One of my three hens has a bad cut on two of her toes. May be due to a sharp cage wire or a long-armed raccoon under the chicken coop last night. They other hens are pecking at her injury. So I separated them and will keep them apart till it heals. But what can I do for the injured hen? (Culling isn't an option.) Is a topical antibiotic preferred or is adding something to her water better? Any help would be appreciated.

-- txcountrygirl (nancyk@icsi.net), August 02, 2000

Answers

i use terrimyicin {sp} w/ all my chickens and have had good outcomes. it is a powder you get at a feed store it is hard to dose out unless you have an auto waterer, i just mix a pinch at a time to a qu. of water until it looks like lemonade. i dont think it stores well.

-- renee oneill (oneillsr@home.com), August 02, 2000.

You can give injectable gentocin to hens as well, usually subcutaneously (under the skin) on the leg. Be sure to keep the wound clean and keep the maggots OFF!

-- Dianne (yankeeterrier@hotmail.com), August 02, 2000.

Thanks for the suggestions. I got terramycin at the feed store. You're right that the dosing is difficult to figure out when not using an automatic waterer. But I weighed it out and measured the number of teaspoons in an ounce of powder (8). By my calculations, a teaspoon per quart of water is equivalent to 800 mg/gallon (which is the maximum recommended chicken dose on the package). And the guy at the feed store said to add the entire package to a quart of water! I'm glad I read the directions! The package also says to make it up fresh every 24 hours - you're right that it doesn't keep well.

Any suggestions for keeping the maggots off? Just pick them off, wash the foot, etc? Or is there something I could apply to keep them off? Thanks for mentioning this potential complication. I'm new at this! I grew up with chickens around but wasn't ever in charge of their medical care...

-- txcountrygirl (nancyk@icsi.net), August 02, 2000.

as far as maggots i would but grease vasoline or heavey lotion and wrap it , i have a goose w/ a badly broken wing and used surgical tape then electric tape on top.with a open wound you need to change and clean it daily.

-- renee oneill (oneillsr@home.com), August 03, 2000.

There is this awful smelling stuff they make for horses you might be able to use .It used to be pink now I found it in white . It is made to put on wounds .It is very thick and stays on well , I've used it on dogs and cows .E-mail me if the feed store has no clue to what it is , I'll try to dig up the name.

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), August 03, 2000.

Hi, Had the same problem earlier this spring with one of my Buff Orpinton hens, her cut was bleeding badly, dripping,in fact. Sent the granddaughter in the house and poured peroxide over it, blotted the wound, then put a human bandaid on it. Didn't expect it to stay on, but the others didn't bother it, and in a few days, the bandaid fell off, and the wound was healed. I had heard that peroxide kills surrounding flesh, so was hesitant, but she is fine now. Jan

-- Jan in Colorado (Janice12@aol.com), August 03, 2000.

something else you may want to keep on hand to control bleeding from small cuts is the steptic pencils used for cuts from shaving. will work on most small cuts but will burn so beware when using on an animal. gail

-- gail missouri ozarks (gef123@hotmail.com), August 05, 2000.