Hi folks! I am new here but have had backyard chickens for the last 5 years.
I normally take my girls to a bird vet but I have a special case this time as it is not my bird. Here's the back story--
A week ago my best friend called and had found a young chicken (about 10 wks old) in her backyard late at night (she has 4 other older hens). She noticed the following day that this little girl was holding her wing funny. She was leaving town 3 days later, so I came over to check her out after she had had her for a few days. Well from about 2 feet away you could smell something bad. I lifted the wing and you could see an injury/bone and the smell was terrible! Clearly this little girl was attacked and dragged into my friends yard (she has 8' fences all around her yard). I offered to take her home and doctor her while my friend traveled. My friend does not have the money to pay for a vet, so for the last week my husband and I have cleaned the wound, applied antibiotic cream and I had some expired baytril from one of my other girls that I gave her. Within 2 days the smell was gone and "chicken little" was (still is) spunky and eating great. She is the sweetest little girl, loves to sit on your lap, drape over your arm while you let her and make cute little chirpy sounds! We've grown very attached!
Fast forward to yesterday and my husband (I was out of town for work so he had been on chicken duty) shows me that there is a weird dark brown nubby covering hwhat looks like her elbow. It looks like dirt caked around a wound. So this evening I got a syringe and warm water and proceeded to try and loosen it up to see what was going on underneath. As it started to loosen, Chicken Little turned her head and picked it off! I treated it with hydrogen peroxide and antibiotic cream & wrapped the wing with gauze so it stayed dirt free. Attached are pictures of the gross dirt scab (she has been dust bathing in her pen) and the red bone that was revealed when it came off.
My question is--is there any way this will heal on its own? Is there something I can do to help her at home? I understand if it heals like this her wing won't be fully functional but she moves it pretty well as is so that is not my biggest concern. If she were mine I would have taken her to the vet, but honestly I can't justify spending my money on someone else's chicken. If the resounding answer is she must go to the vet, I will figure out something for with my friend. But I would really appreciate any advice or wisdom!
I normally take my girls to a bird vet but I have a special case this time as it is not my bird. Here's the back story--
A week ago my best friend called and had found a young chicken (about 10 wks old) in her backyard late at night (she has 4 other older hens). She noticed the following day that this little girl was holding her wing funny. She was leaving town 3 days later, so I came over to check her out after she had had her for a few days. Well from about 2 feet away you could smell something bad. I lifted the wing and you could see an injury/bone and the smell was terrible! Clearly this little girl was attacked and dragged into my friends yard (she has 8' fences all around her yard). I offered to take her home and doctor her while my friend traveled. My friend does not have the money to pay for a vet, so for the last week my husband and I have cleaned the wound, applied antibiotic cream and I had some expired baytril from one of my other girls that I gave her. Within 2 days the smell was gone and "chicken little" was (still is) spunky and eating great. She is the sweetest little girl, loves to sit on your lap, drape over your arm while you let her and make cute little chirpy sounds! We've grown very attached!
Fast forward to yesterday and my husband (I was out of town for work so he had been on chicken duty) shows me that there is a weird dark brown nubby covering hwhat looks like her elbow. It looks like dirt caked around a wound. So this evening I got a syringe and warm water and proceeded to try and loosen it up to see what was going on underneath. As it started to loosen, Chicken Little turned her head and picked it off! I treated it with hydrogen peroxide and antibiotic cream & wrapped the wing with gauze so it stayed dirt free. Attached are pictures of the gross dirt scab (she has been dust bathing in her pen) and the red bone that was revealed when it came off.
My question is--is there any way this will heal on its own? Is there something I can do to help her at home? I understand if it heals like this her wing won't be fully functional but she moves it pretty well as is so that is not my biggest concern. If she were mine I would have taken her to the vet, but honestly I can't justify spending my money on someone else's chicken. If the resounding answer is she must go to the vet, I will figure out something for with my friend. But I would really appreciate any advice or wisdom!
