Hair wrapped around toe! Help! *UPDATE* She is doing good!

[pharr389]

can you post a pic of the toe?

 

[desman]

do you have a eyebrow trimmer that way you could cut the hair off and it wouldn't cut the skin

 

[JP101010]

Getting her to the feed store tomorrow will be better than nothing. i have a feeling this toe might be worse than your saying?? which , every one has been in this situation before , nothing to feel guilty about , not saying your a bad pet owner or lazy- These things happen to everyone
The people at the feed store will be able to help you whether they can just snip it off or if you need Phone numbers for avian Veterinarians. Every Vet has to make a living so i believe theres one out there to help you if the toe is in really bad shape. if its a financial issue then there are some resources for you- Care credit ,welfare groups ,private funding , amscot cash advance ,Etc

 

[Squishypuff]

I agree- there is nothing to be ashamed of, we all have things like this happen at some point. The key is to just try and deal with it, and then you'll know what to do for next time. Treating issues gets easier with time too, the more you do it, the more you see how well chickens tolerate even painful things that we just have to do to them. It'll be ok, just do your best.

 

[purpletree23]

I agree with squishypuff. Do something. Are you afraid to tell us that her toe is coming off? If so be honest. If her toe does come off or is hanging by a bit of tissue you will have to cut the connective tissue with sterilized scissors (the smaller the better....manicure scissors). There should not be much bleeding. If there is put pressure on it and eventually it will clot. Do you have blood stop powder? If not I would use a clean finger to hold gentle pressure. If you use a cloth or something that will stick to the clot the clot will be pulled off every time you remove the cloth and the bleeding will start again.


You still haven't told us where you are. There must be a vet that can help. Is there anyone that you can call to put the chick down? A neighbor, friend anyone?

If money is an issue be upfront with the vet staff and ask if you can make weekly payments until the bill is paid off. Vets are people too. Most of them anyway.

If anything bad can happen it will happen to a chicken. You are not a bad pet owner or anything of the sort. I've read about chickens eating styrofoam, string, glass, earrings, rubber bands and even a Barbie shoe. Then there are the animals and people who take, steal or kill a chicken. Hawks, raccoons, dogs, coyotes, bears, fisher cats, snakes, rats and someone even said their chicken was attacked by a groundhog.

No matter how careful we are it happens. I had a chicken with an impacted crop and following advice on this forum I gave her olive oil and massaged her crop. She didn't get better and I brought her to the vet. Come to find out I massaged the contents of her crop further down her digestive system and was stuck just before her stomach. There was nothing the vet could do so I had to have her put to sleep.

I had another chicken with an impacted crop and this time massage worked.

Nothing in life that is worthwhile is easy. This is a little bump all of us are helping you get through and crossing our fingers and praying. We've (most of us) have been there.

 

[Squishypuff]

You can also use flour or corn starch to stop bleeding, should the toe come off.

 

[ReeseTheChick]

I know i know.. I am a new owner to chickens and I feel really bad ok... But should her toe fall off what do I do?? Its not looking that great and someone tellin me what to do about it before hand would be really appreciated. If she needs antibiotics where can I get them and what are they? I am making a chicken first aid kit anyway so I would love to know

 

[welasharon]

How long has the hair been on the toe?

 

[Squishypuff]

Purpletree just told you what to do.

You'll also need a place to keep her that you can keep 100% clean of any feces and ick. That means a brooder or something similar that is cleaned out constantly through the day so that she doesn't get poo in the wound.

Nobody is trying to make you feel bad, but you really need to prevent the toe coming off, rather than just leaving the hair and asking what to do when the toe comes off. Even with antibiotics and obsessively clean surroundings, she could very well end up dying a terrible death of infection. All that could be averted if you could find a way to get that hair off. I wish you were here in NC, I'd absolutely come out to help. Where are you located? I'm sure someone is near you and could help.

 

[purpletree23]

Chickens are little healing machines. Most of the time they don't need antibiotics to heal a wound. Keeping it clean and applying neosporin is usually all you need.

In my humble opinion too many people use antibiotics.

She will need rest and good nutritional food and clean water. Chickens are very resilient.