My rooster nearly ripped his spur off. Anything I can do to help him?

[BesideStillWaters]

My best guess is that my boy Patriot got his spur stuck in something, probably rabbit wire. (He was trying to fight his brother through the rabbit wire. Didn't think they could injure themselves through wire that small, but leave it to my boy to figure out a way...) The bleeding seems to have stopped, but is there anything I need to do to help him, or do I just wait for his leg to heal up on its own? Here are photos:

 

[nuthatched]

Ouch! I haven't the foggiest of what to do about that. Can you tell if it's the spur itself or the spur sheath? Looks like the actual spur from here.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Ouch! Poor fella!

I'd clean it off with Vetericyn or something similar (if he'll let you). If it is still bleeding, you can help it clot with styptic powder or cornstarch. You can try wrapping it in vet wrap, too, if you think the actual spur part is exposed (not sure what is called).

 

[BesideStillWaters]

Ouch! I haven't the foggiest of what to do about that. Can you tell if it's the spur itself or the spur sheath? Looks like the actual spur from here.

I think it's the actual spur, but I'll get a better look in the morning.

 

[BesideStillWaters]

Ouch! Poor fella!

I'd clean it off with Vetericyn or something similar (if he'll let you). If it is still bleeding, you can help it clot with styptic powder or cornstarch. You can try wrapping it in vet wrap, too, if you think the actual spur part is exposed (not sure what is called).

How do I get Vetericyn? Is there anything else I can use in the meantime? I think he will let us clean it, he's a very tame rooster. We do have cornstarch so I'll be sure we have it on hand when cleaning the wound. I don't have vet wrap but I think I have gauze. Would that work? I'm afraid he might try to eat it off.

 

[Shezadandy]

If it's mostly hanging off - I would remove it so it doesn't continue to dangle and bleed as he walks and the other spur hits it. The blood will end up on the backs of any hens he tries to mate, which could start something bad in the flock- chickens love blood.

If blood stop powder doesn't do the trick- and I just did something similar by the way, except it was the back toe, not the spur - his toe was hanging off, had no feeling and was causing an ongoing wound - so I used a scalpel (can be bought at a farm supply store) to take it off, which he didn't even feel. Unfortunately it kept on bleeding despite the powder, so I followed the excellent advice someone else had put on this site long ago (after washing all the powder off!!!)

Do this outside, the smell will linger. I learned the hard way.

Use an old butter knife you don't mind throwing away. With either a torch or the burner of your stove, heat the tip of the knife until it turns red- then cauterize the wound. If you're worried about hitting something other than the wound, wrap the surrounding area with a wet washcloth. Obviously have someone to hold him while you prepare/heat the butter knife- though I will tell you my guy didn't even flinch when cauterized.

The bleeding stopped immediately and he was back with the flock within hours. I did apply Vetricyn (also farm supply store) - then triple antibiotic ointment. I wrapped it with a non-stick pad and Vetwrap. Good as new.

 

[Aunt Angus]

How do I get Vetericyn? Is there anything else I can use in the meantime? I think he will let us clean it, he's a very tame rooster. We do have cornstarch so I'll be sure we have it on hand when cleaning the wound. I don't have vet wrap but I think I have gauze. Would that work? I'm afraid he might try to eat it off.

Gauze will work fine. Just be sure to tape it well. If I don't have vet wrap, I use medical tape or electrical tape. Even duct tape will work. He may peck at it, but he'll give up eventually, in all likelihood. Just gotta keep it clean while it heals. Change the bandage every couple of days.

Vetericyn can be found at any feed store. Hibiclens (which is for people) or surgical wound cleaner (at drug store) will work. Just no hydrogen peroxide.

 

[BesideStillWaters]

If it's mostly hanging off - I would remove it so it doesn't continue to dangle and bleed as he walks and the other spur hits it. The blood will end up on the backs of any hens he tries to mate, which could start something bad in the flock- chickens love blood.

He's in a bachelor situation (in a cage by himself) so there won't be any mating issues. But yes, the spur hitting each other - yikes, I didn't think about that. I'm not sure how much it's hanging off, and I'm not sure if I can remove it myself. (I've passed out at the sight of blood before, I don't want to again if I can help it.)

If blood stop powder doesn't do the trick- and I just did something similar by the way, except it was the back toe, not the spur - his toe was hanging off, had no feeling and was causing an ongoing wound - so I used a scalpel (can be bought at a farm supply store) to take it off, which he didn't even feel. Unfortunately it kept on bleeding despite the powder, so I followed the excellent advice someone else had put on this site long ago (after washing all the powder off!!!)

Ooohhhhh yikes. Was he able to walk okay without the back toe? Poor thing!!!

Do this outside, the smell will linger. I learned the hard way.

