my sweetest chicken has hurt toe, what do I do?

[nab58]

time out for the bullies....good idea.
I'd regime all but the nicest rooster.
My local Tractor supply store is having a swap for
Expletive who have too many roosters, bunnies, etc. Maybe you can check to see if your local feed store is having something like that.

 

[dontknownothn]

Thank you! I will stop by there and ask!

 

[dontknownothn]

So her foot is bad again. She has been fine the last week. The flock settled down, everything has been copacetic. I come home yesterday and she is pecking her toe again and it is bleeding. None of the other birds seemed to have noticed it yet. I have her separated again, and the flock can hear her. Now the roosters are all going at it. All (what I think are my roosters) are 'squaring off', the hens are just hovering around the door where they can hear the injured bird.

The toe has this little nail that doesn't seem to have grown like the rest. I don't see an injury, other than from her pecking it herself. Everything I try to wrap it with, she just pecks off. I'm cleaning it and putting Blukote on it. I can't keep going to a vet for this chicken.

I still have too many roosters. 7/4 is not a good ratio.

 

[RedDrgn]

So her foot is bad again. She has been fine the last week. The flock settled down, everything has been copacetic. I come home yesterday and she is pecking her toe again and it is bleeding. None of the other birds seemed to have noticed it yet. I have her separated again, and the flock can hear her. Now the roosters are all going at it. All (what I think are my roosters) are 'squaring off', the hens are just hovering around the door where they can hear the injured bird.

The toe has this little nail that doesn't seem to have grown like the rest. I don't see an injury, other than from her pecking it herself. Everything I try to wrap it with, she just pecks off. I'm cleaning it and putting Blukote on it. I can't keep going to a vet for this chicken.

I still have too many roosters. 7/4 is not a good ratio.

Have you tried the vet wrap? I have never had a chicken able to peck that stuff off (or able to tear it), and it's very inexpensive for the size/quantity needed for a chicken: https://www.google.com/search?q=vet...50,d.dmg&fp=f6c24e6a62487b65&biw=1280&bih=894 It comes in a lot of wild colors/patterns, but try to choose something monochromatic and subdued so they will not be provoked to investigate it much. I usually use black or grey.

Little nail? I'm guessing you probably mean one of the overlapping plates (scales) that cover their legs? It's possible that she may have an abnormal one or that it's lifted/loose from the wound/swelling. If you've had her to the vet, what did they say about the wound?

No, 7/4 is not a good ratio. You really need to take it down to 1/4, or even 0/4. That many roos will eventually end up to a few dead roos if they're confined at all (and maybe even if they're not) and that many roos constantly mounting the hens can really stress them out and/or cause them injury.

 

[dontknownothn]

Thank you for your continued help. I may have gotten the wrong stuff to wrap with. I got this blue wrap from Farm and Family. I just put the roosters on craigslist. If I can't get rid of them, I will have to have my husband kill them, which I really didn't want to do. The the vet said there was no infection and had probably been cut somehow, but that was healing ok. Her other toe nails are really hard and long. This toe nail is very tiny and thin. I will go on the link you gave to look for other wraps. I just put a few of the nice chickens in with her. My macho roo is crowing at the door. The flock is really stressed out.

 

[dontknownothn]

I just looked at that linked, I used the same stuff. Maybe I didn't wrap tight enough. Right now I just have blukote on it, hoping she will leave it alone. I keep checking her.

 

[RedDrgn]

Cut it in 1/8" to 1/4" strips (depending on how big the wound is) and wrap 2-3 around the wound and down the toe (if you're working from near the nail), and be sure to at least one turn around the leg and/or back of the foot (secure, but not too tight; you don't want to restrict circulation) to make sure it cannot be slipped off the end of the toe. Maybe she's just got an odd nail; it happens sometimes.

Yeah, every time a chicken is added/removed from the flock it messes up their social hierarchy (pecking order), and it can be extremely stressful for all included. If you can, put all of the roos in their own area, away and out of sight of the hens (a "bachelor pad") until you can work out what to do with them. It gives both sexes a break from the influence of raging hormones and if the roos don't have any ladies to compete over, they're usually fine being kept among themselves.

I hope you can get everything worked out and settled!