# Chicken accident-HELP!!!



## Snakebuster (Aug 22, 2009)

The other day I was bringing some logs towards the house to use for firewood. Then one of our 2 chooks went into a small shed. I followed it, and shooed it out. Unfortunently, I [accidently] dropped a log on the chooks toe.:cry::cry:[ stupid, i know ] the toe was hanging loose everywhere and the chook was limping heavily. The toe is definetly broken, I'm quite sure. I've splinted the toe with a three swewers that have been broken in half and had the sharp ends chopped off, wrapped the toe in a bandage and put the injured animal back in its chook house, where I'm planning on keeping it till the toe restores itself.
Is there anything that could be done other than that? Please help, It was a complete accicent, never meant to do it. [ It was a little silly to follow it with 3 logs in my arms, I know.]


Cheers, 
Tom


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## wranga (Aug 22, 2009)

chop its head off and eat it


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## Jessica85 (Aug 22, 2009)

haha lol


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## redbellybite (Aug 22, 2009)

wranga said:


> chop its head off and eat it


 :lol:you got 'ozzie osbourne' in ya wranga


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## Andrais (Aug 22, 2009)

redbellybite said:


> :lol:you got 'ozzie osbourne' in ya wranga


 
Havn't we all?


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## Snakebuster (Aug 22, 2009)

Hey, the poor thing is in a lot of pain probably!!


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## Curly56 (Aug 22, 2009)

Snakebuster said:


> Hey, the poor thing is in a lot of pain probably!!


 

All the more reason to do what Wranga said.


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## beckyreptilegirl (Aug 22, 2009)

awww poor chicken,
i think you have done the right thing, but if it gets any worse, 
i would recommend to take to a local vet. 
good thinking in regards to a tiny splint 

PS: good luck with the chook and hope its toe is better soon.


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## reptilefan95 (Aug 22, 2009)

Feed it to a snake!


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## cmclean (Aug 22, 2009)

You could actually chop the toe off at the joint, it will recover well enough. We have done that too magpies that have been caught up in fences and they have survived. Just put some betadine on it first and after you chop it off. You will find the bird will recover a lot quicker than having a toe loose and dangling.


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## grannieannie (Aug 22, 2009)

Awww, how sweet of you to care for your little chook.....I think you've done the right thing, but like Cmclean says, you may have to chop the toe off....if you're worried, take it to a vet...don't let it get infected. Keep a close watch on it and keep the damaged area clean. Good luck.


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## PhilK (Aug 22, 2009)

Vet for pain relief and antibiotics.. but other than that reglar dressing changes and antiseptic treatment.. chook house isn't the cleanest environment


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## Mr.James (Aug 22, 2009)

Cut the toe off, pour some metho on it and put it on a towel in a transport cage with a bowl of water and let it rest up in there in the house maybe where its warm. Just don't let it get dirty or infected. I wouldn't go overboard with the dressings as it will take much longer to heal, aslong as the chook doesn't peck it.

What kind of chook is it?


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## Snakebuster (Aug 22, 2009)

Jimmy27 said:


> Cut the toe off, pour some metho on it and put it on a towel in a transport cage with a bowl of water and let it rest up in there in the house maybe where its warm. Just don't let it get dirty or infected. I wouldn't go overboard with the dressings as it will take much longer to heal, aslong as the chook doesn't peck it.
> 
> What kind of chook is it?


 
I dunno what breed, but I'm sure that there is a bit of australop in there. 

Guys, you cant expect me to chop its toe off!! How could I? The chicken would scream and squauk and...well..what would you be like if someone chopped your toe off??? What would I do it with? An axe? Tell me, how would you chop its toe off?


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## PhilK (Aug 22, 2009)

A pair of curved scissors, if you have some. _*Sharp*_ clean secateurs. Bandage scissors.. anything strong and VERY sharp.

Have one person restrain the chicken. Grab the offending foot, make sure everything is steady obviously. Find the toe joint above the injury, and cut through the joint. Lots of dettol, metho, whatever to disinfect the area - make sure it is REALLY clean. Put it in an ICU cage inside, as suggested above. Change the towel in the cage frequently, otherwise it'll be stepping in its own poo with the injured toe.

The chicken will squawk and struggle a lot, but unless your willing to take it to a vet (better for the chicken if you do) you'll just have to deal with it, and it'll have to deal with the pain..


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## imalizard (Aug 22, 2009)

Would you be able to tie string around the broken toe to stop blood flow? Wouldn't this make it drop off like if a lizard has leftover sheds on its toes?

Don't do it unless someone says this would work.


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## Jacquie (Aug 22, 2009)

A pair of sterilized animal toe nail scissors would do the job.


