so I was wondering

[kimberley848]

Perhaps, to add, the particular chicken with long nail and crooked toe will be more comfortable with a series of pedicures, no?

Clipping is easy, avoiding bleeding is sometimes not.
I use a clipper sold as a dog's nail clipper that has a slide over stopper to prevent you from clipping too far (theoretically, can still happen.)
Cuddle chicken in a towel on your lap, hold with forearm, use both hands to grab a toe and clip.
Keep some styptic powder or corn starch ready in case of bleeding.
I clip once per week until nail is ideal length (no longer bothering the position of toe.)

Yeah, I'm keeping up with toe nail trims.... I generally do it about twice a year, unless someone needs it sooner. I keep corn starch handy as I have quicked one of my girls... once. I've just noticed that while some nails are long, the inside part is also lengthening, like an older dog's would. So I had wondered about the toe turning like it is, and thought maybe it might become an issue later on. The nail is a little long, but I can see the "innards" to it, close to the end, so I really can't cut it any shorter. Her other nails are fine. And it's mostly noticeable when she's walking on hard packed dirt or cement, otherwise it looks like it bends normally. Thank you so much for the great advice, and will have to keep in mind maybe cutting them more often.

 

[Helloworld]

Covering her feet is not good. It needs air to heal which from what you say of scab is healing. No booties just a nice epsom soak daily till gone

 

[cottagecheese]

Hi Kimberley, I'm sorry for being late. Sudden illness in a hen, then sudden improvement. There might have been some crying before the improvement, actually there was - buckets. Awful scare, but she's on the mend.

M'lady Gabby needs Rhus Toxicodendron 30C, the most reputable brand is Boiron, amazon carries it. You only need one bottle and it should be less than $10. I'm a little worried that it'll get damaged during transport, was reading that any remedy exposed to 130 F for half an hour is ruined, so fingers crossed it won't be left baking in the sun. Putting homeopathics in the fridge also ruins them.

HOW TO STORE
Homeopathics should be stored at room temperature, away from light, away from strong smells, and away from strong electromagnetic fields. 'Strong smells' means very strong aromatics or toxic odors like eucalyptus, wintergreen, peppermint, essential oils like patchouli, strong perfumes, strong after-shave and soap, smelly chemicals, moth-balls.

HOW TO ADMINISTER
It is very important to not touch them, if accidentally touched or if they fall on the floor/ground, they should be thrown away (not a problem because they are very cheap). You pour a pill into the cap, you gently pull on the wattles and you tip the pill from the cap/lid of the tube directly into the patient's beak, close to the tip of the beak, very careful so you don't send it down the wrong pipe, meaning down the trachea - which is in the middle. Then you quickly screw the cap back on tightly and return the remedy to the hidey-hole.

HOW MUCH TO TAKE
Homeopathy is energetic medicine, it cures by nudging the body to cure itself, just like acupuncture. Only in homeopathy, a different law is in action - namely 'like cures like'. This roughly means that if you would give Rhus tox. to a healthy hen, if you give enough doses, for a long time, the healthy hen would start limping! The sick hen is cured and becomes healthy, but if the medication is not stopped in time, the limp could come back. But it is impossible to make a mistake if using a mid-tier potency like 30c and the patient is kept under close scrutiny. So let's start with two pills a day, one pill in the morning and one pill in the evening, for two or three days. You should be able to see a difference after two or three days. As soon as you notice a difference, you stop and give the med time to work. So I suggest you post after two days = four doses, with the happenings. If you buy the remedy from a local health food store, make sure you keep the receipt because if it doesn't work, it means it wasn't stored properly.

 

[kimberley848]

Covering her feet is not good. It needs air to heal which from what you say of scab is healing. No booties just a nice epsom soak daily till gone

Thank you so much for replying... my only concern is if she's wearing no protection, if she steps on something that lifts or scrapes off the scab, won't she be in danger of re-infecting the same spot? I'm not using the booties as it states they're not for hot weather, so I'm only using some stretchy wrap over a 1"sq pc of non-stick pad, drenched in Vetricyn...it's not tight at all, and is more or less a figure eight wrap around her feet. She doesn't mess with them at, although she wanders in everything, including water puddles. (hot out there) She doesn't seem to have any more pain, no limping, no redness or swelling and is very great about letting me change her wraps each morning. But I have been wondering for how long to continue this. If I leave the wraps off, should I keep checking daily? Also, the wraps are allowing some air in, because they're dirty when I change them out. She started using the dirt bath on the second day after getting her feet cleaned up by the vet and on my second day of wrapping her feet.
Thanks for your great advise and assistance!

 

[kimberley848]

Hi Kimberley, I'm sorry for being late. Sudden illness in a hen, then sudden improvement. There might have been some crying before the improvement, actually there was - buckets. Awful scare, but she's on the mend.

M'lady Gabby needs Rhus Toxicodendron 30C, the most reputable brand is Boiron, amazon carries it. You only need one bottle and it should be less than $10. I'm a little worried that it'll get damaged during transport, was reading that any remedy exposed to 130 F for half an hour is ruined, so fingers crossed it won't be left baking in the sun. Putting homeopathics in the fridge also ruins them.

HOW TO STORE
Homeopathics should be stored at room temperature, away from light, away from strong smells, and away from strong electromagnetic fields. 'Strong smells' means very strong aromatics or toxic odors like eucalyptus, wintergreen, peppermint, essential oils like patchouli, strong perfumes, strong after-shave and soap, smelly chemicals, moth-balls.

HOW TO ADMINISTER
It is very important to not touch them, if accidentally touched or if they fall on the floor/ground, they should be thrown away (not a problem because they are very cheap). You pour a pill into the cap, you gently pull on the wattles and you tip the pill from the cap/lid of the tube directly into the patient's beak, close to the tip of the beak, very careful so you don't send it down the wrong pipe, meaning down the trachea - which is in the middle. Then you quickly screw the cap back on tightly and return the remedy to the hidey-hole.

HOW MUCH TO TAKE
Homeopathy is energetic medicine, it cures by nudging the body to cure itself, just like acupuncture. Only in homeopathy, a different law is in action - namely 'like cures like'. This roughly means that if you would give Rhus tox. to a healthy hen, if you give enough doses, for a long time, the healthy hen would start limping! The sick hen is cured and becomes healthy, but if the medication is not stopped in time, the limp could come back. But it is impossible to make a mistake if using a mid-tier potency like 30c and the patient is kept under close scrutiny. So let's start with two pills a day, one pill in the morning and one pill in the evening, for two or three days. You should be able to see a difference after two or three days. As soon as you notice a difference, you stop and give the med time to work. So I suggest you post after two days = four doses, with the happenings. If you buy the remedy from a local health food store, make sure you keep the receipt because if it doesn't work, it means it wasn't stored properly.

Okay, I'll keep you posted as I have this on order! Thanks again!