Hi,
I wanted to share some information that hopefully another will find helpful if faced with a similar situation.
I had one of my pullets (6 mos old) attacked by a friends dog 3 weeks ago. It was an entirely avoidable situation and I learned my lesson the hard way
She suffered most of the damage to her back, with a patch of skin torn off, losing her tail feathers and some superficial bites/scratches under her wings.
I separated her from the flock inside in a pet kennel and fed her scrambled eggs, gelatin (canning gelatin) and plain greek yogurt, and chick saver electrolyte mixed in her water. I think her age played to her advantage. No sign of shock and she had a good appetite from the first day of recovery.
I trimmed the damaged feathers so they didn't get stuck in the wound and applied triple antibiotic and silver gel each day for 2 weeks. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SZ615DW?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Great product! it's anti-microbial too, since infection was my main concern.
I re-introduced her to the flock this week. I tried to put a chicken saddle on her to prevent picking, but she didn't want to wear it. Her feathers are coming back in and disguising the wound, so I haven't noticed any evidence of picking from the other flock members. I did apply some homemade blue kote, made of clear iodine and blue food coloring in a spray bottle. The wound has a good scab and shouldn't attract flies, but I am watching for any sign of that as well.
I wanted to thank other posters for sharing their advice- this forum was the first place I turned since this is the first injury issue I've had to deal with. I'm amazed at how well she healed!
I wanted to share some information that hopefully another will find helpful if faced with a similar situation.
I had one of my pullets (6 mos old) attacked by a friends dog 3 weeks ago. It was an entirely avoidable situation and I learned my lesson the hard way
She suffered most of the damage to her back, with a patch of skin torn off, losing her tail feathers and some superficial bites/scratches under her wings.
I separated her from the flock inside in a pet kennel and fed her scrambled eggs, gelatin (canning gelatin) and plain greek yogurt, and chick saver electrolyte mixed in her water. I think her age played to her advantage. No sign of shock and she had a good appetite from the first day of recovery.
I trimmed the damaged feathers so they didn't get stuck in the wound and applied triple antibiotic and silver gel each day for 2 weeks. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SZ615DW?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Great product! it's anti-microbial too, since infection was my main concern.
I re-introduced her to the flock this week. I tried to put a chicken saddle on her to prevent picking, but she didn't want to wear it. Her feathers are coming back in and disguising the wound, so I haven't noticed any evidence of picking from the other flock members. I did apply some homemade blue kote, made of clear iodine and blue food coloring in a spray bottle. The wound has a good scab and shouldn't attract flies, but I am watching for any sign of that as well.
I wanted to thank other posters for sharing their advice- this forum was the first place I turned since this is the first injury issue I've had to deal with. I'm amazed at how well she healed!
