The roof of my chicken run broke under snow load today! It didn't entirely collapse, but a rafter snapped in half and it is hanging low. I shouldn't really be surprised, as the roof is quite flat and was hunky-junky construction. We shoveled it off, to prevent total failure. We'll need to build a stronger, steeper roof come spring.
I also have a rooster in my basement. The hens are always pulling feathers on his legs and feet, so it has become routine to spray his feet with blue kote. This time, though, the bleeding did not stop. We tried putting cornstarch on the wound and wrapping it, but this morning there was an alarming amount of blood all over the roost. DH caged him in the basement and bought some New Skin, but hadn't treated him yet.
This afternoon, we pulled him out of the cage and he didn't appear to be bleeding anymore. We soaked his feet for a bit and put some New Skin on him, but it was hard to tell where the blood had come from. Yesterday it looked like either the nail itself had broken, but it also looked bloody where the nail enters the skin. He refused to eat, so I left him alone.
An hour later, (after roof shoveling) he had totally devoured his food, but was bleeding again, blood dripping from his toenail. I tried more cornstarch and New Skin. Maybe the bleeding slowed down a little.
Tomorrow I plan to get some blood stop powder and super glue. If someone has a better idea, please speak up! I had hoped it would clot last night, but there was blood everywhere. We'll see how things look tomorrow morning.
