Chicken attacked by dog

[cowcreekgeek]

I have been a vet tech for 20+ years and normally until the last couple of years I would have shaved it with a #40 blade, cleaned it with Betadine/Povodine, antibiotics etc. But the new thing I have been doing is proven thus far on for a stray cat who had mastitis and sloughed off 4 of her mammany glands, a horse who degloved her hock to pastern, a rabbit with an abcess into its sinus cavity and another rabbit who tried to eviscarate himself after being neutered at the vets.... is an old Roman soldier treatment (and by the way, all these wrecks were owned by someone else).

I now pack them in honey and cover, changing the bandage twice a day and then repacking it with honey. I do this for about a week or two (depending on the injury) until new tissue is mostly covering the wound and then I leave it to the air to dry since it stays 'wet' with the honey. Honey is antibacterial and will prevent infection from bacteria setting in. A couple years ago I would have rolled my eyes and said "Yeah right!" if I had told myself how well this works. But all the last 4-5 animals I have done this with healed quickly and with no issues. With the rabbit with the abscess and her whole side of her face was pretty much open, I used a TB syringe with warm honey and packed it in there with a syringe. My friend had already spent $300 on this doe and it was not doing well, so I changed tactics and went back to the honey and it was healed in less than 2 weeks. I am not saying that this will work 100% of the time but I am pretty sold on this. I have some pics of the before and after, but they are kinda icky to post for the 'before', so you might just want to take my word for it. All of these cases were last ditch efforts before the animal was put down and all of them had already received hundreds of $ of treatment at the vets. I am not saying to ditch a vet and go for the honey either, but if it is a case of push-comes-to-shove, you might give it a go.

You have to be creative in wrapping sometimes. Like I had to leave it open on the face, a diaper over the hock of the horse, Kotex and vet wrap for the cat and Telfa pads and vetwrap with suspenders for the rabbit. I am guessing you might have to do the 'suspender' thing on a chicken.

Good luck with your hen,
Cedar

Have used the honey on my own wounds, and the speed w/ which things changed was amazing -- literally, differences could be seen between dressings. Love usin' diapers/napkins, but have one for you to try ... the wicking fabrics, most esp. the socks designed for using under insulated ones. I check the clearance racks, often finding shirts for a few bucks (socks are far more expensive by the sq. in., but bands cut from 'em sure come in handy ~'-)

 

[CedarOR]

I find your experiences with honey fascinating. I've read about the healing properties of honey but have never tried it on any injuries myself. I've also read that raw, unfiltered honey is best for healing, as the filtering and processing done with store-bought honey removes some of the nutritional and healing elements. I'm very curious, what type of honey did you use for the injuries you treated?

The honey I used came from 2 sources. My friend's bee hives in Wisconsin and my bf's hives in the Corvallis, Oregon area. Both are raw and both are filtered (gotta get rid of the bee wings and such *ugh*).

Like I said, before a couple years ago I would have said BS and 'you are going to kill your animal'. Most of the time I still do the 'full veterinary' regime as I was trained to do for a long time. But the last ditch effort with the honey has a 4 out of 4 win now and although I am not totally sold on it (mostly as it is againts my training), I love the results.

Cedar

 

[chesty78]

Hen is doing better she was up and moving this evening and I saw her drinking water on ther own. I don't think she has eaten.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Hen is doing better she was up and moving this evening and I saw her drinking water on ther own. I don't think she has eaten.

Excellent; if she's drinking, she'll most likely eat ... if you need any help w/ the wounds, post a few pictures if you can ~'-)

 

[KootenaiRiverChick]

Here's what I did when my hen was attacked by a hawk: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...tack-patch-of-hens-skin-on-back-torn-off-help

I also described every step on my blog referenced in my signature. Not saying what I did was *the* proper way to heal her, but it worked and she started laying again about three months after the attack. All skin and feathers regrew, even where she had to grow new skin. Best of luck to you; I know it's traumatic.