Middle toe nail ripped off and bleeding pretty good. Have 24 hours to correct it.

[Sea2Ski]

The middle nail on the black sex link was somehow torn off tonight. No idea how it happened. I noticed it when I give them their evening treat of some scratch grains right before they roost because it is on the cooler side tonight (19F right now).
I digress....
I could tell that it happened within a 10 minute window but do not know how it occurred. Regardless, I let her go and she was eating and drinking, but she she was obviously in discomfort standing on one leg. She went up on her roost and I let her go for about 3 hours. I went out and she was still dripping blood from her toe pretty good.
I brought her into the house, and I bandaged her up. Put her back and she took it off right away. Repeated the process: Cleaned it, Put baking soda on it (That is all I have here) and bandaged it, this time taping up to the bottom of the drumstick really well. I put her on her perch and turned off the light, hoping she will stay still and the bleeding will stop over night.

Here is my dilemma: I am leaving for vacation very early Thursday morning, returning Sunday, so I have 24 hours to get this controlled and her stable. My wife will have nothing to do with animals. The most she would do is cut the gauze and tape for me tonight. She will not touch any of the birds for any reason.

I leave for work at 5:30 AM and will not get back to 5PM at the earliest, so 12 of those 24 hours I will not be home.

So in the morning, what do I do if:
1) She is still bleeding and gauze is off?
2) She is bleeding through the gauze?
Redip, rebandage and retape? Or just let her go?

When I get home from work, what do I do if:
1) She is still bleeding and gauze is off?
2) She is bleeding through the gauze?

Finally, if she is not bleeding through and the bandage is on, what do I do? Take it off? Or do I let her work it off herself over time?
Again, I have to have her in some sort of stable condition by 9:00 PM tomorrow night.

Any suggestions welcome. I am thinking tomorrow night no matter what the condition, leave the bandage on if it is on or off if it is off and hope for the best.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Do you have any flour or cornstarch? These work well as blood stop.

Check to see if she is still bleeding. Do the best you can to get it stopped. Once stopped, hopefully it won't start back up again. You can try taping without the gauze once bleeding is done, I would think the tape will fall of on it's own.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Eggcessive]

I have seen a torn off toenail just once in my chickens. The bleeding will usually stop on it's own, but the toe can be painful for a couple of weeks. My hen's nail never grew back. I probably wouldn't be too concerned about this injury as long as the bleeding stops. It just hurts, but they usually still get around well enough to eat and drink, and even can roost. As Wyorp Rock advised, use flour or corn starch, or blood stop powder for bleeding if necessary.

 

[Sea2Ski]

Thank you for replying! I went out this morning, and she was the first to hop off the perch. She let go a chirp when she landed and she immediately stood on only the good foot. The great news was that the bandage did not show any blood, so she must have stopped. I had my wife go out and look at about noon, and the bandage was still on her.

I think I will leave it on while I am away. Wish I was going to be home to change it, but that is not the case. Either it will stay on or she will work it off. I feel like I did the best I could do.

 

[azygous]

Permit me to take this opportunity to recommend every chicken keeper invest in a roll or two of vet wrap for their first aid kit. This stuff is virtually chicken proof. It adheres to itself when you smooth the end in place. Beaks aren't able to unwrap it. I cut the large roll into strips one inch by 12 inches, the perfect size for chickens legs and feet.

Vet wrap is also invaluable at sealing off wounds from dirt and bacteria, making it possible to return the patient to the run and coop with their friends, eliminating re-entry problems.

 

[Sea2Ski]

I think that is an excellent idea and recommendation. I will look into getting a couple of rolls. Amazon here I come (again)!!!