Chicken Emergency: damaged claw

I went out around lunchtime to find small pools of blood around the chickens' food bowl. At first I thought that maybe the blood was coming from the vent, but after tracking down the injured chicken (she was hiding under a bush) I saw that she had injured her foot.

Being an ex-battery hen her claws were very long, around twice the length of my free-ranging hen. It looked like she had managed to tear part of it off. There were bloody footprints all over the place. I managed to catch her (it was easier than usual, poor thing!) and took her inside. I didn't want the wound to get too dirty from the very muddy garden.

Chicken Hospital!

I placed her in a washing up bowl with a couple of inches of warm water with a spash of TCP, and cleared the mud off with a toothbrush. I actually did this a couple of times, but probably shouldn't have, because bathing the wound might encourage it to bleed a bit more.

This video was really useful in showing me a good way to hold the chicken, in order to examine the foot. It's actually about how to kill it, so you might not want to watch the whole thing! It's a very informative video though.

Respectful Chicken Harvest

The toe and the stump of the claw bled for ages, and I used some cornflour to try to help it stop. You can also try to bandage the wound, but I thought it might heal quicker if left to air.

Chickens missing each other, so sweet.

I put extra Auboise (bedding) in the run, to try to help keep the foot clean. She was desperate to get back out into the garden, and seemed to be walking around ok. The girls have all gone to bed now. I'll keep an eye on her, and hopefully it will be ok! I've also ordered some "purple spray", which serves the dual function of healing and disguising the wound (other chickens will be attracted to red blood and try to peck it).