to help. I've also seen Blu-Kote mentioned quite a bit for wound care.​

 

[heatherkh]

So, I have no idea what PolyAid is, for example. Is that Neosporin?

I assumed it was a Neosporin equivalent.​

 

[heatherkh]

Quote:
And from one of the stickies at the top of this section:

Medical Treatment and Doses

(tho it doesn't have doses for everything, it is quite an exhaustive list)

Anyway, my apologies for asking a question that has already apparently been covered quite thoroughly!!