Cockerel with a cut foot

[OverWyreGrower]

One of the boys in my breeding pens has a cut on the underside of his foot. He is noticeably limping, but otherwise still eating, drinking, getting around. He has let me inspect and clean it this morning, but, of course, I had to put him back in his (woodchip) run.

The only way I can think of sorting this out is to remove him from the pen and pop him in a 'hospital' pen in the garage, where I can keep his foot clean until it heals...

Can anyone think of a better way to do it, or is this the best thing?

[Suechooks]

I suppose you could try a sticky plaster? Think I'd be inclined to keep him indoors at least for a couple of days till it starts to heal over.

[Nicos]

Oh- poor lad.

I suppose being a cockerel he'll not lose his position in the pecking order if you do decide to remove him!

I'd be tempted to keep him on his own on clean shavings and use purple spray on his foot for a few days.

[OverWyreGrower]

No, he'll be fine! His girls will go into the main flock for a few days though, just so they are not on their own!

I'm going to set up our largest dog crate with newspaper and clean shavings for him tonight. I've got some hibiscrub and purple spray and some wound powder as well, just in case...

[Nicos]

Is the wound powder for you?????

....sounds like he's not as viscous as Snadger's boy then????

Let us know how he gets on.

[OverWyreGrower]

Is the wound powder for you?????

....sounds like he's not as viscous as Snadger's boy then????

Ooh no, Raymond is OK. He's not happy about being picked up/held etc, but he's not nasty about it, just vocal and wiggly!

I do have a very nasty boy (Welsummer) who I can't ever turn my back on, as he'll attack me. He even tries to get me through the fence!

[OverWyreGrower]

Well, Raymond is in his hospital pen, and he is not happy about it.

I've cleaned his foot off with diluted Hibiscrub and sprayed it with Violet (and got it all over me too!).

He's on clean shavings and seems to be OK. I'll have a look at it later today.

He is eating and drinking well, and was thoughtful enough to start crowing at 2am this morning. The garage is right next to the house, so he was very loud!

[Snadger]

The purple spray is the avian equivalent of the magic 'sponge & bucket' once used on footballers.
I would be more worried as to how he got the cut in the first place?

If he's owt like mine he'll be a tough auld bugger and get over it quite quickly wherever you put him!

[OverWyreGrower]

I would be more worried as to how he got the cut in the first place?

Not sure... his breeding pen is woodchip, with a large woodpile in it. However, there is also a wild patch of brambles, nettles, thistles etc, which the chickens love grubbing around in. I was wondering whether he had stood directly on a bramble?

He is not yet a year old, so still a 'baby' really

[its hilly]

My usual remedy for cut feet is purple spray, but if it's underneath (or when one of my stupid roos got his toe cut off by a horse's hoof) then it's cleaned, dryed, purple sprayed and then coated with the horses sticky stockholm tar which is then coated with wound powder to stop it sticking to everything else. I use wound powder so that if the silly twits get it in the cut it wont do any harm, and the stockholm tar stops the others pecking it or blood seeping through as it actually packs any holes.
I have tried plasters, and bandages..but how do you stop them pecking them off and eating them ? Or are my lot just a bunch of thugs. No dont answer that. They are really a pack of velociraptors...with attitude
And for the ones who winced I can just add that Steptoe () is still alive and has never missed his toe.