A warning about using zip ties to identify chicks. (GRAPHIC PHOTOS!)

WARNING: There are graphic photos of an injured chicken in this post. If blood or open wounds bother you, please do not continue reading this post. Skip to this post or this post instead....they're funny not images of wounds! 

Many chicken keepers use zip ties to tell chicks apart. Especially if they have different breeds of the same age with similar coloring. It makes sense. The problem is when the zip ties are not removed as the chick grows it can cause serious injury. Such was the case with Peggy. 

Yes, son named her...injured leg, Peg leg...get it? *sigh* anyway... 

Peggy was brought to me with a severe limp. There was no known injury or attack, she just started limping one day so she was brought here to see if I could figure out the problem. Thankfully it was easy to diagnose and treat and 1 month later Peggy is just fine now! Read on to see exactly what happened.

Remember: those graphic pictures are coming up!

When I first looked at the young pullets leg, I noticed it had a knot around it. It looked more like a crust then a scab, but clearly here was the injury. First I soaked it with Vetericyn wound & skin care spray. This is my go-to injury care product for wounds like this. 

It's excellent for minor injuries and since I didn't know what I was going to find under that crust it just made sense to use Vetericyn to clean it off. After the crust had softened I removed it gently and this is what I saw....

The dangers of using zip ties on chicks

The zip tie that had been put on her leg to identify her as a chick had been left on! As her leg grew the skin around it grew, but underneath the zip tie was only room for bone. Had this been allowed to stay on much longer she would have lost circulation in her foot and probably lost the foot! 

Thankfully we caught this just in time!

Treating a chickens leg injury

Luckily there was only a tiny spot of infection and it was easily cleaned away. I had to cut the zip tie off of course (oh did I feel bad, that had to hurt!) It started bleeding a bit and I waited for the blood to stop, using a little Vetericyn spray to keep it clean. 

I clipped away the feathers on her leg so as not to interfere with healing by sticking to the wound. Finally, when it was done oozing I coated the wound with Neosporin (without pain relief) then wrapped it with gauze. I sprayed the gauze with a bit of Vetericyn to make sure it didn't dry out then wrapped her leg with vet wrap to keep it all in place. 

I usually use the camo colored vet wrap, but since she was pretty mad at me by this time...Peggy got the Angry Birds pattern! 

I changed the dressing every few days until the wound was closed. After it was healed from the inside I switched to just vet wrap for about a week to keep the dirt out. Keeping it wrapped also keeps her and other chickens from pecking at it which would have made the recovery much longer! 

The last week she's been without a bandage and almost all the scabbing has fallen off. As you can see (even though the pictures are blurry since she seldom stands still now!) Peggy is all healed up and doing just fine! 

While I still use zip ties to identify chicks, I never send one to a new home with a zip tie still on! I always remove the zip ties before they leave here. I have since purchased these chick bands which are more like a spring and will open up if they're left on while the chick grows.

Peggy is going back home this weekend, all healed up and ready to see her hatch-mates again! I wish her good luck and will have a talk with her owner about watching more closely for signs of injury or illness. This should have been caught much sooner. 

Either way, I'm just glad she's all better and I hope her story might help to remind others of the importance of removing certain types of leg bands as chicks grow.

~L

Want information on raising chickens sent right to your email weekly? Click right here to join my list and get new posts sent directly to you the day they're published. You'll also get the free download 25 Ways to save money raising chickens.

I am not a veterinarian or other animal care professional nor do I claim to be. I am simply passing on information that has worked for me and my flock. This information is for entertainment purposes only and is not meant to treat or diagnose any medical condition. Please see a vet if your chicken is ill. Click for my full disclaimer. 

This post contains affiliate links. If you chose to purchase something through the link, I will get a small payment from Amazon. It will not affect your purchase price. Click for full disclosure.