Injured Chicken

[Melissanewton]

Tuesday night one of our Buffs was attacked by a dog. She has a small opening where feathers were ripped out about dime sized. So all in all not the worst from my research. However, this is our first injury. We have her in our medical coop (dog crate) and have been applying antibiotic spray. The wound is completely covered by her wing so I guess I have two questions:

How fast would something like that heal? I forgot to take a pic but I can upload later.
How long does she need to be away from the flock? Until it's completely healed? She never really bled and there hasn't been any blood in the last day and half.

She is eating and drinking and yesterday she even laid an egg. I just feel like I've been reading horror stories about re-integration to the flock so I want to minimize her away time.

 

[CoopintheWoods]

If she's not bleeding, spray her cuts with some Blu-kote (or something similar) so the others don't pick at her.
Put her back with the flock, keep an eye on everyone for a few hours, and if they're all happy, she's fine.
Things sometimes take awhile to re-feather, but as long as it's not actively bleeding I wouldn't worry about it.

Best of luck with your flock!

 

[Melissanewton]

If she's not bleeding, spray her cuts with some Blu-kote (or something similar) so the others don't pick at her.
Put her back with the flock, keep an eye on everyone for a few hours, and if they're all happy, she's fine.
Things sometimes take awhile to re-feather, but as long as it's not actively bleeding I wouldn't worry about it.

Best of luck with your flock!

Great, thanks! Do I need to keep her from dust bathing or continue using antibiotic spray if she's out getting dirty?

 

[CoopintheWoods]

Great, thanks! Do I need to keep her from dust bathing or continue using antibiotic spray if she's out getting dirty?

Keep using the spray if it's needed to keep the would dyed. If it looks like a bloody scab, the others will pick at it, but if it's dyed they won't.

I wouldn't worry about the dust bathing, though I've honestly never considered it as a potential issue.