Please Help! We've tried everything.. Broken wing/swelling

[kisalove1]

Hi There,

I have a beautiful Australorp Chicken that our family loves very very much. About a week ago we found her with one of her wings hanging lower than the others. We figured that it was broken. We tried bandaging it but it kept falling off. We've tried every kind of bandage and spent hundreds of dollars buying different kinds until now but nothing seems to be working. The next day we also took her to the vet who checked her for infections (there was none at the time) and wrapped her wing up, which also ended up falling off. We've tried home remedies like applying tumeric to the wound/swelling. There's now massive amounts of swelling under the wings and because she has been pecking it, there is also scarring and a bit of blood. Up till yesterday she was still eating heaps and everything but today she is slower..she's not eating unless we feed her with our hands and tiny portions at that... not going to far from her room (she's usually very adventurous). We're really worried and have tried everything we can. We've also been giving her calcium supplements and some ibuprofen to help with the pain. At the start of the week she was also on a small antibiotics course... another thing, she's drinking a lot of water despite the antibiotics course being finished and today i noticed some gurgling noises when she was drinking.. We also trimmed her wings at the start of the week as she kept stepping on it when she was walking.. we did this carefully according to instruction just to avoid her from being in pain when she's moving around... She's very frail now Is there anything we can do to save her?

I've uploaded some pics:









Thank you for reading and sorry if the pics are too much... Please help if you can!

 

[ten chicks]

Hi There,

I have a beautiful Australorp Chicken that our family loves very very much. About a week ago we found her with one of her wings hanging lower than the others. We figured that it was broken. We tried bandaging it but it kept falling off. We've tried every kind of bandage and spent hundreds of dollars buying different kinds until now but nothing seems to be working. The next day we also took her to the vet who checked her for infections (there was none at the time) and wrapped her wing up, which also ended up falling off. We've tried home remedies like applying tumeric to the wound/swelling. There's now massive amounts of swelling under the wings and because she has been pecking it, there is also scarring and a bit of blood. Up till yesterday she was still eating heaps and everything but today she is slower..she's not eating unless we feed her with our hands and tiny portions at that... not going to far from her room (she's usually very adventurous). We're really worried and have tried everything we can. We've also been giving her calcium supplements and some ibuprofen to help with the pain. At the start of the week she was also on a small antibiotics course... another thing, she's drinking a lot of water despite the antibiotics course being finished and today i noticed some gurgling noises when she was drinking.. We also trimmed her wings at the start of the week as she kept stepping on it when she was walking.. we did this carefully according to instruction just to avoid her from being in pain when she's moving around... She's very frail now Is there anything we can do to save her? e uploaded some pics:









Thank you for reading and sorry if the pics are too much... Please help if you can!

Clean the wound several times day. You can give her an epsom salt soak for wing,this will help with swelling and helps to draw out infection. Apply an antibiotic ointment(nothing ending in "caine/cane"toxic to chickens). For immobilizing wing,i would put a piece of gauze or some other material under wing to prevent friction from rubbing wound,place wing in position it should be(try and line up break,look at other wing for correct placement)wrap around body,up over wing (wrap in a figure 8)and secure with vet wrap or whatever you have on hand,just not to tight,you do not want to cut off circulation.This will have to be wrapped daily,as you have to clean wound. Leave wrap in place for 2 weeks. Keep her separated and quiet/calm. Give her electrolytes/vitamins,make sure she is eating grit/food/water. Give her favorite foods to encourage eating,try adding warm water to feed,make into a warm mash,also give her plain probiotic yogurt. For pain give her a baby aspirin(81mg)dose is 25mg per lb of body weight,may make her sleepy. I believe her wound may be infected,this would result in her not eating/becoming lethargic/swelling,watch for foul smell from wound(this indicates severe infection). I can tell by picture that she is in pain and feels terrible. Continue with the hand feeding,just make sure you are giving her grit.

