Need Advice on Serious Wing Injury (GRAPHIC IMAGE)

[SuburbanFarmstress]

I looked outside today and saw one of my Sebright chicks playing with something odd. When I looked closer, I realized it was a few feathers with some flesh still attached, like the tip of a wing, and I couldn't find one of the chicks.

I put all of the bigger chickens up, waited a while, and finally found the missing chick. The tip of his wing seems to have been torn off, I have no idea how. I suppose it could have been a stray cat, but I doubt they would injure a chick this small this badly, and then leave it alive. He may have gotten caught between a pen and the wooden fence. But whatever the cause, I don't know what to do know. He seems strong and he's eating and drinking, but I have no idea if he can recover from this or if it would be kinder to let him go.

I can't figure out how to wrap it up, and I don't want to mess with him and hurt him any more than necessary.

Any advice or shared experiences would be most appreciated!

 

[JulieNKC]

No experience with this, but I would clean it with some betadine, snip off the stuff hanging down to make it cleaner(use orajel to numb it maybe?) and wrap it in vet wrap to keep the others from picking at it. Since chickens don't fly, he should be perfectly fine and happy even with a missing wing. Good luck!

 

[chkn]

Poor little thing, they're such beautiful birds. I'm sure he can survive it but you need to take care of the wound. You have some raccoon pulling babies through the wire? They shouldn't be housed at night where they're up against the wire. This smacks of raccoon.

 

[Tamilulu]

I had an experience with a grown goose and a saint bernard. I wrestled the wing out of the dog's mouth (I got stitches--I wasn't giving up!) but the wing was hamburger. I thought she would pass, and I watched her to see if she was suffering overly. I cleaned it with peroxide and wrapped it the best I could. I used duct tape to keep it close to her body for weeks. I changed the bandages every day until it was healing, and retaped it. It was trial and error taping it so I didnt hobble her. I gave her antibiotic injections once a week. That was two years ago. Her wing still doesn't function well, but it doesn't drag the ground and she is healthy and as mean as ever.
With the chick, I don't think you need to wrap it, but I would keep it very clean and give antibiotics. Keep the chick indoors so flies and parasites don't get in the wound. The pic doesn't look good, but I have seen birds survive much worse. Good luck with the cutey!

 

[yinepu]

I've seen a lot worse.. i would just carefully clean that and spray it with blu-kote.. she may lose the wing tip.. but that shouldnt really affect her quality of life. Chickens can survive some really horrible wounds.. they are a lot tougher than most people give them credit for

 

[SuburbanFarmstress]

Thank you all for the support. I did rinse it w/ diluted Betadyne last night, but I was worried if I put Neosporin on it that the shavings would stick to it. I did put Neosporin on it this morning and tried to put gauze on it and wrap him in Tender Tape (it's like Vet Wrap). But he's so little, I can't figure out how to keep the tape on him without making it too tight...

Other than when I'm trying to wrap him in tape, he doesn't seem too distressed though. He is alert and chirping, so that's a good sign. I'm hopeful that he will pull through.

Thank you again for the advice.

 

[yinepu]

since the chick is so small I wouldnt even attempt to wrap that.. it's way to easy to wrap a small chick too tightly and end up causing damage

 

[chkn]

Somebody here a few weeks ago had I believe a full grown hen with the whole wing gone. I'm sure she survived but I didn't follow the thread.