PLEASE help- my hen SPLIT OPEN

[TeamChaos]

My year old Jersey Giant has been under the weather for a while now. Her vent has been coated with white sand that I think are urates. I've bathed her, soaked her, treated her in case she had lice or mites, checked for eggs inside her etc. I've been watching her and she's been out foraging with the other ladies and still laying pretty regularly. Today, she was in the coop early and I decided to check out her vent again... it looked crusty but the same as it has been and then I noticed that she has SPLIT OPEN below the vent, in her abdomen area.

open sore/ skin split by Maxxchaos, on Flickr[/img]

I have more photos on my flickr account.

 

[speckledhen]

Omigosh, I'd put her down, personally. No idea what happened, but if her abdomen was full of fluid, guess that could be the cause. At some point, if not drained, the skin could split. Poor hen. Could be an abcessed wound, but I really can't tell.

 

[Balbinka]

It looks like a major abscess that finally burst.
This hen needs to see a veterinarian immediately.

 

[rhs7111]

IF you can't get her to a vet, and as a last ditch effort (meaning instead of putting her down)...soak her in warm water with betadine in it. If the abcess burst and drained OUT of her body, that means the infection is gone. I can't see from the photo exactly how the tear is located and it's depth, but I would try this if possible...and put antibiotics in her water immediately. Is she eating, drinking now? A trip to the vet is the best course of action, but if you can't get there, and if you think there's a chance she can be saved, put her in warm water-diluted betadine right away.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

If you think there is some hope after soaking her, a shot of antibiotic from the feedstore might be more effective than antibiotic in the water. Tylan, liquimycin or penicillin.

 

[TeamChaos]

She is eating and drinking, alert and sick of me messing with her. We do not have a vet around us that will see a chicken (now, if you're a commercial operation with several thousand sick chickens, they'll probably take the call). I will give her a betadine bath (I was worried about getting an open wound wet) and I'll get antibiotics in her one way or another. Thanks!

The skin around the wound is really thick and tough, I don't know if that means anything or not. If it's an abscess, am I looking at muscles and organs protruding or do you think that's the abscess?

 

[speckledhen]

I just can't tell, sorry.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

I wonder if it could the pressure of internal laying (also called yolk peritonitis) that made her split. It is a mystery. Had she been laying regularly?

In any case, I'm glad she is eating and I hope she heals.

 

[rhs7111]

If you think you see organs (i.e. if it is not an abcess) do NOT put her in a betadine water bath but instead clean the wound with betadine on a cotton or gauze pad. Can you see any evidence of a resolved abcess ( dried pus or non-bloody serum on the feathers around the wound)? And yes, an injectible antibiotic would be ideal, but if you don't have an injectible on hand, use an oral antibiotic until you can get the injectible---it's important to get antibiotics in her somehow, ASAP.

 

[TeamChaos]

I have taken dried serum looking stuff off the area... There's no hole, so I'm not looking into her body cavity or anything but I'm still nervous to put her in water.