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## grannieannie (Aug 22, 2009)

vet.......yep.....take it to a vet.....they know exactly what to do, it would take 5 seconds....they could even dope it up a bit to take away the pain for the seconds it takes....if you love your chook.......take it to a vet. poor chooky !! :-(


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## PhilK (Aug 22, 2009)

Yes. Best to take it to a vet.

I wouldn't tie something around the toe to make it fall off.. that isn't a nice way to lose a toe. Very painful, and takes a while. Think of those sickos who do it to their dogs tails.


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## imalizard (Aug 22, 2009)

OK thanks Phil! Wasn't sure if that would be alright or not.


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## diprotodon (Aug 22, 2009)

wranga said:


> chop its head off and eat it


 
classic<pure gold!!


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## Rainbow-Serpent (Aug 22, 2009)

For all you hooligans who are joking about, remember this is a living, breathing creature with feelings that we are talking about.
Get him to a vet Tom!


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## PhilK (Aug 22, 2009)

Rainbow-Serpent said:


> For all you hooligans who are joking about, remember this is a living, breathing creature with feelings that we are talking about.


I'm not a hooligan, or joking about. I'm giving real advice on how to safely and cleanly amputate the toe if that's what the owner wants to do. I can't stop them from doing a home job, but we can tell them how to do it right, to minimise the chicken's suffering.

That being said.. I do agree you should take it to the vet. That is the best thing for the animal.

Rainbow - I am studying to be a vet, and believe me, a lot of stuf (especially on farm animals) is done with no pain relief, so this isn't as huge an issue as you might imagine. Not pleasant, but that's the facts


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## Rainbow-Serpent (Aug 22, 2009)

PhilK said:


> I'm not a hooligan, or joking about. I'm giving real advice on how to safely and cleanly amputate the toe if that's what the owner wants to do. I can't stop them from doing a home job, but we can tell them how to do it right, to minimise the chicken's suffering.
> 
> That being said.. I do agree you should take it to the vet. That is the best thing for the animal.
> 
> Rainbow - I am studying to be a vet, and believe me, a lot of stuf (especially on farm animals) is done with no pain relief, so this isn't as huge an issue as you might imagine. Not pleasant, but that's the facts


 I know you're not a hooligan, I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about all the 'Bite its head off' people, I just don't see it as right to make a joke like that in a thread about an animal thats in pain.

Why don't they use pain relief? :?


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## Window (Aug 22, 2009)

Axe and chopping block and some veges


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## Window (Aug 22, 2009)

Rainbow-Serpent said:


> Why don't they use pain relief? :?



I agree about pain relief a nice sharp axe should do the trick


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## swaddo (Aug 22, 2009)

If you're not gonna take it to a vet, keep it's foot clean so it doesnt get an infection, i'd wash it with some betadine every day. I had a rooster who jumped the fence and went mano et mano with the rooster next door. he dislocated a toe and we just popped back in and taped in place using elastoplast. bugger is still out there crowing each morning and his toe is fine.


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## dadaman (Aug 23, 2009)

I agree. Chop it's head off and eat it. Chicken taste nice


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## daniel1234 (Aug 23, 2009)

Betadine if you do it yourself, and proberbly betadine if you take it to vet.
It is good for anticeptic and it has a drying effect on wound. Metho is similar but betadine stays on wound longer. Good luck.


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## shamous1 (Aug 23, 2009)

*Skewers*

Phil's advice is prbably the best advice. Apart from getting it to the vet.


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## kupper (Aug 23, 2009)

i hear red rooster in bundoora is hiring !


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## Snakebuster (Aug 27, 2009)

Thanks for your helpful advise ppl. The chooks toe wound has formed into a large lumpy scap. I think it is still broken tho, when the chookie roosts, the toe cant bend around the perch. Im sort of struggling between 3 choices. Defenitly NOT going to chop its head off, I made a mistake that has cost the chook pain and suffering, and I intend to make it better rather than giving up and eating it.

A vets bill would cost money, I dont know how much money, but I'm guessing about $70-100 which is just about all I have left after spend all my B-day money.

I'm considering the axe option, I could maybe do that, but we dont have a pair of strong sharp scissors, only a blunt tomahawk, [although we do have a tool sharpner] and we dont have a pet carrier do keep the chicken until the toe stump heals. If someone could point out something other than a pet carrier, that would be good.

Or should I just leave it? Perhaps it might heal on its own in time, I dont know. The chicken seems to be okay enough, except it shook and pecked its bandage and splint off its toe.

I think I'll make another thread, this time with a poll.


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## swaddo (Aug 27, 2009)

a good solid cardboard box will suffice as a pet carrier.. stick a towel in the bottom so she doesnt slide around and fold the top flaps closed. she'll be fine in there.


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## GTsteve (Aug 27, 2009)

Dude - have you discussed this with your parents?


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## babba007 (Aug 27, 2009)

I can't believe people are encouraging an 11 year old to chop off the toe !


