Resuced chicken with foot injury - Was stuck in a car engine

[Ghallchicks]

Hello all - looking for some advice. We got a call from a friend who had a chicken run under her car at a stop light and then proceeded to crawl into her engine. She drove her car home with it in there and coaxed out into a bird cage till I could get there. Upon first look she was very protective and biting at us. I thought she was hungry at first so we gave her some feed and she went to town on it. We took her home and left her in the bird cage in the coop with the other girls to get her incorporated into the coop. We let her out a few days ago and she has been def going thru the pecking order.

We did notice she was always sitting or laying odd and would walk a little wobbly. She has started letting us hold her - A LOT! and that is when I saw the shape of her foot. It does not look good at all. One toe on the back side of her foot appears to have been severed. One front toe appears to be missing some of the scaly type skin. She is limping on it and holding it up a lot.

I have looked at many of posts and not sure even where to get antibiotics for pets. Can I use some over the counter type remedies for her to help with her foot? Should I remove her from the coop? She seems to be holding her own well and eating and drinking pretty well. No eggs that we can tell. When I walk in the coop however she wants to be held almost instantly.

I am going to see if I can get a picture quick and will post shortly. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks you!

 

[ten chicks]

First although it is fantastic that this little girl was rescued,never place a new bird in with your current flock as you have now exposed all your girls to whatever she may be carrying,sometimes with fatal results.

A picture would be helpful in giving advice regarding treatment. Clean toes with either a diluted peroxide or hibiclens solution(2 Tablespoons in 1 cup warm water)apply an antibiotic ointment(nothing ending in "caine/cane"toxic to birds) Biggest challenge is going to be infection,signs of infection are: foul smell coming from wounds,redness/swelling/spreading redness/swelling,bird becoming lethargic,not eating/drinking,if you see black tissue(necrotic,dead)remove as this will cause a life threatening infection.

For pain you can give her a low dose aspirin(81mg)or a regular aspirin(325mg)dose is 25mg per lb of body weight,you can give orally(wrap in a pce of meat or cheese)or dissolve one 325mg aspirin per gallon of water.

Watch other birds/herself are not pecking/picking at wounds.

 

[Ghallchicks]

 

[Ghallchicks]

Thank you for the advice, however I did speak with a few local other "backyardchicken" families about what to look for and watch before putting her in there. She looked good and to be honest her foot did not look this way the first few days. She has a nice clean coat of feathers, we inspected for any drainage around eyes, beak, nose etc. We looked for mites, fleas, lice, etc, nothing. I know we are taking a risk by incorporating her. We felt comfortable with it after inspecting her. We are aware of the consequences should she have something we cannot see of physically inspect.

What I am hoping for is advice on this foot and if we should now remove her due to the injury being more predominant now than it was when we got her. I am starting to wonder if it is a burn?

Thank you for the advice and information. Will try to run to the drug store and see what I can find as you described.

 

[Ghallchicks]

I should mention she is eating and drinking just fine and getting around ok. She is perching on the roost at night with the other chickens but does tend to be a loaner at times and will go sit in the run by herself. I am wondering if she was a pet that got loose. She likes to be held a lot. None of my other chickens are like that at all. They don't mind being held but don't run to me, do you know what I mean?

 

[ten chicks]

Yes,my chickens are all pets,so they love to be held and always come running when they see me.

 

[Ghallchicks]

Talked to a the local feed/pet store here about her and she said it looks like frost bite. This poor girl must have been out wandering around in our cold snap. Poor thing. I am off to get some supplies in hopes to help her not loose the foot, wish me luck!

 

[Sarevan]

Awww the poor thing! I would check the leg scales to see if any of them are starting to lift up. A sign may have leg mites. Cover with vaseline a few times a week. I did our new Roo when we got him. All we had was lavender essential oil scented vaseline, after his quarentine was up the girls love him, he still smells that way.

I would also soak her feet/ foot in warm water could be a combo of frostbite and a burn from being in the engine compartment. If any skin sloughs off loosely wrap the foot with vet wrap or gauze, after applying neosporin without any "caine" pain relieving product. Pain relievers with "caine" ending is lethal to chickens unless it is one prescribed by a Vet.

As you don't know how long she had been out on her own I would give her Nutri drench vitamins, or electrolytes and probiotics. Worm and dust her for mites/lice. The skin parasites can be really hard to see, I found them on the new Roo using a magnifying glass. Keep an eye on her for any abnormal behavior, abnormal poo, and breathing problems.

Glad she found someone to care for her, good luck!

 

[Ghallchicks]

Thank you thank you! We did give her a dust bath already (we use peat moss and diatomaceous earth). We got some spray called "incredible skin spray". It's for most pets/animals. It is designed with organic ingredients to soothe irritations and speed healing. I just got some vitamins for her to eat. They recommended wrapping it as well if we can. We will see if she will let us. We just decided to bring her out of the coop now into our basement. I feel bad we didn't see her foot was that bad until this morning. She was just accepted into the coop too and was roosting with the other chickens. I hope this won't screw that up for her.

The chicken person locally here said that there's a good chance she will still loose the foot or the toes but will be able to still get around. No scales lifting off her foot but will definitely keep a close eye on it.

Thank you all for the tips! I will keep you posted.

 

[Ghallchicks]

Just an update that her foot is improving and we found frost bite (small patch) on the other foot and elbow. She will most likely loose at least one toe, but her overall foot is starting to return to some flesh color again in some spots that were almost black 3 days ago.

I will post before and after pics after we get thru a few more days of treatments. So far she is spoiled and enjoys living in the warmth of our basement. We are trying to make sure she continues to get enough socialization.

Thanks everyone for your help and advice.