Where To Start With A First Aid Kit For Chickens

I keep Tylan on hand

I also have a bottle of Duramycin

These are the kind of bottle that requires you to put a needle in them and draw the medicine out

So you also need some needles and syringes already marked with the milliliter markings on them

Needles for the chickens … I use 20g, or a little smaller 

Oxytetracycline is a general antibiotic, a powder that you mix to make a solution when you’re ready to use it

Corid is for coccidiosis in the hens

I also keep on hand some popsicle sticks

It’s very easy to make splints out of these

I did have to do that once

There was a hen that had her leg get out of joint

After we popped it back in, we had to reinforce it to stay that way so it didn’t pop out again

I made splints using 2 popsicle sticks

And at the same time, because it was swollen, I used Epsom Salt Poultice.

Horse people know about this.

It’s good for swelling and bruising.

So while it was splinted, I put this on it, and that helped her a lot.

I’ve got liquid Ibuprofen for a painkiller. 

Something like that, I would just assume that she would be in pain, and gave her a little bit.

If chickens get any kind of cut or gash, they tend to pick on each other

That’s mostly because they don’t want the weakest one, the hurt one in the flock, to draw the hawks and owls to attack the flock

They would pick on her to make her go away

We don’t want that happening in a backyard flock

I’ve got this here Pick-No-More

It’s got a funky blue color and it’s very similar to Blu-Kote

The thing to know about these, especially the Blu-Kote…

It is the bright royal blue color that you see on the lid

If you touch the medication, you will be blue for a few days.

It’s a germicide and fungicide to keep the wound clean

It will also stop the rest of the flock from picking on the wound, so that it has time to heal.

Another all-around item I keep on hand is VetRx.

If your hens are getting dehydrated in the heat of the summer… 

I use an all-natural herbal tincture that you can put in their water

It contains the herbs that help them deal with high heat stress

\If they get too dehydrated…

I bring them inside to get them to cool down

Give them some Poly-Vi-Sol, which is just liquid baby vitamins (make sure it’s the one without iron)

There’s also a product called Nutri-Drench that helps

For baby chicks, I use a different tincture. It’s called First Step  

I also have used chick probiotics

That gives the babies some vitamins just because they’re so little

Just like infants, they’re so little they need a little extra nutrition to help them start the whole growing phase

I do keep some colloidal silver because it works on all kinds of things.

If you notice any worms in your flock, Wazine is a dewormer. So I keep that on hand.

Bumblefoot?

The ailment I see the most with the hens is a situation called bumblefoot.

If you look at the bottom of the foot, on the pad …

Usually it’s on the pad but they can get it on their toes too

You’ll see a dark scab

That happens a lot from jumping, just from the weight of their body landing on their feet

Or maybe their foot got cut on something on the ground and that’s an infection

And if you don’t treat it, it can get into the bone.

If it takes over in the bone of the leg, not only could they lose their leg, but they could also die from it

So it’s really important to get it out.

There’s two schools of thought to get rid of it…

One is, surgically remove it, then put in an antiseptic and keep it wrapped as it heals

The other one is a more natural way without surgery…I kind of do a combination of the two…

The first thing that I do is soak the hen’s feet in an Epsom salt water bath for 20 minutes

That softens the scab so that I can at least pull the top of it off.

To do this … I’ve got a tub you can get at the tack shop, because it’s plastic, they will slip and slide on it and not be comfortable because they can’t get a grip…So I just went to one of the big-box stores and got a landscape stone. You can get a rock outside if you have them. But this one was a little more flat. And I just put that inside the tub.

I’ve been pretty successful in getting them to stand still in the tub for the 20 minutes to let it soak

Then I can pull the scab off and get out as much of the infection as I can without doing actual surgery

I spray it with the Vetericyn which is an antiseptic wound and skincare product

Then I put a couple of drops of a Bumblefoot Remedy from Moonlight Mile Herb Farm

Last I use a product called Green Goo and slather a bit on the wound.

I use a small piece of gauze covered with vet wrap to hold the medication in place

And to keep it dry and clean, especially if it’s summer with ice and water I use waterproof tape on top of the Vet Wrap, just to keep it dry.

I also give her 10 drops orally, in her mouth, so she gets it from inside and outside. This clears it up.

That’s what I’ve got in my first aid kit.

Where do I keep all of this?

I use a file box that latches closed. Others use a fishing tackle box.

The only other thing I use is Oxine. It’s a disinfectant and sanitizer.

If I need to clean out a cage really well, then that’s what I use to do that.

But be careful with it because it’s kind of like bleach, where it will remove the dye in your clothing, or in any rags you use

I hope that’s helpful, and if you have any questions please put them in the comments.

Remember … Be The Organic U – Feed Your Soul

#BeTheOrganicU #organic #homestead #sustainability #agriculture #coops #farming #gardening #chickens #backyard #eggs #farmlife #homesteading