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## Snake Catcher Victoria (Aug 27, 2009)

babba007 said:


> I can't believe people are encouraging an 11 year old to chop off the toe !


its ok if he uses a stong pair of scissors or similar and does it quickly and decisively.
Im actually having more of a problem believing an 11 year old country 
boy can be so well read and have such great grammer ect.
U sure ur 11 snakebuster?


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## PhilK (Aug 27, 2009)

Mate you are being very irresponsible for this poor thing.. This accident happened a LONG time ago, and you have taken none of the actions anybody here has offered to you. You haven't even isolated it out of the filthy environment it lives in to prevent infection.. There's no use asking advice if you don't plan on following it.

Talk to your parents about this, as I assumed you were doing from the beginning. They will help you amputate the toe (DON'T use a tomahawk) or they will foot the vet bill for you, or at least lend you the money.

Its your responsibility as the owner and injurer of the chicken to HELP it, not sit around umming and ahhing. Forget your poll. Isolate the chicken immediately, disinfect the wound (should have been done on day ONE). Go from there to a vet preferably. Part of owning animals is PAYING for their medical treatment. 

Think about it this way: If you'd smashed your toe by dropping a log on it, you wouldn't appreciate if your parents just left it, without even disinfecting it. In fact, you'd probably want to go to the doctor wouldn't you? Same as your chook. Get your act together.


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## shamous1 (Aug 27, 2009)

*Wasting time*

Stop wasting people's time. If you do not wish to take their advice in the first three posts why would you want to waste their time by strating another thread with a poll?????

I have seen chickens toes been picked. They live with it. It will either die and fall off or heal. The chicken will have no advers effects.

if you are going to own a pet whether it be chicken, snake, dog or a fat rats clacker you owe it the the animal to be able to afford the proper care. If it is going to cost too much money to treat/fix then you should either A) ring it's neck B) not own animals in the first place C) Leave it be and let nature take it's course but please don't waste our time. This has been going on for some time now and as far as I am concerned it is not responsible pet ownership in my books.

If I sound a bit harsh I'm sorry but some things need to be said.


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## Snakebuster (Aug 29, 2009)

*What!!!????*



PhilK said:


> Mate you are being very irresponsible for this poor thing.. This accident happened a LONG time ago, and you have taken none of the actions anybody here has offered to you. You haven't even isolated it out of the filthy environment it lives in to prevent infection.. There's no use asking advice if you don't plan on following it.
> 
> Talk to your parents about this, as I assumed you were doing from the beginning. They will help you amputate the toe (DON'T use a tomahawk) or they will foot the vet bill for you, or at least lend you the money.
> 
> ...


 


I'm not be "very irresponsiple", and I'm not "umming and ahhing" either. I'm trying to decide what to do. Some people are telling me to chop its head off, some people are telling me to take it to a vet, some people are telling me to chop the toe, some people are telling me to leave it, some people are saying I'm being very kind and responsiple to the chook [ and, remember I did bandage and splint the toe.] and some people, like you and shamous, are saying I'm being irresponsible and careless!!!:?:?:x

My parents actually did know of the accident from the very beggining. They also helped me to bandage and splint the chickens toe. 

This accident did not happen a LONG time ago,:? It happened about a week and a half ago. The chicken is getting much better. The wound has closed. Not much worry of infection.:|

When the wound was open, I was putting the chook into a cleaner place to sleep in. I had also decided from near the beginning that I should just leave it, and if it gets better, thats good, if it doesn't get better, off comes the toe.


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## daniel1234 (Aug 29, 2009)

Snakebuster said:


> I'm not be "very irresponsiple", and I'm not "umming and ahhing" either. I'm trying to decide what to do. Some people are telling me to chop its head off, some people are telling me to take it to a vet, some people are telling me to chop the toe, some people are telling me to leave it, some people are saying I'm being very kind and responsiple to the chook [ and, remember I did bandage and splint the toe.] and some people, like you and shamous, are saying I'm being irresponsible and careless!!!:?:?:x
> 
> My parents actually did know of the accident from the very beggining. They also helped me to bandage and splint the chickens toe.
> 
> ...


 
Those that say chop its head off proberbly would say that even if nothing was wrong with your chook. People are right though the longer it is left the more complex it becomes. All the best, now I'm off to clean out the feeder rats cage, walk and bath them and trim their toe nails


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## PhilK (Aug 29, 2009)

Snakebuster said:


> I'm not be "very irresponsiple", and I'm not "umming and ahhing" either. I'm trying to decide what to do..


That's exactly what umming and ahhing is, mate.

You need to act on what you did to your chook, not post on a forum and wait for people to tell you what to do.. Listening to the advice of complete strangers for medical advice for your chicken is dumb. Make your mind up a week ago and act on it.


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