*UPDATE* First Official Chicken Injury - toenail broken at base of toe

[sadies chicks]

Hi everyone,
Is there anything I can do for poor Tommy's toe? He and one of the other teenage roosters got in to it yesterday and I noticed, along with his poor head, that his toenail is broken. It points down, so he is limping, I am sure from the pain. I tried to adjust it to see if I could relocate it but he won't let me. Do I just let it heal on it's own? The nail is somewhat ripped out from the nailbed on the other side, you can't see it in this picture. Luckily the nail is still really attached, so I think just letting it heal on it's own is the best route at this point, unless anyone has any other suggestions?

thanks!!

Toe

Poor Tommy's head

 

[mccabe]

Aloha Sadies Chicks, First and foremost, you need to get your teenage roosters separated. Are you raising them to butcher, sell, or are you needing a rooster for your flock? If the latter, choose one for whatever reasons....color, dominance, gentleness....and remove the others. They will continue to fight and once blood is drawn it will get very ugly.

This sweet little guy will be okay. Separate him from ALL chickens. Give him a comfy hospital setting of fresh water, a bit of greens and some grain, and quiet, in a cage of his own free of drafts and hot sun. The nail is damaged and, left to its own, will probably fall off. Take a q-tip swab and dab a bit of hydrogen peroxide on his wounds, head to toe. Careful not to get any in his eyes. You can clip the nail short if he keeps catching it on things and it bleeds. You can support it by snugly (but not tightly) winding some gauze around the injury as you would a human with a sprained ankle, a sort of figure eight affair that takes in the foot and part of the leg. If you have aloe vera, I would slather the foot in that before wrapping. Check often for swelling and remove or rewrap if it looks puffy.

But it will heal if he gets peace and rest. I'm sure it is painful but it is going to hurt no matter what you do. You obviously care very much. Do not return him to the flock until he is completely healed. Even hens will peck him if they see red scabs.

If you must keep all your roosters for some reason, each must have a pen or lead line on a foot and separate from the others. They will fight. Pretty soon there will be an eye lost, large cuts, holes, feathers ripped off, and even death. Good luck and be patient with yourself as you heal this little guy. It takes time. j mccabe

 

[sadies chicks]

Hi mccabe,
The boys were "by chance" when we got them as chicks, as my DH purchased them as "straight run". We have been waiting to determine who was a boy and who wasn't and we recently determined 3 of them to be boys (of course they all have to be the silkies!!!

). I will be rehoming them as soon as I can since it was not my intention to have boys, just eggs

I will get him isolated and will treat him as you describe, thank you for the details. I have noticed the girls pecking at him too, so I will get him out of harms way when I get home from work today.

Thank you again!!

 

[sadies chicks]

Is there anyone else that has any suggestions regarding the toe?

thanks!

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

Honestly I say if you leave it like it is - hes going to continue to limp and have a hard time, it looks super uncomfortable and every step he takes probably hurts like crazy. Think of an ingrown toenail thats split....on our big toe....painful right? - or a broken toe thats just dangling there.... thats probably what its like for him. I agree with the other poster - its going to eventually fall off, but its only going to cause him pain and hanging up on things making it re-bleed.

I'd have someone (you) hold him in a towel, in the house nice and securely with that leg out, and have hubby take a pair of needle nose pliers and try to push the toenail back upwards into a more "normal position"...OR just use regular pliers and pull the toenail out in a quick go. (if you try to just 'mend' it some - if its really loose - go ahead and pull it - save him the trouble of dealing with it with a quicker recovery of it falling off later)

Either way - Make sure you have some antibiotic ointment and bloodstop powder on hand.

IF you remove it totally - after removing the toenail pack quickly with blood stop powder and then let him go on papertowel bedding for awhile. Wait 10 minutes, check the toe for bleeding, if it is - add a bit more powder. If not, leave him be. do this for 30 minutes till you are sure its not bleeding and has clotted. then slab on some antibiotic ointment. then you can put him on fresh grass or thin layer of shavings (not the sawdust type but the big 'flake' type - the sawdust type will just get packed into the toe )

Good luck and let us know what you decide.


Oh FYI on peroxide - do not use that on his head. - use watered down alcohol OR just antibiotic (no pain reliever) ointment. Peroxide kills germs/bacteria but also deteriorates redblood cells when it hits them (one of the reason it fizzes) which will halt the growth of healthy tissue.

 

[sadies chicks]

Luckily he is walking much better today and it is his 5th? toe which is a bit higher on the inside of his leg so not a main toe that hits the gound. I am going to wait until they are in their coop and then check him again. I don't like chasing him around in order to catch him, it just causes more pain. Then I can figure out what to do. The nail is very much still embedded, not lose at all. We can try to push it back in, but I doubt that will work, but hey who knows...we will give it a shot.

The injury on his head is also much better. No one has messed with it and it is healing well. I have blue kote which I will use to clean the area, I also have betadine that I can use, I agree with the peroxide and not using it. Thankfully the head hasn't gotten worse. I am still trying to rehome them and will separate them if it happens again, but for now I think I will leave him with his siblings, but am ready to move him if needed.

thanks

 

[sadies chicks]

Ok everyone I did it! I removed the nail, just as ScaredofShadows suggested. The nail had worked its way off more due to him walking on it today, so it was easier to remove, it was easy to turn and twist around so we could see how it was still attached. It barely bled so it had started to heal on its own. I have blood clotting powder on it. I hope his nail grows back, but for now he is nicknamed "stumpie"

Oh and I tried to put some Blue Kote on his head, he jerked his head up and hit the brush which then caused him to hit the brush with his beak and he got a mouthful of Blue Kote!! I tried to get him to drink so hopefully that doesn't damage him

I think I will let nature play a more prominent role next time

his head looks great, healing really well, WITHOUT my dorky help.

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

awww poor boy and the mouthful of blu-kote! chickens are tricky critters aren't they? I had a dog do that on me, put blu-kote on her ears and she jerked away from me, sprayed it right across her muzzle and in the side of mouth - she had purple lips for a few days.

Looks good, I was thinking it was going to eventually come off on its on, and going ahead and removing it just made it easier on him.


Good job!

 

[sadies chicks]

Quote:
Yeah I agree. Seeing how lose it was last night made it easier to just go ahead and remove it. He didn't flinch or anything. Today he is walking with a slight limp, so I will keep tabs on him. Most likely due to the raw edge.

Thanks for the help!!

 

[twochix]

I have a similar toe issue with one of my hens. The back toenail is broken upward, but very attached. No blood, but she's walking with a limp. I have her in a crate now separated from everyone else.
Is there anything wrong with waiting it out?