Chicks keep attacking injured toe

[slimsalmon]

I have a chick that has a injured toenail that all the other chicks pick at when I don't keep it seperated from the others. I read one thread that there was a blue dye you can put on a wound to change the collor to prevent other birds from seeing it.

Well, I tried that and now every bird sees it immediately and comes running to the toe from near and far as soon as I try setting it back in the brooder. Now I have to figure out how to get the dye all back off it's toe. Maybe rubbing alcohol?

Any suggestions on how to stop the other birds from picking at the injured toenail? I also tried vapo-rub on it to give the toe a bad taste which worked with a little success briefly.

 

[farm_mom]

I had the same thing happen this season. I had to keep the injured one separated for a few days. I put up a cardboard divider so she could still hear her broodmates while she healed up. (everytime I tried to put in a buddy for her, they'd go for the toes.) It took about 3 days for it to scab up really good. All I treated her with was a bit of anti-bac cream. I put her back in when the others were napping and she never got picked on again. Good Luck!

 

[JenniferJoIN]

I had a chick whose toe got smashed in the door and I put a bandaid on it. Every once in a while it would catch another chicks' eye, but for the most part it blended in with the shavings. I left it on for about a week.

Goodluck!