Hello all, finally joining to say thanks & contribute

4chickens3dogs

Chirping
6 Years
Nov 13, 2013
21
2
84
This site & all of the info has been amazing! Picked up 4 chicks in late March 2013 & have used this site to guide me through each step. Now that I have some experience I want to be able to help others.

We have one girl who lays shell-less eggs and I've been able to determine she must have a defective organ. Never thought our 3 dachshunds & chickens could live as a happy family, but I've been able to train the dogs & now the chickens are able to free range all day.

One girl found her way into neighbors yard & had a nasty wound (probably neighbors dog, but not exactly sure & irrigation ditch has been sealed so no more escapes if she hasn't learned her lesson). The many posting & advice about wounds saved my girl & she has recovered amazingly well & fast. I never would have thought she could have survived. We immediately cleaned the wound with hydrogen peroxide (only cleaned with that once as it sounds like any more destroys new growth), got her into our shop with heat, privacy & very clean environment. We bought vetericyn spray & pulled the remaining feathers out of the way and applied the spray frequently. We monitored the wound for infection continually. She was given electrolytes in water along with plain water. She never completely stopped eating but appetite was disturbed significantly. We left all sorts of food choices for her, but the scrambled eggs with buttermilk was the biggest hit. Buttermilk may have even helped with the greenish poo. After a day or so, we were able to cut off skin & feathers that had peeled away to make sure they were not hindering the new growth. We allowed the other chickens supervised visits so they didn't get to out of sorts. We had to monitor one who wanted to get a little dominate on our hurt girl. After 5 days our girl wanted outside to scratch/play/do what chickens do, but easily let us know when she wanted back into the shop & hopped right into her bed for rest. She would maybe do a couple hours at the most. After about a week, she went into the hen house at night with the other girls but most mornings would just get down & want back in the shop. Then at about 1 and 1/2 weeks she wanted back in the shop more & more. For about 4-5 days she didn't get out much. I monitored her thinking she was going downhill, but determined she was uncomfortable from the feathers regrowing in on the giant bare spot & wound area. The last few days she has been out most & back in the hen house at night. I let her sneak back in the shop for a nap if she wants at times. Wish I took pictures, but it was stressful enough for her with all of the handling to deal with the wound. But it compared to some of the nastier ones posted which sounds like people had to deal will infection & hand feeding & months of recovery. She doesn't squat for us like she used to for petting & picking up & hasn't laid another egg but she oddly stopped laying a week or two before the incident when she had been almost a daily layer. I think she may have been starting to get broody as she was spending a long time in the coop one day with her egg & another chickens under her. I took them from her & that's about when she quit laying.

I now have another chicken having issues with bleeding toenail that just won't grow back in as it must keep getting injured. Minor issue compared to the open wound & I haven't spent much time figuring out what to do if anything for that issue.

Anyway, thanks to all who have helped me through my first 7 months as a new chicken momma!
 
The first thing I would do for the now hurt chicken is to apply something (firmly but gently) like a soft bandage and press it there to stop the bleeding. I would also make sure she does no more activity for the rest of the day in case the bleeding continues again. You can post in the Emergencies and Injuries Forum for more help. It should be able to heal reasonably well as it is only a minor injury.

As for you, Welcome to BYC!
yippiechickie.gif
 
animal antiseptic called blue coat can be sprayed to wound , it also keep others from pecking on the wound.
blood stop powder can be applied to the toenail if bleeding does not stop on it's own.
all these are available at TSC or a similar store over the counter.
Welcome and enjoy BYC!
Steve :frow
 
a similar incident happened to one of my hens yesterday. I have gained some new hope reading your original post. It's very cold outside here so she's actually in our house, in a dog crate...
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Going to scramble eggs and offer a BANANA or some yogurt....and get some electrolytes for her water.


Sure hope she pulls out of this....!
 

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