 

[kisalove1]

Dear ten chicks,

Thank you so much for your reply! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I've done as you've said, we've cleaned her wound twice with epsom salt. Also put gauze near the wound and tried to wrap her up a per your instruction too. Not sure if I quite got the figure 8 but she hasn't taken it off... yet. We gave her half a multivitamin dose, half a calcium tablet, and approx 81mg of aspirin. She's eating her chicken feed, which I assume is grit after searching it up on google. I'm also mixing her water with electrolytes. She's eaten a bit more this evening so thats a sign of improvement We could not find an antibiotic ointment, but I've applied betadine which is an antiseptic. I'm not sure where exactly i'd find an antibiotic ointment, any recommendations? I've tried a pet store and a pharmacy. I'll try another pharmacy tomorrow. Again thank you so much, we've been trying everything to get her better, and will appreciate continued advice!!

 

[ten chicks]

Dear ten chicks,

Thank you so much for your reply! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I've done as you've said, we've cleaned her wound twice with epsom salt. Also put gauze near the wound and tried to wrap her up a per your instruction too. Not sure if I quite got the figure 8 but she hasn't taken it off... yet. We gave her half a multivitamin dose, half a calcium tablet, and approx 81mg of aspirin. She's eating her chicken feed, which I assume is grit after searching it up on google. I'm also mixing her water with electrolytes. She's eaten a bit more this evening so thats a sign of improvement We could not find an antibiotic ointment, but I've applied betadine which is an antiseptic. I'm not sure where exactly i'd find an antibiotic ointment, any recommendations? I've tried a pet store and a pharmacy. I'll try another pharmacy tomorrow. Again thank you so much, we've been trying everything to get her better, and will appreciate continued advice!!

Glad she is eating. Betadine is fine for treating wound. You can use vetericyn or polysporin as long as whatever you use,has no ingredients in the "cane/caine" family toxic to chickens. She needs grit,if eating anything other than chick starter feed. This can be prepared grit,small stones/pebbles,coarse sand,etc. All birds need grit to digest feed.

 

[kisalove1]

A new problem has arisen. Today when I went to feed her in the evening she spewed a clear liquid all over me (water but with a slightly thicker density). I tried again moments later, same thing happened. She has a been drinking a lot of water (A LOT) so that's one explanation. Also I forgot to mention that she was on an antibiotic course for 4 days or so.. I think it may have been too strong for her. The vet had no idea what they were doing and didn't even manage bandage her up. They don't have vets for birds near where I live. What should I do now?! Help!

 

[ten chicks]

A new problem has arisen. Today when I went to feed her in the evening she spewed a clear liquid all over me (water but with a slightly thicker density). I tried again moments later, same thing happened. She has a been drinking a lot of water (A LOT) so that's one explanation. Also I forgot to mention that she was on an antibiotic course for 4 days or so.. I think it may have been too strong for her. The vet had no idea what they were doing and didn't even manage bandage her up. They don't have vets for birds near where I live. What should I do now?! Help!

It could be from her drinking considerable amounts of water. Some medications will make her thirsty. Monitor her,make sure she is eating/drinking normally. Keep an eye on her crop,watch for sour croup and impacted crop. I am giving a link for impacted/sour/pendulous crop,only because of the water she spewed up,my concern is sour crop. Could be just water,but better safe than sorry.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/answers-from-chicken-vet-on-impacted.html

 

[hhholsteiners]

what happened?

 

[gimmie birdies]

This is separate from your hen, but I had a welsummer hen that had a broken wing, She would walk around with it hanging and step on it. We tried to strap it up, but she always got out of the sling. So I let it be. She always looked sad, and became low on the pecking order. I saw in the paper someone had a 10 week old rooster chick needing a home. I took him in and at night put him under the hen with the bad wing. She adopted him and they never left each other's side. It was nice she had some other bird to care for her, and she cared for him back.