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Emergency Chicken Pedicure

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I was drinking coffee this morning, when Robb came in and told that he needed my help with one of our hens. Anne Elliott was covered with blood. 

There was blood on her foot, blood on her head, and blood all over our pavement. 




We grabbed her and brought her in to our bathroom. Her middle left claw was broken, and still dripping blood. I washed her off, and inspected her head. I clipped off the dangling bit of toenail. I didn't want it to catch on anything else.  

Her head seemed fine, and we concluded that she probably bloodied herself by scratching with her injured foot. (It really did look awful.  "Covered in gore" would not be an inaccurate description.)





We don't have anything that will serve as a chicken bandage (poultry poultice?) so we're just going to monitor her foot. I'm a bit concerned, because the back yard is pretty muddy, and our hens like nothing better than scratching in the dirt. 

If any chicken experts are reading this blog, I'd like to hear what you have to say. 

And yes, there really is nothing angrier-looking than a wet hen. 

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jess said…
they typically clot pretty quickly, but I've been told to use styptic powder (or cornstarch) on beak and claw injuries. I've used it on a hen beak injury in the past with good luck, though that's less interaction with wet/muddy stuff. good luck!
11:44 AM
Lisa said…
Oh! Styptic powder is something I failed to think of.
12:25 PM
Emily said…
My Dad (who has a good bit of animal experience) had me use cornstarch when my cat had a similar claw injury- worked like a charm.
4:17 PM
Katherine (Hosmer's) said…
I've wrapped up chicken feet with vet wrap. I get it at Tractor Supply, but they might have it at any feed store. A self sticking wrap for people will work too. Just wrap it around the toe, to the center of the foot where the toes meet and up the ankle a little. I hope that's a good enough description. Corn starch works really well for stopping bleeding in a pinch. Otherwise, just keep an eye on it and try to clean it out a couple times a day if it's not wrapped. Neosporin is my go to cut medicine.
4:47 PM
wassamatta_u said…
As bad as I feel for your hen, "poultry poultice" made me smile.
11:17 PM
Robb said…
Well, a thumbs-up from you Mark always makes us smile too.
11:00 AM
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