HELP!! INJURED CHICKEN: NECK WOUND

[brkbrkbrk]

Hi I'm a newbie but i often look on this site for care of my chickens.

My dog attacked my chicken (young son accidentally let him out) and she has a huge neck wound. We have flushed it with saline iodine solution, sprayed with antibacterial spray, put some manuka honey ointment on it. We can't get neosporin or antibiotic cream in Australia without prescription, only antiseptic. This happened to another one of our chickens a few years ago and the vet put her down (i regret this choice now after reading chicken survival stories). There are no avian vets in my area.

It wasn't bleeding much just open. You can see into her neck, the neck bone and and top of the breast and the cavities around it, it is probably a 3 inch hole. So everything i have read says to keep it open and clean, it happened 3 days ago, she was shocked afterward and i thought she might die through the night, but she was fine in the morning. She is eating, drinking and laying, and desperate to go outside. I have her in the bathroom at the moment as it is summer here and there are flies everywhere. I have been letting her outside for half an hour in the evening (supervising her). She is acting totally normal.

So my question is will she have a good chance of recovery? Will the skin grow back or do I need to to stitch or stick it together partially?? The closest wound picture i could find is this and it has been stitched, so should i do the same or can i leave it open?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...n-barnevelder-pullet-and-the-fix-graphic-pics

Any advice would be much appreciated, thank you.

 

[ten chicks]

No,wound should not be stitched,too many days have passed and stitching at this point will just seal bacteria in. Clean wound daily,if wound appears to be infected(signs of infection are: foul smell coming from wound,swelling/redness spreading,bird becoming lethargic,not eating/drinking,etc)clean with a peroxide solution and put her on antibiotics(if available). Wound will heal from the inside out. Definitely keep her inside as maggots will probably be a problem. Keep her separate from other birds as they will probably peck/pick at her wounds.Make sure she is eating/drinking.

You are doing all the correct things,great job on providing emergency care!

 

[brkbrkbrk]

Ok, thank you. I can probably get some anitbiotics, I just dont want to take her to the vet, as the last time they really gave me no other option other than euthanasia but i do have an Aunt that works at a horse vets but she is an hour away.

There is no foul smell as yet, i read to smell the wound. I will keep an eye out for the other infection symptoms, thank you.

Will keep her in bathroom til she heals, fortunately we have an ensuite.

 

[ten chicks]

Ok, thank you. I can probably get some anitbiotics, I just dont want to take her to the vet, as the last time they really gave me no other option other than euthanasia but i do have an Aunt that works at a horse vets but she is an hour away.

There is no foul smell as yet, i read to smell the wound. I will keep an eye out for the other infection symptoms, thank you.

Will keep her in bathroom til she heals, fortunately we have an ensuite.

Unfortunately the majority of vets have no clue on treating chickens and frankly cannot be bothered. This is why they usually recommend euthanizing chickens,so sad.

 

[brkbrkbrk]

Hi,

I just wanted to do an update.

My chicken (Helga) has survived!! After two weeks her skin had fully grown back and there was a scab the size of a ten cent piece (think that might be a dime in America, I'm in Australia, its about an inch) on her neck which is still there now. She seems a hundred percent. She was itching to get out of the bathroom and is now back in the coup with our other chicken, who hasn't pecked at her at all. The injured chicken is definitely the boss and her feathers cover most of the bare skin.

I am simply amazed, it has been over three weeks now. I really did not think she would recover. She laid eggs the whole time she was in the bathroom and seemed happy. I alternated each day with antibacterial spray and manuka honey ointment. So hopefully she lives a long happy life.

 

[ten chicks]

Excellent that she is healing,good job on providing emergency care!

 

[brkbrkbrk]

Oh and i should also ad I had no idea of chicken anatomy, when i said breast, i meant back. So the hole was on the top of the neck on her back not her breast and i think the photo i gave as an example was of the side of the chickens neck. I could actually seen into her neck and see the neck bone moving after it happened, it was ghastly.

 

[JoycieBoycie]

I was SO happy to read that your chicken survived! can you tell me what you did and what you used to treat her wound? I have a chicken with a neck wound from the Roo picking at her, he nipped at her neck feather and that caused the skin to tear away when she tried to get away. There is still some skin hanging there, but the wound is pretty much open and I want to treat her the best I can.

 

[brkbrkbrk]

Hi,

I'm so sorry this is a couple of days late. I hope your chicken is doing ok.

First I flushed the wound with a mix of water and idodine (called betadine in Australia) as i read to do this somewhere. I then put a Manuka honey ointment (from drugstore, it has antibacterial properties) on the neck bit and around the skin as best i could. I may have flushed it again next day with the water mix, cant remember. You could use an antibacterial ointment like Neosporin - we cant get that in Australia without prescription - hence manuka ointment. i put that on a few more times.

I then found out about something called Cetrigen, a few days after the incident, its an antibacterial wound spray for animals which also repels insects. After 2 weeks the skin had completely grown back. I sprayed the Cetrigen on a few more times just to be sure.

I kept her inside as it was summer in Australia and flies were everywhere. I wanted to keep them away from the wound.

I am happy to say she is still alive and doing great. She is the best chicken. Her friend sadly passed away from an unkown illness a few months later. We got another chicken though.

Please update me on your chicken. P.S. What is a roo?

Regards,
Anna.

 

[brkbrkbrk]

Omg a roo is a rooster, sorry total mindblank. I was thinking kangaroo hahaa total blonde moment.