Had my first chicken emerency. Torn comb and bloody

[dipence71]

Well I get home and my dd11 tells me there is a hen with a bloody comb. So I head out to the coop and sure enough I pick her up and start to treat it. My dd11 was my "assistant"
First I tried to wipe most of the blood off to see where it was actually injured. She was very good while I worked on her poor thing.

Then used some peroxide to clean the wound.
Tried to superglue it (liquid band aid) but she kept shaking her head and reopening it and it wouldnt hold.
Tried to suture it and that didnt work either.
Do I ended up cutting off the dangling part and treating it like any other wound. DD 11 was grossed out but held her and petted her the whole time (she close her eyes for most of the gory stuff and said..."I dont ever want to be a doctor."
She is isolated in a Rubbermaid tote with food and water and seems to be doing ok.
Gave her some feed with yogurt last night and she seemed to like it really well, LOL
I need to get some blu kote to put on the wound till it heals but dont have any here. But she is in isolation so nobody will be picking at her anyway.
So "Claire" will be in the house with us till it heals. Not like they aren't spoiled enough but I just feel sorry for her.

Anything else I forgot or need to do????

 

[Wynette]

Sounds like you've got it handled. I would use triple antibiotic ointment (WITHOUT pain reliever) rather than bluekote, however. This will prevent infection.

Also, if she's not eating and drinking as well as you think she ought to be, you should probably add some vitamins/electrolytes to her water. And most definitely keep separated until it heals.

Sounds like you've done a great job! Good chicken momma!

 

[dipence71]

I have mela gel which is from Melaleuca and used that last night and this morning it has antibiotic properties and tee tree oil (melaleuca oil). I know too much can be toxic to chickens but with as little as I am using I think she will be fine. She ate all her food between last night and this am so I think she is doing ok. I am going to get some vitamins when I go for an MRI on my shoulder tomorrow and I have electrolytes and acv so I think we are good.
I am a strict believer in mela gel as I had my motorcycle wreck and road rash all down my arm and I used it and the dr's couldn't believe how fast it healed and looks good to. It is all I buy now I use it for everything from cuts and scrapes to bug bites ect ect. it works for everything.

How long do you think she should be separated? Until it crust over (which it has but I put more melagel on it an seeped a bit). Or until completely healed?
I would hate to have the others pecking at it and I hate to keep her cooped up as well.
Thanks in Advance

Wynette,
It is always nice to hear a confirmation(that I was doing it right) on what I did. Thank you.

 

[aymer]

wynette,

did you end up cutting the comb off? the same thing happened to one of my girls this morning. i have done everything you did but i am not sure what to do the hanging comb? how long did you keep your girl in the house for?

thanks, amy

 

[dipence71]

I ended up cutting off the hanging part because I couldn't get it to hold. I kept her in the house until it was completely scabbed over and almost healed then let her outside with supervision to see if the others would pick on her and because it wasnt red and bloody they ignored it so she was good to go.

 

[tulie13]

Quote:
I've never had this happen to me before, but I understand that this is a common practice - I'm not sure how well the hanging part might possibly re-attach anyway. I would recommend cutting off the dangling part. As far as "how long to keep in the house", I'm not sure about that one...

 

[aymer]

thanks wynette! i cut the hanging part of her comb off last. she was quiet last night but she was eating and drinking. i let her play, supervised, with her sisters for a little while this morning and she is still leader of the pack! i will keep her inside for a few more days then re-evaluate.