Cut on Foot

[misspea78]

One of my three month old chickens caught his/her (not sure yet!) toe or foot in the door of the coop as I was closing it. There is a little blood and "Peck" is favoring it, holding it up ... and is a little puffed out. This literally happened five minutes ago as I was changing their water. Peck is moving around just fine, but when standing, holds the hurt foot up. These are my first chickens. I feel terrible and am not sure what I should do next. They are tame, and will take food from my hand and hop up on me when I sit with them but don't like being held AT ALL. It really stresses them out, which is why I have not yet scooped him up for a better look. Should I just let him be and keep an eye on it to avoid further stress? Should I clean the wound? With what? Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

Marilyn

 

[misspea78]

Ok .. I've been observing the injury and it does not seem too bad. Walking normal, no more favoring or holding up. Not puffed up anymore. Greedily munching on some grapes I brought down to bribe with while getting a better look. The cut is on one toe and it is not actively bleeding anymore. It seems to be covered in dirt, though, and I am not sure if this is a good thing because it has helped to stop the bleeding, or a bad thing, because it could bring infection.

 

[Dewsetter]

I think you would be better getting hold of the little one and just dunking the whole foot in a bowl or cup of salty water and giving it a wiggle about. Dont use cotton wool or anything like that to wipe it as it's possible you could dislodge a blood clot and start it bleeding it again. It doesn't sound too bad and should be fine but if you can take a picture of it when you clean it I may be able to help you more. Good luck.

 

[misspea78]

Thanks for the advice! Peck looks so much better today but I'll keep an eye on it and I'll post a pic if I can manage to hold the foot still enough. Thanks again!