# Broken toe



## Jackson5_Buffs (Jul 5, 2013)

My 6 month old Buff Orpington hen has broken her toe. It's her middle toe on her left foot and the toenail is bent sideways. The whole toe is caked and brown. It smells pretty foul. I used two small strips of cardboard and wrapped surgical tape to keep it secure. She can balance on one leg and she eats and drinks normal. Just can't really move around. Also her comb is very droopy


----------



## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Sounds infected...you might want to soak that in an iodine solution and apply antibiotic ointment before applying a dressing and athletic tape. The bulk of a dressing will be splint enough if it is going to heal. Many chickens sustain broken toes but not many of those get infected, so you might just have something a little more serious on your hands...a compound fracture. 

Let us know how it all turns out?


----------



## Jackson5_Buffs (Jul 5, 2013)

Oh goodness! I'm so scared she's going to die. She's quarantined right now and hasn't really moved. She's eaten and drank some water, but she has been laying in the same spot all afternoon. She pooped a little and it was kind of stringy and green. Her comb is also pretty droopy. It just breaks my heart. I want to take her to a vet, but I know it'll cost me through the nose. I want to try at home remedies for now.


----------



## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

If you can give her a dropper full of some castor oil..it is a known antibiotic, antifungal and antiparasitic agent that is all natural and may help also. They sell antibiotics at the TSC for chickens but I never recommend lay people to be dosing out those kind of drugs willy nilly. 

If she was mine, if she didn't show signs of improvement in three days, I'd normally give it mercy and kill it.


----------



## Jackson5_Buffs (Jul 5, 2013)

These are the photos of what it looks like. Just did iodine and antibacterial cream and a splint on bottom and top of toe. Someone please guide me in the right direction.


----------



## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Yes...the foot is infected and judging by the way you describe her, the infection has went into the blood. The toe is dead...it can be clipped entirely off and it won't matter one way or the other. It cannot be salvaged. 

This is a bird that I would kill immediately...but I realize I am talking to someone who is probably more inclined to try everything possible to save this bird. You can try giving her antibiotics, found at any feed store...I really cannot recommend what kind as I am not a vet, but you can maybe get a recommendation from a vet on what to get. 

If this had been noted earlier, before infection set in, you could have clipped off that toe, cleansed it well and applied antibiotic ointment and a dressing and it probably would have been okay...but it is much too late for any of that to work. 

Now, it's hard core antibiotics and no assurances that it will work...but you can try if you are so inclined.


----------



## Jackson5_Buffs (Jul 5, 2013)

Thank you very much for all your advice. How do you suggest I go about ending the chicken's life? My husband will have to kill her because I can't bring myself to do it.


----------



## katymae (Jun 23, 2013)

I don't know if this will help at this point but my hen was recently attacked by a dog and she was given Trimeth 40 mg/ sulfa 200 mg suspension. I have to give 0.7 ml twice s day. She also got 20 staples by which the skin is looking like it is dying but she is eating and drinking. The vet said chickens are very resilient and even if the tissue dies they can heal well on their own. It sounds like in your case you definately need antibiotics by mouth. In humans , with necrotizing digits betadine twice a day is the topical therapy of choice until it falls off. If possible you might even be able to get a shot of antibiotics to act the fastest. If you give these make sure you don't eat the eggs for a couple months. Good luck


----------



## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Jackson5_Buffs said:


> Thank you very much for all your advice. How do you suggest I go about ending the chicken's life? My husband will have to kill her because I can't bring myself to do it.


For a bird that one is not going to eat, simple dislocation of the neck is best.

One way to do it is to grasp her by the head, let the weight of her body hang down and give a quick up and down jerking motion, much as you would when shaking out a rug. Quick snap up, quick snap down. He should feel the bones separate in the neck as he holds the head...it's a simple clicking and a sagging feeling in the cervical region of the spine.

As he swings the bird away from his body after the downward snap, he can just pendulum her back into his arms so he can cradle her as she goes through the death throws.

This is how I dispatch old and favored hens if they have been injured in some way...from football hold, to rug shake, and back into the football hold..all in the space of seconds.


----------



## Jackson5_Buffs (Jul 5, 2013)

katymae said:


> I don't know if this will help at this point but my hen was recently attacked by a dog and she was given Trimeth 40 mg/ sulfa 200 mg suspension. I have to give 0.7 ml twice s day. She also got 20 staples by which the skin is looking like it is dying but she is eating and drinking. The vet said chickens are very resilient and even if the tissue dies they can heal well on their own. It sounds like in your case you definately need antibiotics by mouth. In humans , with necrotizing digits betadine twice a day is the topical therapy of choice until it falls off. If possible you might even be able to get a shot of antibiotics to act the fastest. If you give these make sure you don't eat the eggs for a couple months. Good luck


Thank you for the info. At this point she is in so much pain and distress that I don't want her to suffer anymore than she is now. I wouldn't be surprised if she is dead tomorrow when I go to check on her. I'm going to find someone to kill her for me. It just makes me so sad because she was my sweetest hen. So talkative and in your face. Love that little thing. My chickens are used for eggs, yes...but they are my pets. My little babies. Sad to see her go.


----------



## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

It is the right thing to love them unto death...especially when that means giving them mercy in the face of pain and debility. It's good stewardship and takes great courage to do the right thing. I commend you!


----------



## Jackson5_Buffs (Jul 5, 2013)

Update on my chicken!!! I took her to the local feed and seed store today because over the phone he offered to put her down and dispose of her body for me. When I got there, the man had informed me that his friend, who is a retired vet is going to take her and fix up her leg, get her on antibiotics and let her live out the rest of her days on his 50 acre farm. He gave me the choice to pay $500 for surgery, but I told him she would probably be happier with him. I have 4 others who I'm going to focus on and I hope little Pimento has a wonderful life with this sweet little old man.


----------



## Chicka-Js (May 3, 2013)

Great! I love a happy ending.


----------



## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Yay!!! Let us know of her progress?


----------



## katymae (Jun 23, 2013)

Aw! I am so happy for you and your hen! I completely understand about the attachment to these critters. It sounds like best case scenario!


----------



## puppidoodle (Jul 14, 2013)

A great happy ending. If figure if The Lord cares about sparrows, He also cares about our pets.


----------

