Predator attack - injured chicken - Didn't make it

[donnavee]

We have a 4yr old Plymouth Rock hen who accidentally was left out of the chicken house last night. My husband found feathers this morning & we assumed the predator had taken the body off. However, when he went to do some cleanup a while ago, she came crawling out from a hiding place - she somehow managed to escape.

Her injuries do appear severe though. Missing head feathers don't bother me so much, but her back end is missing most of it's feathers and it is down to the meat. She does appear pretty alert considering her injuries, but doesn't seem to want any fluids.

I don't know where to begin or if she can be saved. If not, I don't want her to suffer & will put her down humanely.

Any advice/suggestions?
Should I bathe her and in what?
How to dress the back end wound and what kind of antibiotic for such a large area?

Please help, we really want to help her live as she worked hard to get away.


I appreciate everyone's help - but Cocoa went to Chicken Heave last night. I had hopes as she seemed pretty alert, but it was just too much for her.

 

[boskelli1571]

Poor bird! She looks quite the sight! You can gently bathe her in warm water, try and remove any bits of dead skin/ feathers etc. to keep the area open and clean. Gently pat dry. This will need to be done daily at least. Neosporin, triple antibiotic all work well topically - just make sure it does not contain any pain/numbing medicine.. Some people recommend sprinkling antibiotic powder directly onto the area since it's a large area, I would be more inclined to give it orally in drinking water. If you can get hold of some thing like vaseline gauze to cover the area that would be fabulous, if not, a plain gauze dressing will work, but you will likely have to soak it off in the morning. It looks like it's an awkward wound to dress, but try Vetwrap to hold the dressing in place.
She is going to need much encouragement to eat/drink appropriately. High protein intake to ensure good wound healing, mealworms, small amount cat food etc. Electrolyte solution in the water. I'm not really sure which antibiotic would be best, so hopefully someone else will give you direction.
She will of course need to be separate from the flock until she is well on the road to recovery. Wishing you luck, please keep us posted on her progress,

 

[donnavee]

Thank you. I have some Duramycin which I can try. She actually ate some yogurt sprinkled with meal worms this morning, though she resists me trying to get her to drink. She does appear amazingly alert. We lost power last night so I didn't try to clean her up - plus I wanted her to rest and calm down.

I'll give all your recommendations a try this morning and give progress reports.

 

[emmaie892000]

These injuries are so similar to the ones that were on my hen after a dog attack, and she survived. I have hope that your hen will have the same results.
You'll want to clean everything out really well, and check her body very carefully for smaller puncture wounds that may be hidden by feathers. In my chicken's case, we found a slit on her stomach that barely missed hitting organs DAYS after we started treating everywhere else.
Now, the hole on her back end looks bad, but so did Kiwi's, and she grew back muscle/fat, skin, and feathers! You'll want to keep an eye on all tissue edges and cut off tissue that is definitely dead. I also would recommend trimming the feathers all around the wounds so you can see what's going on easily at all times. In a day or two you'll most likely see awful bruises appear around the wounds where pressure was applied but no skin was broken. This is NOT rotting flesh. It will be greenish, maybe purplish, like bruises on us.
Now, for my hen, we went to the vet. She had a wound very similar to yours on her thigh, and the vet determined it didn't need stitches, so yours should heal up just as well without. We got a drench powder to mix with water. It killed bacteria and infection, and aided with healing. I've forgotten the name, but I'll see if I can find the packet later. You'll want antibiotics for sure, either a drench, ingested, or injectable.
Lastly, give her nice food that she enjoys eating, a comfy place that stays warm, and electrolytes in her water (if you think it will help).
We didn't dress any of Kiwi's wounds, since she was separated entirely and didn't pick at her own wounds. She was also inside, so the wounds wouldn't get dirty. Leaving them open helped them drain and begin to scab. It's up to you thought with your hen.
Good luck!

 

[donnavee]

Emmaie892000 - I appreciate your reply. We did dress her butt wound, but maybe when I clean her tomorrow will let if off. She doesn't move around much. I would be appreciate if you can find the name of the drench. Cutting the feathers back is a good idea. I have put electrolytes in her water & she eats a few bites of yogurt dressed with mealworms.

I feel if I can keep her from getting an infection that she will pull through.

 

[emmaie892000]

She has good chances.
Another food she may eat would be scrambled eggs. It gives them back nutrients that are naturally in their bodies and they tend to really love them. I'll see if I can find the name.