Splint for young pullet attacked by hawk - broken toes/foot

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

My Barnevelder pullet was in rough shape yesterday after an awful hawk attack. Of my 3 pullets, 1 was taken/killed, 1 (this one) severely injured, and the other unharmed. I believe the hawk attempted to get the Barnevelder first and maybe she dropped from high in the air, causing the leg to break. I didn't want to handle her yesterday because the gash/puncture on her underside looked like there could have been internal organ damage, but today she's doing much better with scabs forming. She is now eating and drinking, but still mostly lies around.

Anyway, here is a photo of her feet.

The middle toe got the worst of it, but the ends of the others may be broken as well.

I put some vet wrap on for the time being to add a little stability.

I'm still worried she'll be deformed. I've seen splints fashioned from pipe cleaners and such for full grown chickens, but what can I use for this 7-8 week old pullet? Or is this something a vet should deal with? We usually treat everything at home because there aren't many vets around here, they don't have availability, or they charge a crazy amount. But I did find one with availability this week. It's just really expensive even for the exam, and I don't want to go through that and x-rays for them to tell me they can't do anything. I will pay if it's worth it though.

But preferably, I'd like to treat at home so if you have any splinting ideas, please let me know. Thank you.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My Barnevelder pullet was in rough shape yesterday after an awful hawk attack. Of my 3 pullets, 1 was taken/killed, 1 (this one) severely injured, and the other unharmed. I believe the hawk attempted to get the Barnevelder first and maybe she dropped from high in the air, causing the leg to break. I didn't want to handle her yesterday because the gash/puncture on her underside looked like there could have been internal organ damage, but today she's doing much better with scabs forming. She is now eating and drinking, but still mostly lies around.

I'm still worried she'll be deformed.

Is the leg broken? You can feel a break?

I would be more concerned about healing up a gash/puncture wound and fighting infection. Hopefully you cleaned the wound very well with an antiseptic and are keeping an ointment like triple antibiotic ointment on the wound.

For a toe, wrapping it will be fine, but it may still heal crooked. I've had birds with broken toes, have splinted a few, some I've just stabilized, either way, they still were a bit crooked but the bird didn't seem to be bothered in any way.

Since she has injuries and was perhaps dropped, she could have suffered some internal damage or bruising. It takes time to heal from trauma, so keep her eating/drinking. Barring infection, as time goes by most birds pull through and go on to live a relatively normal life.

She sure is cute, I hope she heals quickly.

You may find the splinting manual helpful.
https://theiwrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Duerr_Splinting_Manual_2010.pdf

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Is the leg broken? You can feel a break?

I would be more concerned about healing up a gash/puncture wound and fighting infection. Hopefully you cleaned the wound very well with an antiseptic and are keeping an ointment like triple antibiotic ointment on the wound.

For a toe, wrapping it will be fine, but it may still heal crooked. I've had birds with broken toes, have splinted a few, some I've just stabilized, either way, they still were a bit crooked but the bird didn't seem to be bothered in any way.

Since she has injuries and was perhaps dropped, she could have suffered some internal damage or bruising. It takes time to heal from trauma, so keep her eating/drinking. Barring infection, as time goes by most birds pull through and go on to live a relatively normal life.

She sure is cute, I hope she heals quickly.

You may find the splinting manual helpful.
https://theiwrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Duerr_Splinting_Manual_2010.pdf

Omg that guide is so helpful! Thanks for sending that.

It doesn't seem like the actual leg is broken, just toes. But, I admit I have been trying to keep my handing her to a minimum right now because of how bad the possible internal damage seemed the other day (there was a bubbling/cracking noise coming from the belly wound when she peeped loudly, leading me to wonder if something was wrong with her lungs. It has since started scabbing and I haven't heard the noise, but I am still being careful). I will probably give her another examination later or tomorrow if she is able to handle it.

And yes, I am keeping the wound as clean as I can and putting on antibiotic ointment.

Luckily, she has been eating and drinking well since the day after the injury. She actually seems to be eating more than before, so maybe that's a sign her body is healing.

Do you think it's worth it to go to a vet? I'd do anything for my animals, but I am so sick of paying so much at vets lately, only for them to tell me the animal needs to rest.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Omg that guide is so helpful! Thanks for sending that.

It doesn't seem like the actual leg is broken, just toes. But, I admit I have been trying to keep my handing her to a minimum right now because of how bad the possible internal damage seemed the other day (there was a bubbling/cracking noise coming from the belly wound when she peeped loudly, leading me to wonder if something was wrong with her lungs. It has since started scabbing and I haven't heard the noise, but I am still being careful). I will probably give her another examination later or tomorrow if she is able to handle it.

And yes, I am keeping the wound as clean as I can and putting on antibiotic ointment.

Luckily, she has been eating and drinking well since the day after the injury. She actually seems to be eating more than before, so maybe that's a sign her body is healing.

Do you think it's worth it to go to a vet? I'd do anything for my animals, but I am so sick of paying so much at vets lately, only for them to tell me the animal needs to rest.

If she's doing o.k. eating/drinking and the wound(s) are healing up, no signs of infection, then if it were me, I'd hold off on the vet.

Just continue to care for the wound like you have been doing.

Keep me posted on how she's getting along.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Okay, thanks! Will do. She was doing well yesterday when I got back and was trying to walk around a lot more. She even tried to fly onto my shoulder, but I stopped her haha. Her walking is a limp, but that fact that she is putting some weight on it now is good. This morning she is doing the same.

The wound on her back looked like it had scabbed. The larger one on her abdomen is still open, but has gotten narrower and is not actively bleeding anymore. I can try to get a pic of it later. That is the one I am concerned about because of organ damage.

Pic of our tough chick:

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Okay, thanks! Will do. She was doing well yesterday when I got back and was trying to walk around a lot more. She even tried to fly onto my shoulder, but I stopped her haha. Her walking is a limp, but that fact that she is putting some weight on it now is good. This morning she is doing the same.

The wound on her back looked like it had scabbed. The larger one on her abdomen is still open, but has gotten narrower and is not actively bleeding anymore. I can try to get a pic of it later. That is the one I am concerned about because of organ damage.

Pic of our tough chick:
View attachment 3982824

Such a Sweetie!

Moving about a little is good. It sounds like she's improving.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Nance is rockin' her new "shoe" splint. I tried to do it with vetwrap but it wouldn't stay. I ended up using some soft, stretchy medical tape. I think the shoe is keeping her toe straight the way it should.

Thanks @Wyorp Rock for the splinting guide! I wonder how long this needs to stay on her foot.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Nance is rockin' her new "shoe" splint. I tried to do it with vetwrap but it wouldn't stay. I ended up using some soft, stretchy medical tape. I think the shoe is keeping her toe straight the way it should.

Thanks @Wyorp Rock for the splinting guide! I wonder how long this needs to stay on her foot.
View attachment 3985573

Looks good!

I'm not sure how long to leave it on. The manual says 1-2 weeks. She's young, so "should" heal fairly quickly. Perhaps try it at 7 days and see if it's healed up.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Looks good!

I'm not sure how long to leave it on. The manual says 1-2 weeks. She's young, so "should" heal fairly quickly. Perhaps try it at 7 days and see if it's healed up.

Will do! Thanks for all the help. This is going so much better than I thought it would. I didn't have much hope for her at first, but she seems to be thriving

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Will do! Thanks for all the help. This is going so much better than I thought it would. I didn't have much hope for her at first, but she seems to be thriving

Keep me posted on how she's getting along.