Lost toenail ? Injury question.

[bmaw]

My guess it is will grow back but it just depends on how much of the quick was damaged. We’ll have to wait and see.

It will probably bleed whenever the soft tissue gets bumped. That sounds typical of a toenail removal. I remember that happened pretty frequently when my Peppy lost her toenail. Eventually a thick enough scab or new keratin will cover the exposed vessels enough so that it doesnt bleed as much. It will probably take weeks to grow a nail back, but I would think probably within a week or so it will stop bleeding when bumped.

I do wonder if she had the whole toe tip damaged somehow. It looks pretty munched up, but it could just be the picture. If she were mine I would probably try to apply an ointment once a day, but it could be a moot point since she uses her toes to dig around even damaged. Could help protect the toe from bleeding as much, too. I think you said you’re using a blam of some sort, so that would function the same as an ointment to hep protect the exposed tissue.

I don’t think it’s a balance issue, but I would think it’s very sore based on how it looks. I am wondering if there is bruising around the toe tip, but hard to tell from pics and with her scale color. I know when I cut a nail too short or have even a hangnail, sometimes my whole finger is out of commission and I don’t want to use it bc bumping it is painful; i would be that’s how she feels about her toe. Do keep an eye out for infection, but like people, some chickens probably have a bit lower pain tolerance. I know we have a drama queen in our flock. I hope she feels better soon. Daily improvements are good.

 

[bmaw]

this is what It looks like today. I think it's darker bc I'd just rubbed ointment on it. you can see the leftover nail is reddish. I can't remember if it's been red. she's about the same as last 2 days. still favoring resting but eating, drinking, moving with flock. I'm so worried about infection. should I give her something preemptively?

 

[alinas2010]

thank you for your time. she started the day out about the same, but did jump up on the shed a couple of times and moved around a little more. still on 12h meloxicam and ointments. on another topic...I have a bird who makes a hiccup noise (a few in a row) when she eats more than a few bites at a time. She's 4.5 and this has never happened. only other oddity is she laid a rubber egg with a 2nd tail egg attached 2 days after this started.

Of course, not a problem so it’s funny timing, our dog went running (intensely chasing an RC car!) on the asphalt and he tore up his fingernails pretty badly. Down to the quick and cracked quite a few of them and it’s had him out of commission for about 3 days now. Poor guy just limps everywhere and our other dog accidentally stepped on his paw and sent him into a yelp and further limping. So anyways my point being, broken toenails and exposed quicks must be pretty painful for an animal who really utilizes their feet all day, even to rest. So I’m not surprised it hurts her to walk on still, especially when she keeps bumping it.

this is what It looks like today. I think it's darker bc I'd just rubbed ointment on it. you can see the leftover nail is reddish. I can't remember if it's been red. she's about the same as last 2 days. still favoring resting but eating, drinking, moving with flock. I'm so worried about infection. should I give her something preemptively?

Hang in there, hopefully she will start to use it more and more each day as the nail grows back. The red part is her quick and when you compare it to the other foot, you can see how exposed it is and how much nail she lost. I would bet that really is painful. I don’t think it’s abnormal really for it to be red, especially if she keeps bumping it and irritating the tissue. It doesn’t look bad to me, but keep checking it a few times a day. I would not start her on any antibiotics, but keep up with a triple antibiotic ointment if you can. Signs of infection will include swelling and possibly pus. Chicken pus is hard and the texture of a cheese curd. So if you notice any hard swelling around her toe, that would be infection. Also, did you get to check the underside of her foot by chance? Make sure there isn’t a cut or something there making putting pressure on her foot painful.

Your hen with the hiccups, do you have a video? Is her crop emptying overnight? And has she had a break from laying yet to molt? You might consider starting a new thread for that hen under the emergencies/injuries section, just to get more relevant help if needed since this thread is about broken toenails.