injury/gashes

[Runt of the Flock]

Hey i have a chicken (unsexed) that hatched this past june. He (or she) was doing fine until two days ago, i noticed he/she had a terrible limp. My dad and i brought him/her to our basement and gave hhim/her food and water in his/her enclosure. I examined his left leg. I noticed he had green patches on his skin. (Gang green??? Bruises???) then i found, on the inner knee, a gash that appears to be a right angle. Today i was cleaning his cut when i noticed a smaller cut on the outside on the knee. We have him in an enclosure and separated from the flock but what can i do to help him heal?

 

[Jessica Thompson]

It might be well is it cold were you live if yes frost bite algae if it's warm algae





Ps it a rooster!

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Sounds like the chicken injured itself on something in the run or while out foraging.

The color green is common for bruising.

Gangrene results from an injury that has poor circulation. It oozes and smells really bad. You'll know if that is the problem.

Keep the chickens wounds clean, apply Vetricyn Spray for poultry, if you don't have that, Neosporin triple antibiotic ointment will do. Just make sure there is no pain reliever in the ointment. Any pain reliever ending in "caine" is toxic to chickens. Attend to the wounds twice daily.

It's good you isolated the chicken, but remember, watch for depression, it may need some supervised time outside during its recovery. It's best not to return it to the flock until the wounds have healed substantially. The other chickens may peck at them, and probably already have.

As long as the chicken is eating and drinking well, it should heal up just fine.

Try and determine what injured the chicken, and rectify the problem. Also, sometimes we think the injury came from an object, but instead, it was a predator. It is not uncommon for young chickens to be bitten by rats or possums, that get into the run or coop. There have even been cases of hens getting eaten alive by a large rat, while laying an egg! There are times when a chicken is very helpless, like during sleep and while laying an egg.

Also, if you are interested in the natural healing of wounds with Manuka honey here is a fascinating post about a rooster that was critically injured by a coyote. Then, his wounds treated with the Manuka honey.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rooster-rescued-from-a-coyote-using-manuka-honey.1202992/

These are my thoughts, I hope they are helpful.

God bless.

 

[Runt of the Flock]

Thanks so much for the advice guys! I figured it is a roo but wasn't positive. Again, thanks!

 

[Runt of the Flock]

Will this work, Hen Pen Jem?

 

[Runt of the Flock]

Hey, that bird recovered from visible gashes but was crippled. He got around swell, hopping to greet me at the door, he earned the name, Hop Along. Just last Thursday, I walked into the coop to give them fresh water and food and I noticed that Hop Along didn't greet me. I scanned the coop for his small, dark body, and couldn't find him. I scooted around to the feeder and found him behind it, dead. I don't know why, he seemed so healthy other than his one leg issue. (which i had been monitoring to make sure it didn't hinder his eating, drinking, exercise, or general health.)

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Wow, I am so sorry that the little guy didn't make it.

Sounds like you were doing all you could to keep him healthy. At only six months old, it's hard to say what caused his death.

If he was eating and drinking normally and his wound had healed, there could have been some mishap. Cockerels can get themselves into lots of trouble, jumping around. Only a necropsy can give you the answer.

I had a similar thing happen to one of my full grown roosters. He had just recovered from a respiratory illness. I saw him strong and crowing, then two hours later, I found him dead on his back. He looked like a doll, with his wings at his sides, legs straight out and eyes closed. I was in total shock, I cried a river, over that boy! And I still miss him. But, these are things that happen with animals.

Again, I am sorry for your loss.

 

[micstrachan]

Oh no! So sad. I’m sorry.