Topic of the Week - Treating Chicken Injuries

[Ponypoor]

Excellent subject!

- What do you have on hand for injuries (in your first aid box)?

Spoiler: First Aid Kit

A Euthanasia Solution

Not all birds can be saved, so one must be prepared to have a vet euthanize, or know how to do it.

Items that some people use for euthanasia (please research the different methods)

• Axe and stump
• Cone and knife
• Sharp shears for beheading
• Broomstick
• Ether for chick euthanasia

Basic Misc Items

Scale to weigh bird
Scale to weigh powder
Calculator
Dog crate to use as a hospital cage
Heat lamp or space heater.
Heating pad
Hair Dryer for drying off wet birds
Towels
Large plastic storage bins
Latex type gloves
Dust mask for when working with powders
Tweezers
Scissors
Small Wire Cutters (for triming beaks/nails)
Large Wire Cutters (for trimming spurs)
Nail clippers
Scissors with rounded tips to avoid puncturing skin
Magnifying mirror
Bolt cutters
Flashlight
Electrical tape
Duct tape
Bottled water

For wounds and other injuries

• Saline
• chlorhexidine
• betadine
• gauze pads
• no stick gauze pads
• gauze rolls
• Vet Wrap
• syringes for irrigating wounds
• suture kit
• styptic powder
• antibiotic ointment
• squirt bottle for irrigating wounds
• Medical tape
• hemorrhoid ointment for prolapse
• Suture kit

Lice and mites

• Permethrin dust
• Permethrin spray
• Ivermectin

Miscellaneous

• Mineral Oil
• Epsom Salts
• Iodine
• Copper Sulfate
• Zip Ties
• Scalpel
• Vaseline
• KY Jelly
• Rubbing Alcohol (for wetting feathers)
• Q-tips
• Cotton balls

Nutritional Supplements

• NutriDrench
• Rooster Booster Poultry Cell
• Poly-Vi-Sol (no iron)
• Niacin or Brewers Yeast (for ducks)
• Calcium Gluconate (liquid)
• Calcium Citrate (pills)
• Probiotics
• Electrolytes
• ACV (unpasteurized apple cider vinegar)

Needles and Syringes

• 1 ml syringes
• 3 ml syringes
• 18 gauge needles
• 22 gauge needles
• 30 ml or 60 ml catheter tip syringes

Feeding Tubes/Supplies (click here for source)

• Size 8 french for small chicks
• Size 14 french for larger chicks
• Size 18 french for adults
• Size 30 for large adult birds, like ducks, geese, turkeys, and peafowl
• Kaytee Exact Baby Bird Food

Chick hatching kit

• Tape for curly toe (electrical, masking, medical, duct, etc)

Cleaning Supplies

• Bleach
• Oxine and activator (please research this thoroughly before using)
• Tek-Trol (please research this thoroughly before using)
• Sponges
• Scrub brushes

- How do you handle injuries and treat them?
It depends on the type of injury.

- What do you do with the injured bird during it's recovery?
Some you can "treat and street" (treat and return to flock), others will require different levels of care.

I'll come back and add more after I get my thoughts together.

Not sure about the euthanasia part, thankfully I have many Vets nearby to help me and make sure they don’t suffer.

 

[Ascholten]

For cleaning, I have a concoction I made up of 1/3 alcohol, isopropyl works, or even good ole shine, 1/3 distilled water, 1/3 dawn dish soap, you can cut back on the dish soap a bit if you need. it's a good hand sanitizer however I have used it a time or two to 'suds up' a bird injury and just tamp it down with a towel and it has kept infection at bay. It's VERY good at cleaning too and also gentle, gentle enough to use in regions you'd normally be VERY careful about putting alcohol.. and it does not burn. (in case you are wondering why I am washing such parts.... fkn fireant bites). I just use my first aid kit, and have a few antibiotics, ivermectin is a good one to have as well. yes it is used a lot as a dewormer but DOES other duties as well ! I also have nutri drench and stuff to help boost their nutrient intake in case I have to room one of them inside for a few days

I DO have a question. Someone mentioned having 'house chickens'.
So you let the bird run around IN the house?
Is it in a cage, maybe being taken out occasionally to pet, or does it pretty much have free roam? How do you handle the poop thing since they really can't be potty trained?

Aaron

 

[Farmgirl805]

For cleaning, I have a concoction I made up of 1/3 alcohol, isopropyl works, or even good ole shine, 1/3 distilled water, 1/3 dawn dish soap, you can cut back on the dish soap a bit if you need. it's a good hand sanitizer however I have used it a time or two to 'suds up' a bird injury and just tamp it down with a towel and it has kept infection at bay. It's VERY good at cleaning too and also gentle, gentle enough to use in regions you'd normally be VERY careful about putting alcohol.. and it does not burn. (in case you are wondering why I am washing such parts.... fkn fireant bites). I just use my first aid kit, and have a few antibiotics, ivermectin is a good one to have as well. yes it is used a lot as a dewormer but DOES other duties as well ! I also have nutri drench and stuff to help boost their nutrient intake in case I have to room one of them inside for a few days

I DO have a question. Someone mentioned having 'house chickens'.
So you let the bird run around IN the house?
Is it in a cage, maybe being taken out occasionally to pet, or does it pretty much have free roam? How do you handle the poop thing since they really can't be potty trained?

