My hen Sadie, lost a toe nail and is bleeding. How do I care for it?

[Prairie Dawn]

There are several other, what I think are minor issues going on with my 4 girls but right now I just need to know how best to care for Sadie's lost nail. I also am wondering if I should separate her from the flock. Zelda, light cream colored hen has streaks of blood on her neck and back.

 

[happyhens1972]

Maybe Sadie had a go at Zelda and that's where the blood is coming from...Sadie's toe??

Anyway, regarding Sadie's nail.....if it is still bleeding, dunk her toe in corn starch. Once it has properly stopped bleeding and the need for the corn starch has passed, you can give it a wash and apply wound spray. Keep an eye on it for signs of infection or if she opens it up again and it starts bleeding....chickens just love to go after blood!

As for separating her from the flock, it depends what the long term goal is. You can observe closely to see if this is an ongoing issue or a one-off spat. If it's a spat, no need to act, just let them sort their squabbles out among themselves.....all part of the pecking order. If she is being over-dominant, you can take her out for a few days and see if the others re-shuffle the pecking order in her absence, then re-introduce her but this can have its problems.....if she tries to re-assert her dominance, you could have even more fighting.....but I have done it in the past and it has brought the offending girl down a peg or two, enough to restore peace anyway. You could re-home Sadie. Or, if it is just Zelda she picks on, you might want to consider if Zelda is better off elsewhere? Or, you could play at chicken maths....add more birds (after quarantining) and then there'll be a complete re-shuffle and it might address the issue!!

Lots of ideas....what works for you? xxx

 

[Perris]

thanks for the tip about corn starch HH1972; I had something similar happen to one of mine when I just started out, and I was flapping about with cotton wool, antiseptic cream and plasters! (It did work, but this sounds MUCH easier and better)

 

[Prairie Dawn]

Thank you happyhens!

I went to my local farm store & at the advice of the manager a.k.a. "the chicken guy" I brought home "Wonder Dust" Wound Powder and "Blu-Kote" germicidal, fungicidal wound dressing. The Wonder Dust stops the bleeding like cornstarch & has some medicinal ingredients as well. It comes in a squeeze bottle so you can apply it w/o even holding her. The Blu-Kote is a spray-on dressing that is dark blue that hides any red and prevents pecking. I lured my 3 other hens to the run with some treats and was able to close the coop door with Sadie inside. I filled a cup with dried meal worms, put Sadie on the roost and was able to "poof" the powder and spray the Blu-Kote onto the bleeding toe with one hand while she happily ate worms from the cup in my other hand. Worked so well and I didn't even get Blu-Kote on my clothes!

Zelda is still after Sadie but not as fervently since her wound is hidden. Sadie seems to be holding her own... There's been more than the usual winter stress this year with many more below zero (-20 degrees with a few even colder) days and rapid fluctuations in temps. Word at the farm store is that everyone's hens are stressed right now.

I tend to get rattled when it comes to animals bleeding. Your advice to observe closely and consider that when you separate a hen then you must re-introduce served as my voice of reason. I was in the coop when the girls began the evening roost. I figured if they can get to sleep w/o any big squabbles then Sadie would be fine & it wouldn't make sense to separate her. Your support was a big help to me!

Thank you again,
Dawn

 

[alanawesen]

Hello,
I had the same thing happen last year due to frostbite- my girl was left with half of a toe! As mentioned above, stop the bleeding and disinfect the wound (I sprayed it with hydrogen peroxide). I wrapped my hen's toe in gauze strategically so that it didn't fall off after 10 mins. It should be healed up in about two weeks. Keep an eye on it in the period of time. Best of luck!

 

[happyhens1972]

thanks for the tip about corn starch HH1972; I had something similar happen to one of mine when I just started out, and I was flapping about with cotton wool, antiseptic cream and plasters! (It did work, but this sounds MUCH easier and better)

You are most welcome! Corn starch is a great 'go to' to make blood clot quickly and most people have it in their cupboard. I have used it on many different animals....and people too!! The wound powder mentioned by Prairie Dawn is obviously the best of both worlds for the chooks....stops the bleeding and is medicated/antiseptic.

Thank you happyhens!

I went to my local farm store & at the advice of the manager a.k.a. "the chicken guy" I brought home "Wonder Dust" Wound Powder and "Blu-Kote" germicidal, fungicidal wound dressing. The Wonder Dust stops the bleeding like cornstarch & has some medicinal ingredients as well. It comes in a squeeze bottle so you can apply it w/o even holding her. The Blu-Kote is a spray-on dressing that is dark blue that hides any red and prevents pecking. I lured my 3 other hens to the run with some treats and was able to close the coop door with Sadie inside. I filled a cup with dried meal worms, put Sadie on the roost and was able to "poof" the powder and spray the Blu-Kote onto the bleeding toe with one hand while she happily ate worms from the cup in my other hand. Worked so well and I didn't even get Blu-Kote on my clothes!

Zelda is still after Sadie but not as fervently since her wound is hidden. Sadie seems to be holding her own... There's been more than the usual winter stress this year with many more below zero (-20 degrees with a few even colder) days and rapid fluctuations in temps. Word at the farm store is that everyone's hens are stressed right now.

I tend to get rattled when it comes to animals bleeding. Your advice to observe closely and consider that when you separate a hen then you must re-introduce served as my voice of reason. I was in the coop when the girls began the evening roost. I figured if they can get to sleep w/o any big squabbles then Sadie would be fine & it wouldn't make sense to separate her. Your support was a big help to me!

Thank you again,
Dawn

So glad I could help and that you were able to get things sorted without the need for separation. There are definitely times when it is necessary and advisable but if it can be avoided without detriment to the birds, it's best to do so. The pecking order is a delicate balance and upsetting it can lead to all sorts of issues but we, as owners, tend to forget this sometimes when we become over-protective...it's human nature! We don't like to see an under-dog so we tend to interfere but it is all part of the natural hierarchy....they usually sort it out on their own....and unfortunately, that means some poor hen has the job of being at the bottom!