Topic of the Week - Emergency/First Aid Preparedness

[PollitolovesPio]

Thank you all for all your well wishes and prayer. They are both sleeping comfortable inside getting much pampering. Have a great weekend.

 

[Joshsgirl1]

So stoked they are doing better!

 

[PollitolovesPio]

Thank you getting them the nutri drench today as Pio appetite not all there

 

[AmandaMBG]

Sorry for taking so long to reply. Ya my chickens have major blood lust. So no red cote here. I will try dusting as soon as I can get my hands on what I need to do it and I've given her a little more time. We do have one hen I know has been picking at tail feathers so I'm leaning towards it being picking but I will definitely try the dusting if there isn't further improvement. Thanks for the advice.

@AmandaMBG
   I caught the rooster and checked his underside. His skin is lovely and white with no irritation to speak of. I believe it was the dusting that worked for me. This roosters underside was completely red from his crop to his tail and down his legs. I didn't see any parasites...but that doesn't mean he didn't have any. There's been mites since and I know now for certain what they look like now. I didn't see mites or lice on him. But there must have been something.

Hubby confirmed what I'm remembering. The redness left after dusting him. He also confirmed that I did everything in the order I mentioned.  I hope this information helps with your decision. If you choose to treat for parasites, it's something that's not invasive or detrimental to her health. I would still continue to watch for signs of  issues with her being a hen. With my guy being a rooster, it took that part out of the equation.

 

[DocumentedPure]

What is the treatment purpose of the corn starch? I cannot find references anywhere on the internet.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

What is the treatment purpose of the corn starch? I cannot find references anywhere on the internet.

Hi @DocumentedPure
Cornstarch can be used as a blood stop.

 

[hlhutchinson]

This is what I have put together after reading lots off stuff. Have not had to use any of it yet, however we are new to chickrnd
Chicken first aid kit

Blu Kote - to cover up wounds so others don't peck on injured chicken, use to help with bumble foot

Vetericyn - to spray on wounds as an antiseptic to clean wound, helps promote healing

Vetrx - for respiratory problems

Poultry dust - mites and lice or
pyrethrum - to spray coop and sourounding atria for mites and lice (can use in place of poultry dust)

DT - used on
BagBalm - for dry combs, wattels, and legs in the winter time, leg mites, frostbite prevention
Epsom Salts - good for soaking legs/feet and bottoms
small sharp pair of scissors - these come in handy to trim broken feathers, fluff around the vent, etc
Tweezers, Glove, q-tips, old towels, & dust masks
Cornstarch (or styptic powder) - stop bleeding from clipped broken nails/feather

Sports wrap (vet wrap) tape & gauze (or telfa: Non Adherent Dressing Pads Absorbent cotton pad, won't disrupt healing tissue by sticking to wound) , KY Jelly
hemorrhoid ointment for prolapse
Tums (for the calcium), Probiotics, Electrolytes

 

[Smuvers Farm]

TLDR

What would be the turn over of the products? IE: How often does everyone replace them? Say, I get a bottle of Nutridrench, yet don't have a need for it..... do I have to refresh my supply every year? 2? 5?

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

TLDR

What would be the turn over of the products? IE: How often does everyone replace them? Say, I get a bottle of Nutridrench, yet don't have a need for it..... do I have to refresh my supply every year? 2? 5?

Gooood question. Everything has expiration dates for sure.

 

[Mr_martyg]

My arsenal against injury and illness, along with my ability to recognize the onset of such, has grown over the years from nothing to a pretty sizable cache.

The first time a chicken died occurred just a couple days after I began my flock with two adult chickens adopted from a friend's flock after she died in a horrible accident. I had no idea why the hen died, and I just assumed it was something that just "happened" with chickens.

Now, nearly ten years later, I've learned the signs of a sick chicken, and even without being a vet, I can often figure out what's wrong and how to treat it. However, I still need to come back here and ask questions when I have a chicken with an ailment I can't figure out, as I just did recently, surprising a few of my friends here.

I keep amoxicillin and penicillin on hand to treat a chicken who suddenly becomes ill. A normally chatty hen will suddenly go mute. She will seclude herself in a corner, often facing a wall, tail held low and flat. Last spring, I lost a new layer to a sudden illness and it took her life before the antibiotic could take hold, but I was in time to save her sister a week later when she came down with the same thing. I strongly suspect my compost pile was responsible.

A very wet winter and spring had made a soggy mess out of the compost bins, and I had been disposing of a lot of spoiled apples and squash in it that turned normally present botulism spores into a deadly toxin called Clostridium perfringens. It can kill in 24 hours. With an antibiotic, a chicken can be cured.

I get my antibiotics from KV Pet Supply. They're for fish, but work just fine on chickens, and I can cope with the new US federal law which requires a vet prescription starting in 2017.

I also have on hand antibiotic eye drops, steroid drops, and anti-inflammatory drops for eye infections and sinus infections, as well as simple lubricating saline eye drops. I and a few of my friends have had cataracts removed and these drops were prescribed for our surgeries. They work splendidly on chickens.

I've dealt with my share of injuries, and vet wrap is one of the most important items to keep in a chicken first aid kit. Chicken beaks are sometimes even more dexterous than human fingers, and vet wrap is practically chicken proof since it adheres to itself. I use it cut into one-inch wide strips twelve inches long with telfa pads on the wound. Bandaging a bumblefoot patient with vet wrap enables me to return them immediately to the flock to avoid re-entry stress later.

Bag Balm is a helpful product for frostbite prevention. It's better than Vaseline since it has lanolin in it and lubricates and protects deep into the tissue.

Vetericyn is another valuable wound care product, protecting against infection while promoting tissue regeneration.

Here's more:

Epsom salt
Triple antibiotic ointment
Electrolyte powder
corn starch
worm meds
Corid
Elector PSP or permethrin dusting powder
Castor oil
Coconut oil
Mineral oil
Betadine
alcohol
Miconazole for sour crop
Copper sulfate for sour crop and other yeast infections
Blu-kote or Blue lotion
hydrogen peroxide
soap
Q-tips
cotton balls
Baby aspirin
Antibiotics
Poultry nutri-drench and B-vitamins and selenium
Calcium citrate
Vet wrap and telfa pads
sharp, small scissors



Start your own kit. It can save the life of your favorite chicken!

What was the name of the fish anabiotic that you use? And how do you administer?