Aaron

I’m not sure about other people, I only bring my ladies inside the garage in a dog crate if injured, but I do know that there are chicken diapers so they can walk around in the house and the diapers catch the poo

Something like this

 

[Ascholten]

So I take it that diaper is washable. eww NOT a fun job especially when it catches a cecal squirt. Maybe a cork and small tack hammer would work,just let them out once a day and POP - POOP !!

Aaron

 

[Nyhillbillies]

All this info is wonderful!!!!
Question: my chickens (hens & rooster)weren’t raised by me, obtained as adults, and not handleable! What advice can you give on how to handle them to even think about giving treatment??

 

[Ascholten]

All this info is wonderful!!!!
Question: my chickens (hens & rooster)weren’t raised by me, obtained as adults, and not handleable! What advice can you give on how to handle them to even think about giving treatment??

Quick and a long answer.
quick, wait until night time and snatch them off the roost, stand by for high drama and potential screaming like you are cutting them open right there.

long answer - take time with them, throw them snacks, talk nice to them, be nice to them, get them used to you, used to you feeding them, possibly with snacks and then you petting them, and eventually being able to handle them, pick them up etc.

Aaron

 

[ManueB]

My first kit is a beginner's compared to some of the previous listed. I wanted to comment on the fact that many over the counter products in the US will need a prescription in Europe, or do not exist, so that we have to do without, or use an equivalent.
- headlamp and dog crate
- Gauzes and q-tips
- medical gloves
- towels, old t-shirts
- a syringe
- Betadine, alcohol, benzalkonium chloride.
- dewormers : teniverm (levamisole and niclosamide), Flubenol KH (Flubendazole)
- Parasites : dog Frontline (permethrin and fipronil).
- supplements : vitamins for poultry, adiaril ( baby rehydration solution), Calciforte ( liquid calcium gluconate), Calcimax.
- pain killer : Metacam (Meloxicam)
- Anti rat poison : don't think I've seen this in the previous post and it could be very, very useful: vitamin K. ( Works for anticoagulant rat killers which are the only ones authorized here).
_ Smecta : a human medicine which I don't think exist in the states. It's a white clay for diarrhea.

What we don't have are any kind of antibiotics(oral or topical). Their use in poultry are prescription based and extremely limited. I would be interested to know if there are useful alternatives.

I also use natural products which are in my human first aid kit. Mainly : green clay, ACV, tea tree, oregano and ravintsara essential oils, honey, coconut oil.

 

[Nyhillbillies]

Quick and a long answer.
quick, wait until night time and snatch them off the roost, stand by for high drama and potential screaming like you are cutting them open right there.

long answer - take time with them, throw them snacks, talk nice to them, be nice to them, get them used to you, used to you feeding them, possibly with snacks and then you petting them, and eventually being able to handle them, pick them up etc.

Aaron

Thank you Aaron! I like the long answer better!

 

[Ponypoor]

My first kit is a beginner's compared to some of the previous listed. I wanted to comment on the fact that many over the counter products in the US will need a prescription in Europe, or do not exist, so that we have to do without, or use an equivalent.
- headlamp and dog crate
- Gauzes and q-tips
- medical gloves
- towels, old t-shirts
- a syringe
- Betadine, alcohol, benzalkonium chloride.
- dewormers : teniverm (levamisole and niclosamide), Flubenol KH (Flubendazole)
- Parasites : dog Frontline (permethrin and fipronil).
- supplements : vitamins for poultry, adiaril ( baby rehydration solution), Calciforte ( liquid calcium gluconate), Calcimax.
- pain killer : Metacam (Meloxicam)
- Anti rat poison : don't think I've seen this in the previous post and it could be very, very useful: vitamin K. ( Works for anticoagulant rat killers which are the only ones authorized here).
_ Smecta : a human medicine which I don't think exist in the states. It's a white clay for diarrhea.

What we don't have are any kind of antibiotics(oral or topical). Their use in poultry are prescription based and extremely limited. I would be interested to know if there are useful alternatives.

I also use natural products which are in my human first aid kit. Mainly : green clay, ACV, tea tree, oregano and ravintsara essential oils, honey, coconut oil.

Smecta sound like it might be kaopectate which is a clay used to treat diarrheal issues.

 

[Ponypoor]

Towels towels and more towels.

They are handy for wrapping up a chicken to immobilize them.
Makes a great dressing to cover large area wounds, keep flies off wounds.
Warm up a chicken to prevent shock, which is the number one killer in wounded ‘anything’ (animal or human).
Useful as an anti slip base for standing a chook on when assessing and treating.
Useful as a bedding for sick and injured chooks keeps them off shavings or other bedding which could stick to and contaminate a wound.
Keep your lap clean and dry while handling a chook.

Have a variety of sizes of towels on hand with your usual first aid items.

One last thing, keep your Veterinarian number handy in case you need it on a hurry.