Use an old butter knife you don't mind throwing away. With either a torch or the burner of your stove, heat the tip of the knife until it turns red- then cauterize the wound. If you're worried about hitting something other than the wound, wrap the surrounding area with a wet washcloth. Obviously have someone to hold him while you prepare/heat the butter knife- though I will tell you my guy didn't even flinch when cauterized.

I hope it won't come to this, but if it does, I'd want my vet will do it. But I don't think he does birds. (But if I just randomly show up with my boy I doubt he would turn me away. ) If I have to do it myself, I want to be prepared for it - if I try to take the spur off, how badly should I expect it to bleed? There aren't any arteries there I could damage are there?

The bleeding stopped immediately and he was back with the flock within hours. I did apply Vetricyn (also farm supply store) - then triple antibiotic ointment. I wrapped it with a non-stick pad and Vetwrap. Good as new.

I'm so glad to hear he did so well afterward! I'll see if I can get the Vetricyn and Vetwrap. We are in the middle of nowhere, and probably won't be able to go anywhere for another day or two.

Gauze will work fine. Just be sure to tape it well. If I don't have vet wrap, I use medical tape or electrical tape. Even duct tape will work. He may peck at it, but he'll give up eventually, in all likelihood. Just gotta keep it clean while it heals. Change the bandage every couple of days.

I know I have duct tape and gauze. So put the gauze around it first so the tape won't stick to the wound? (I do have medical tape but I checked and it's old and doesn't stick well. I'd hate for him to actually be able to pull it off. )

Vetericyn can be found at any feed store. Hibiclens (which is for people) or surgical wound cleaner (at drug store) will work. Just no hydrogen peroxide.

Oohh good to know about the hydrogen peroxide, we thought that would be a safe way to clean it. (I read a post a while back about cleaning the ears of chickens and they said hydrogen peroxide was a safe way to do it. )

 

[Shezadandy]

I'm glad to hear he's in a bachelor situation. Anything that's just hanging off really does need to go. Yes, the damaged spur will continue to knock against the other one - I've had multiple roos where they've either cracked it the long ways or somesuch and the biggest problem in healing was the opposite spur.

Doing the "potato" method has worked best for me in the past to reduce the spur on the good leg- that and a pair of pliers. there's all sorts of ways to do it- so I'll let you decide what might be best for you. I've had very little blood with the potato method on an uninjured spur. My roosters all keep their spurs until they injure one- I don't just do it as a matter of course. BUT on the ones I have had to take action, ti's been the simplest and the easiest on the rooster.

I'm not a slice-em dice-em kinda person unless that's their very best option.

Bleeding will depend on where exactly it detached - there may be photos somewhere of a chicken foot dissected or a diagram of the chicken leg circulation system??? So I don't know what to tell you there except be prepared to stop the bleeding- you can always start with blood stop powder but be prepared to cauterize as the backup plan.

With my toe incident roo, blood just kept on running our with the bad toe gone. Because he had no feeling in the toe, he had been stepping on and ripping it just trying to go from point A to point B- so either I was going to do it or he was going to do it by accident when I wasn't there to stop the bleeding. Spurs, in my experience over the years, do tend to keep on bleeding when injured, but I've not had a break like yours.

 

[BesideStillWaters]

I'm glad to hear he's in a bachelor situation. Anything that's just hanging off really does need to go. Yes, the damaged spur will continue to knock against the other one - I've had multiple roos where they've either cracked it the long ways or somesuch and the biggest problem in healing was the opposite spur.

I got a better look and it's dangling. I'm hoping my vet will do it. I'll find out tomorrow. On the bright side, it's not bleeding.

Doing the "potato" method has worked best for me in the past to reduce the spur on the good leg- that and a pair of pliers. there's all sorts of ways to do it- so I'll let you decide what might be best for you. I've had very little blood with the potato method on an uninjured spur. My roosters all keep their spurs until they injure one- I don't just do it as a matter of course. BUT on the ones I have had to take action, ti's been the simplest and the easiest on the rooster.

I've never heard of the potato method. I'll look into it.

I'm not a slice-em dice-em kinda person unless that's their very best option.

Bleeding will depend on where exactly it detached - there may be photos somewhere of a chicken foot dissected or a diagram of the chicken leg circulation system??? So I don't know what to tell you there except be prepared to stop the bleeding- you can always start with blood stop powder but be prepared to cauterize as the backup plan.

Gotcha. Will do. I just don't want to be already too far into it to back out and pass out before stopping the bleeding.

With my toe incident roo, blood just kept on running our with the bad toe gone. Because he had no feeling in the toe, he had been stepping on and ripping it just trying to go from point A to point B- so either I was going to do it or he was going to do it by accident when I wasn't there to stop the bleeding. Spurs, in my experience over the years, do tend to keep on bleeding when injured, but I've not had a break like yours.

Good to know. Hopefully we can have this taken care of tomorrow.