Pullet with puncture wound on leg

ChickenGirl 19

In the Brooder
7 Years
Jul 27, 2012
90
4
48
BC, Canada
I've been on this board way too much the past few days.

After two badly injured chicks, a seemingly sick hen who suddenly stopped having any symptoms and now a 15 week old pullet with a puncture wound...

My chicken Fred managed to get herself stuck behind the feed storage shed and made a big fuss, with the roosters adding to the noise. I got her out of there by lifting her and I put her down. She ran under the tree she usually hides under with the rest of her siblings.

An hour or two later I go back down and, even with the other chickens running up to see me, she's still under the tree, panting. Considering it wasn't hot out that was weird, so I picked her up to feel something sticky. She had stabbed herself with the fence wire and there was a hole about half the size of a dime.

All the feathers around the wound were covered in blood. After a quick rinse I flushed the wound with Betadine and bandaged it.

What else should I do, if anything? She's in her own cage right now since she limps when she tries to walk.
 
I would put some Neosporin ointment on it, and clean it for a couple of days, since puncture wounds can abscess within 2-3 days. With dog and cats, I usually try to keep the puncture wound open for 2 days with peroxide and neosporin, then let them close and heal from the inside out.
 
She's gotten worse now. Around her wound is green and her joint has swollen to three times it's proper side.

This is her healthy leg:
400
400


This is her injured leg:
400
400
400


She squawks a lot if you try to touch it too. At this point I'm thinking it might be kinder just to put her down.
 
The green skin is most likely bruising. Keep applying the Neosporin, and clean it with betadine if it looks goopy. The leg looks like it is broken or there is a bad sprain in the joint. I would keep her caged for at least 2 weeks or you could try a chicken sling like the ones below:

LL
59765_pp.jpg
 
Last edited:
Okay , I brought Fred inside since I found another room to move the injured chicks. Fred is where I can check on her the most.

I plan on trying to make the sling- are there any posts you could suggest that could help, or any other BYCers I could talk to?

Thanks a bunch.

Fred in her cage:
400
 
This is what I could make, at least for now. The sling's a bit low, but it keeps her weight off of her bad leg. She keeps trying and failing to escape before noticing the feed and eating.

Her new sling:
400
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom