Chicken
First Aid Kit
Disclaimer:- The information on this page
has been gathered from my own experiences with chickens, and from advice which
veterinarians and experienced chicken-keepers. I strongly advise those with
sick chickens not to rely solely on the information given on this website, and
to seek verterinary advice as soon as possible. Thankyou.
Chickens sometimes become ill, or have accidents. It's best
to have a first aid kit on hand to deal with any injuries or ailments if they
occur.
These are some suggestions for things to have on hand to handle
avian emergencies and also some other helpful items to have around.
First thing is to find a good local bird veterinarian or wildlife
rehabber to be able to call and put their phone number in or on your Chicken
first Aid Kit or in a easy to find place. Because no-one wants to be scrabbling
around trying to find a telephone number in an emergency.
Basic Chicken
(and Bird) First Aid Kit
A plastic fishing tackle box or tool box makes a great AVIAN FIRST
AID KIT.
BASIC EQUIPMENT for your avian FIRST AID
KIT
-
a bird inventory, housing diagrams & care instructions
[for others if you must leave suddenly in an emergency]
-
Vet's telephone number taped onto First Aid Kit box in
a prominent position.
-
Torch (essential tool for finding injured birds which have
escaped into the dark during a nocturnal predator raid).
-
Scissors (for cutting bandages and trimming feathers).
- Toenail clippers
-
Pliers or wire cutters for removing leg rings
-
Extra Leg Rings [to mark treated birds]
- Crop tube
- Feeding syringes in various sizes
-
Latex disposable gloves.
-
Pet carriers for transportation to Vet
-
Hospital or Quarantine cage
- Small plastic containers (eg: old photographic film containers and the like)
for collecting feacal samples for testing.
EMERGENCY SUPPLIES for
your avian FIRST AID KIT
- TO STOP BLEEDING [minor cuts and peck wounds, broken pin feathers, pulled
nails, broken beaks]
- wound powder;
- household flour
- TO PROTECT, APPLY PRESSURE OR COVER WOUNDS OR STABILIZE FRACTURES
- first aid tape-various sizes;
- gauze pads;
- roll of stretch gauze;
- plastic strips (cut from stout plastic containers) or clean soft wooden
lollipop sticks for leg splints.
- TO CLEAN WOUNDS
- cotton buds;
- small soft brush to scrub wound;
- bottle of distilled water;
- Salt water - if you want to use salt water for treatment mix a heaping
teaspoon of salt in a cup of fairly warm water.
- liquid antiseptic eg. iodine, and small container for dilution purposes
(this prevents contamination of full bottle). If you use a product that
must be diluted, follow manufacturer's directions, concentrated products
can be a problem on sensitive skin, they can debride the wound and even
dissolve sutures!
- hand pump wound spray, spray from an aerosol can may drive the bacteria
deeper into the wound.
- TO REMOVE DEBRIS FROM EYE
- saline solution ;
- organic eye wash, drops or rinse
- ANTIBACTERIAL / ANTISEPTIC OINTMENT
- eg: Savlon, TCP, Witch Hazel
- Purple Spray such as that used on horses or farm animals.
- LUBRICANTS [for egg binding, prolapses]
- vaseline
- mineral oil
- olive oil or vegetable oil
- FLUID THEARPY FOR DEHYDRATION
- vitamins and electrolytes (human multivitamin tablets will suffice);
- Honey
- Bicarbonate of Soda (to add to water in hot weather to prevent acidosis)
- PolyAid
- NUTRITIONAL SUPPLIMENTS
- PROBIOTICS
- MEDICATION FOR SHOCK
- TO BREAK UP MUCUS OR CONGESTION
- apple cider vinegar [4 tsp per gal in water]
- Vicks vapor rub [dab on beak]
REGULAR
CHICKEN HEALTH CHECKLIST
- Check the general health, look and behaviour of the flock every day.
- Check for mites and lice every two weeks.
- Weigh each chicken once per month, compare with results from previous months
(a spreadsheet with graph function is ideal for viewing this data)
- Feacal Tests Twice Annually (ideally January & July).
EQUIPMENT INSTRUCTIONS
- HINTS AND TIPS
|
Equipment
|
Application
|
Description of Usage
|
Crop Tube
For scale I've added a spent matchstick.
The syringe part holds 5 ml, and the tube is about 15 or 20 cm long.
This crop tube was given to me by a Vet, so that's the correct length
of tube for a chicken.
|
Can be used to :-
-
Give emergency nutrition directly into the
crop of birds which cannot eat and drink for themselves
- Give medicines directly into the crop
|
What is a crop tube? How do you insert it?
-
they can be a bit of a pain to insert if the bird
is a struggly type.
-
I find it helps to sit the bird on an old towel
(or something similar), and then wrap the whole bird in it, just leaving
it's head and neck poking out. Then you don't have to worry about
controlling the flailing legs and wings!
-
I then hold the head in my left hand, in such a
way that I can securely but softly open the beak and hold it open.
Here is where you become very, very thankful that they don't have
teeth!
-
Then look in the mouth, at the back of the throat.
You'll see the big main throat-hole leading to the oesophagus (which
you'll be pushing the tube down). There is also a smaller hole fairly
near where the tongue joins at the back of the mouth - that's the
windpipe, and must be avoided - you obviously don't want to get the
tube down there....
-
bearing that in mind, gently insert the tube, pushing
it slowly down the throat. I usually push it about 3 quarters of the
way in. The chicken will not like this, and will try to struggle,
so this is where the towel is most useful!
-
Once the tube is inserted, use the syringe to push
the medicine (or water, or whatever is in the syringe chamber) down
the tube and into the bird's crop.
|
Feeding Syringe
Illustration Coming Soon
Feeding syringe looks like the crop tube above, but without the green
tube part.
|
Can be used to :-
- Give emergency nutrition to birds which cannot eat and drink for
themselves
|
- Gently open the chicken's beak
- Slowly discharge the contents of the syringe into the chicken's
mouth, taking care to allow the chicken to swallow so that it does
not choke.
|
TREATMENT OF SPECIFIC
AILMENTS
|
Symptoms
|
Ailment and possible cause
|
Action
|
Chicken looking fluffed, showing loss of appetite.
Crop distended, packed full, feels full to the touch.
Hard consistency.
|
Impacted Crop.
The bird has eaten something like long strands of dry grass, or string,
which have blocked the crop.
|
Use crop tube and warm water. Give about 10 - 20 15 ml water straight
into the crop. Massage the crop, trying to break up the contents. Upend
the bird and massage the crop - the hen should vomit the contents. Refill
the crop with water, massage again, leave the bird for about half an
hour, then repeat until the crop is clear and all contents have been
vomited out. Be gentle - do not try to force the chicken to vomit if
the lump is too large and impossible to break up.
Check the bird on the following morning. If she still has an impacted
crop, consult your avian Vet.
|
Chicken looking fluffed, showing loss of appetite.
Crop distended and pendulous, packed full, feels full to the touch.
Soft consistency.
Chicken has very bad breath if crop is gently squeezed.
|
Sour Crop.
The bird has eaten something which has gone bad in the crop, and may
have started to ferment.
|
Use crop tube and warm water. Give about 10 - 20 15 ml water straight
into the crop. Massage the crop, trying to break up the contents. Upend
the bird and massage the crop - the hen should vomit the contents. Refill
the crop with water, massage again, leave the bird for about half an
hour, then repeat until the crop is clear and all contents have been
vomited out.
Check the bird on the following morning. If she still has a sour crop,
consult your avian Vet.
|
Disclaimer:- The information on this page has been gathered from my own
experiences with chickens, and from advice which veterinarians and experienced
chicken-keepers. I strongly advise those with sick chickens not to rely solely
on the information given on this website, and to seek verterinary advice as
soon as possible. Thankyou.
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