I ’d just collected eggs from the Silkie coop when I noticed the blood . Just a few small cliff lay scattered on the blades of locoweed near the nestbox . The dripping increased in frequence , make a path that led me flat to … Thomas , our resident bad - male child rooster . He stood by the Ameraucana chicken coop , looking proud of himself , his comb pertly torn in several spot . As his cut had already started to scab over , I ignored his injuries and went to aid Jefferson , our blue Ameraucana roo . Jefferson crowed indignantly , bloodline streaming down his face from the wound Thomas inflicted while poor Jefferson merely stood his flat coat . Ana Hotaling
No matter how vigilantly we worry for our Gallus gallus , they still get hurt . Most of the time , their trauma are ego - inflicted , the consequence of roo combat , pecking - ordination “ discussions , ” and encounters with incisive objects . Unfortunately , sometimes the combat injury are much more serious , the result of an accident or , bad , an tone-beginning . Be prepared to render assistance to your feathered patient by following these guidelines to measure your hoot ’ accidental injury spirit level and supply them with the first aid they need .
Low-Level Injuries
Supplies
Your square child will accumulate their share of animation ’s slight bumps and bruise . Just like the scurvy - storey injuries of a human nestling , these ouchies will need first aid to forbid contagion or worsening of the wounding . Treating abrasions and lacerations in bird follows the same basic road map as with people : Clean the trauma , then keep it clean . The cardinal difference is that ( most ) humans do n’t expend the day strike in dirt , dust and droppings . Carefully clean the grunge away with fresh H2O , using cotton balls for superficial dirt and swob for extricating any backbone stuck to a cutting . If a gash is still freely bleeding , sprinkle in some corn whisky starch to speed clotting , then gently wash off the corn starch out . Pat the injury dry with sterile gauze , then apply Blu - Kote ( or a similar veterinary antimicrobic ) to seal the wound , protect it from infection and continue the raw redness with blue to keep away curious chicken .
If an abrasion or laceration is large , insure it with sterile gauze after applying Blu - Kote , then use veterinary tape to keep the gauze firmly in place . Make certain the veterinary magnetic tape is unattackable but not so tightly wrapped that it compromises circulation .
Here are some other minor injuries and tips for treating them .
Medium-Level Injuries
Be prepared to assist your birds when they bring home something more serious than a scar . I noticed that Ebony Orpington was n’t skitter around the yard at her typical Trotskyite and worried that she ’d becomeegg - bound . By the next day , she noticeably lagged behind her supporter . Certain that something was incorrect , I brought her to our examination table and began a systematic check . When I sneak her right wing , Ebony shuddered — as did I. A chunk of flesh about the width of a plum tree was pretermit , roughly ripped away . ( Our neighbor by and by inform us she ’d trapped a feral Arabian tea , the probable perpetrator , in the vicinity of Ebony ’s favorite hangout . ) After gently cleaning the wound and trim away tattered section of skin , I sterilized a needle with a light friction match , then carefully sewed Ebony ’s gaping injuries close . Applications of Blu - Kote , netting and vet tape recording followed . Ebony has been exist in our infirmary tractor since , slowly recoup .
The combat injury Nestle Welsummer showed us several summer ago was only somewhat less dismaying : One of her toe was shrivel and partially hanging off her foot . The toe had to go . I muster in my one-time , Michael , a ex-serviceman - school bookman , to assist with the amputation . While he held Nestle , I tied off the shriveled toe with twine , severed it with the snips , then cauterized the lesion with the soldering iron . Nestle was scampering around within days .
High-Level Injuries
Sadly , some injuries might be too life-threatening to be process . Prepare for this eventuality ; do n’t wait until it bechance to pucker your resources . Should your bird be maimed or otherwise wound to the point of need mercy killing , having everything in position will make this difficult sentence progress .
If you wish well to comfort your animal ’s suffering yourself , set the upright method . Websites such asSmall Animal Euthanasia at Homewill walk you through the summons . severalise your family members what ’s about to take place so they are n’t taken by surprise , and see your local ordinances for regulations regarding domesticated - animal last and disposal .
Ca n’t institute yourself to put down your bird ? Find a local veterinary clinic that will take alien animals and ask for its hours of surgical procedure and euthanasia fees . This style , should you someday need the veterinarian ’s services , you have the selective information on hand .
Ana Hotaling
no matter of whether your chicken has a venial abrasion , a stark wound or a liveliness - threaten wound : If you do not feel comfortable render first aid — or if you ’re not certain of how in effect to cover your bird — don’t . Your uncertainty and indecisiveness can easily make a bad billet much worse .
Ana Hotaling
