HEN APPEARS TO HAVE LOST TIP OF TOE :-(. Help!

[ChickieChickAv]

I have no idea how this happened but I kept seeing little drops of blood on my deck where my chickens have been roaming enjoying the oddly warm day today and finally I noticed this...

She's walking around pretty normally and eating and begging for treats like always, if I didn't see it, I wouldn't have suspected she was injured.. though I noticed some drops of blood yesterday so this could be the second day it's bleeding. Not profusely just drops but it looks so painful and I'm worried and not really sure what to do for her. She's not a lap chicken so she doesn't take to handling.. though she'll take snacks out of my hand just fine ::rollseyes::

I'd have to wait til she's on the roost at night to get a hold of her to bring her inside and treat her (and her sister for a dirty bum, but that's a whole separate thread). Aside from just cleaning the wound, can I bandage it to try and keep it from infection? What should I use on it? Will she be ok? I can't tell for sure if it's just the nail or the end of her actual claw.. it kind of appears that way though.. any advice will be very appreciated!!

 

[Ducks4us]

I personally would put some bag balm on it at night while she is roosting for a few nights in a row. And watch it to make sure its not bothering her during the day. They heal so fast.
I would imagine a bandage would be too hard to keep on . Unless it seems to get infected after a couple days , then i would keep her inside for it to stay clean and dry .

 

[ChickieChickAv]

I personally would put some bag balm on it at night while she is roosting for a few nights in a row. And watch it to make sure its not bothering her during the day. They heal so fast.
I would imagine a bandage would be too hard to keep on . Unless it seems to get infected after a couple days , then i would keep her inside for it to stay clean and dry .

That sounds promising, thankbtou for the quick reply!! Sorry if this is a newbie question, but what is bag balm? I'd have to go buy it.. unless I could put something like neosporin or such on it for now until I can make a trip to the feed store (feed stores are closing now as it's after 5 pm here in nJ)

 

[Ducks4us]

Neosporin is fine too! Bag balm is similar and comes in a Green square can, little thicker and i like it.
But i use neosporin as well and has worked just as good!

 

[SammyLee]

Honestly, she's probably fine on her own as long as the others aren't pecking at it. I've had many a hen lose parts of a toe and nothing much comes of it. Chickens are ridiculously resilient. Just to assure you of how tough they are, I have a hen who had her side ripped open by a hawk attack (like, a 3 inch wide gaping hole). I could see her ribs and open body cavity. I had no idea what I was doing, but I cleaned the wound and sewed it up with the only thing I had: dental floss. Wanna know how she is? She's my best laying hen and the only sign she was ever injured is a tiny bald spot hidden under her wing. Chickens lose toes. It happens, she'll be fine. If you are worried about others pecking at it I suggest separating her until it stops bleeding and then put her back with the flock.

 

[ChickieChickAv]

Honestly, she's probably fine on her own as long as the others aren't pecking at it. I've had many a hen lose parts of a toe and nothing much comes of it. Chickens are ridiculously resilient. Just to assure you of how tough they are, I have a hen who had her side ripped open by a hawk attack (like, a 3 inch wide gaping hole). I could see her ribs and open body cavity. I had no idea what I was doing, but I cleaned the wound and sewed it up with the only thing I had: dental floss. Wanna know how she is? She's my best laying hen and the only sign she was ever injured is a tiny bald spot hidden under her wing. Chickens lose toes. It happens, she'll be fine. If you are worried about others pecking at it I suggest separating her until it stops bleeding and then put her back with the flock.

Wow, that's amazing!! What a tough girl! Glad to hear that and I do feel better to hear how resilient they are (this is the first time I've had any actual chicken injuries on my hands..) that is very reassuring, thank you! Dental floss, huh? That's amazing! Good work!

 

[SammyLee]

Haha thanks. I don't recommend dental floss, but it's all I had on hand. I also think my use of Colloidal Silver and iodine were critical to her recovery, but I definitely learned from this and now keep sutures around. Good luck!

 

[ChickieChickAv]

I am no longer seeing spots of blood and her toe is looking a lot better, amazing, I really didn't have to do anything with it.. I went to check on it and saw improvement... that's fast! Hopefully is stays this way!