robberbutton Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 I picked up two ex-bats from a BHWT re-homing on Sunday, as company for my single hen (my other hen had been put down a couple of weeks ago). The ex-bats seem to be settling in ok, aside from being firmly put in their place by the original hen. But this morning I went outside and found pools of blood! Horrible. I eventually tracked down one of the girls and found she'd ripped part of her claw off (no idea how). They were so long, at least twice the length of my free ranging hen. This is what I did (thank you Google and BHWT care line!): 1. took her inside and bathed her foot with diluted TCP. Used an old toothbrush to get the mud off. 2. Put cornflour on it to help stop the bleeding (it bled for ages) 3. Put lots more auboise down in their run (eglu classic with extension) as our garden is really muddy at the moment. 4. Once bleeding had stopped I put her in the run, as she seemed desperate to get back into the garden. The other two are in there as well, as it's getting to be dusk. She's running around, although she holds her foot up every so often, she's not limping. She's being pecked, but I don't think any more than usual (I haven't intervened with that yet as BHWT say to give it a while to settle down). She's eating, but I haven't seen her drink anything yet. I've ordered purple spray from Omlet. Does that sound ok? My main worries are the amount of blood she lost, and infection from the muddy garden. Please let me know if I should be doing anything else. It's been a dramatic 4 hours! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Hello! I'm not really an expert but have had a similar problem with an ex-batt, the blood loss is quite dramatic, isn't it!!! As long as it's stopped bleeding that's the main thing - if you have any of the famous "purple spray" that is very good at sticking to the wound and is relatively water resistant so will help with all the mud. I think it's important to make sure the bleeding stays stopped, if you know what I mean, I think the others are likely to peck at her/the wound if they see blood. If you bathe it too often I guess you risk opening it up to bleeding again? I was very worried when this happened to my chuck, but she recovered completely, no problem at all and I was clearly far more traumatised than she was . Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Hi there I was a volunteer at the BHWT on Sunday so it's possible I handed you your girls:) all the girls nails were super long and we did have to cut lots of nails. The nail bed is very vascular and it sounds like you have done everything right. The purple spray is a godsend just be careful as it will go everywhere, if the pecking continues try anti peck spray in the first instance. I wouldn't worry about the blood loss, one of mine caught her comb once and it bled like hell but soon stops. It's so stressful when these thing happen isn't it, but they are quite hardy little ladies, look at what she has been through so far! And she is still here. Well done for giving your lucky ladies a new start, they so deserve it and you obviously care about them a great deal x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robberbutton Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Thanks for replying Bramble. If you bathe it too often I guess you risk opening it up to bleeding again? Err.. yes, that could have been part of the problem. Think she suffered from my over-caring! was very worried when this happened to my chuck, but she recovered completely, no problem at all and I was clearly far more traumatised than she was. Hopefully that will be the case here as well! I just feel doubly bad as I've only had them a few days. Hopefully the purple spray will arrive quickly. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robberbutton Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Thanks glavcojak. I have been reading some of your BHWT posts! Was so happy to get them, thought you guys did a great job. Hopefully these will live for a good while, but will prob be back for more! I really need to tear myself away from chickens/forum and get my actual children some tea! Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 I'm sure she will be fine, I'm afraid ex-batts can look a bit pathetic when they first "come out" so I think we are inclined to mollycoddle them more than necessary, they are tougher than we think - I don't think you could have done more so fingers crossed. Try not to worry, keep an eye on her and watch where you are spraying that purple spray - it's VERY purple!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robberbutton Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 Hello. Sally (of the torn claw) is still holding her foot up this morning, is moving around but is a bit slow. I've tried to get a look at the toe - it looks a bit pink but no more blood. Bit muddy though, but don't want to wash it too much as might open it up again). She is eating and drinking. The other thing I noticed was that her bottom looked a bit red and swollen. Could be because it's very bare. But she hasn't laid yet and keeps going in and out of the house and sitting in the nest box (the other ex-bat has laid two or three this week). I know they need to settle down, and I wanted to give her a while to recover from the trauma of yesterday before worrying about warm baths and massages! Poor chicken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robberbutton Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 Bit of a moot point now - just saw a fox in the garden (1pm). Chickens free ranging, one dead, two disappeared. Devastated. Chickens had the run of the garden for last two years, no sight nor sound of any fox. But of course always a possibility. Feel awful! Poor bats only had a week of freedom, and it looked as though they were settling in well, scratching around and enjoying themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimnpaula Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I'm so sorry to hear this, but at least they had that week of freedom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Oh dear, that is very sad. At least like jimnpaula said, they did have a week of freedom, and the chance to see sunshine, daylight and rain. I hope your other girls are ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robberbutton Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 Thanks for your kind words jimnpaula and luvachicken. I can't quite believe this, but the saga continues - we found Sally unhurt in the neighbour's garden! So we have one chicken left (albeit the injured, non-egg laying one!). I'm still gutted about the others, but it's amazing to find one alive. She'll be a solitary chicken for the moment so will receive extra tlc. I'm kind of not expecting her to make it from all the stress, but we'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
