Hen Mauled by dog, Large skinless wound gashed muscle LOOK HELP ADVISE PLEASE PICS

Wet to dry is just like how it sounds...start with sterile guaze and saurate a piece with saline and place it over the wound, you want it crumpled a little, not all flat , the next piece is wet, but wring it a little more, the next piece is moist, then cover with several dry pieces and wrap in place. You do not need to wash this wound as you remove the guaze it will self debrede, when you change the dressing. Keeping the wound moist will also aid healing as new cells can travel and fill in the hole faster. The outer layer is dry to prevent heat loss through evaporation from the surface area. Don't use hydrogen peroxide on any wound, or alcohol, it will merely cause pain and kill healthy cells, actually burning new tissue growth...the best cleaning is rinsing or irrigation with sterile saline. I like vetericyn spray..it works! I wouldn't care for any ointment inside a wound like that. Do w wet to dry and hold it in place with vet wrap...leave the feathers over the area to protect it...eventually it will draw close, more than you'd think.

fuzzybutt love said:

I would like to know about the wet to dry, i've heard about it but i don't know how it's done. Never know when you will need to know this stuff............ thanks.

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Hi there!

The previous post by Achickenwrangler#1 is a great explanation of the process. I would add that "wet to dry" is a mechanical debridement technique of applying soaked dressings, and later slowly pulling them off to remove dead or infected tissue, and wound drainage. As I was studying wound cleansing techniques, one author suggested that with deep dog bites, the chicken's natural defense system gets deactivated when infection and necrosis sets in. It simply doesn't recognize that there is a serious problem going on. Infected tissue is free to infect other areas and the whole problem snowballs. A debridement goal is to help trigger the body's natural healing process back into action, by creating an acute wound. That happens with the cutting process, and also when you remove the gauze which pulls out dead junk and exposes live, healthy tissue that is triggered back into healing action.

Because the wounds on our little hen are so deep, and involve more layered muscle tissue, we are using a combo of (ugh) cutting away dead tissue, packing the deep wounds, and using the wet to dry technique to encourage healing. We also have her on antibiotic and vitamins. Understanding the goal of debridement and wet to dry, helped us to get past the "gore" of cutting damaged and dead tissue away to expose live tissue.

Last night our family gathered around our hen to work on those deep wounds and figure out what to cut and not to cut. (We should have started this process much sooner). One of my adult sons really labored over the cutting part for 2 hours to remove the necrotic stuff. Parts on her back were all the way down to the bone. He had to remove a small splintered piece of bone. He also made sure drainage holes were in place. It took another hour to cleanse the exposed tissue and to pack and bandage the wounds. Packing the wounds sort of acts like a wick to soak up infection, pus, and fluids and pull them away from the deeper parts so that tissue regeneration will be encouraged. We are waiting for everyone to get home from their daytime jobs before inspecting and attempting the process again.

"Whiskers" is still perky, eating well, and food is going through okay. She is worn out from last night's ordeal, but we are hoping that this wet to dry packing will help stop the infection process and trigger active healing.

This thread and others have been so helpful and encouraging to us! We are learning much and making new friends in the process

Thanks everyone!

Quietjd

Your girl sounds very strong-willed and feisty. I really hope she pulls thru for you and has a good recovery. Pictures may be helpful to others who want/need to use this process. Just warn that they may be very graphic at the top of your post!!! Some people are very sensitive to such pix.

How is your girl doing.

Nsampsel said:

Your girl sounds very strong-willed and feisty. I really hope she pulls thru for you and has a good recovery. Pictures may be helpful to others who want/need to use this process. Just warn that they may be very graphic at the top of your post!!! Some people are very sensitive to such pix.

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We sure hope she recovers too! Today she is more tired and not eating much. Probably due to cleaning out the wounds this morning and repacking and wrapping. Yesterday she rallied nicely when I took her outside in a separate pen. Being in the sunshine and talking through the fence with her other chicken friends perked her right up. She loved eating grasses, corn on the cob, bugs, and I watched her drink her medicated and vitamin water!

Her wounds today overall smelled and looked much better. I was amazed at how much gunk was attached to the gauze packing and was happy to see this stuff pulled out of her. Last night we worked 3 hours debriding & packing. This morning it took my daughter and I less than 2 hours. The really deep wounds still smell bad, and I can tell there is more junk that needs to be removed, hopefully through the gauze packs. Even the thinner layers of wet to dry, was pulling out bad surface stuff. I worry that there is more stuff deeper, underneath the backbone area of the exposed bones. There is no way to get to that stuff without doing even more damage.


Sorry, I really tried to figure out how to download the photos, but I am not as computer smart as I would like to be. I will have to wait until my pro-puter sons get off work.

I am so sorry to hear about your girl being attacked by a dog, but at the same time, I'm THANKFUL for this post I am gleaning a LOT of great information..as one of mine was attacked today by a neighbors dog. And her wound looks a lot like your hen does.

I gave her some water w/ crushed up penicillin and electrolytes. I've made a saline solution to get the wound cleaned up and have the neosporin, though I'd rather use honey, but my husband is afraid that would attack bugs to her...I even took a couple of tampon's out and opened them up for the cotton to use to clean the wound up. I may be printing out all the various posts so I can read them as I treat her..

Howdy!

Just wanted to give an update on Whiskers, our Sultan hen who was attacked by a dog nearly 10 days ago. She is still alive! We have been on a roller coaster ride, thinking at times she isn't going to make it, to wow--I can't believe that area looks so good, when it looked and smelled dead and dying just yesterday!

That wet to dry method really pulls a lot of deep-rooted infection and dead material and waste out of wounds! Our little hen has 5 puncture wounds in addition to two large patches of missing skin and tissue. Two puncture wounds broke through the bone on her back. Two were on both sides of her tail and created a 1-2 inch curved rip around one side of her tail. The other two were under her wing area and clear down to the second strap of skin which, i think, helps mobilize her thigh movement. The top of her hip bone on that side is also exposed.

Our whole family has taken turns changing & cleaning wounds and debriding dead skin and muscle tissue. It takes at least 2-3 people 2 hours each time to work through all the areas. My number 3 son should quit repairing appliances and become a surgeon! I can't believe how well he excels at recognizing which tissue should be removed and which is on it's way to healing. He has done amazing work; even with the underlying tissue, that we can't even see because it is under a strap of muscle and skin. He patiently works the soaked gauze packing into the two puncture wounds and manages to pack it in unseen places. He does an amazing job at wrapping up Whiskers so that she can't tear out the gauze packing (like she did several times).

The two puncture wounds by the tail turned deep black inside, even though they were not very deep. (Maggots grew in there overnite on day 1 and we found and removed them the next day.) The packing just wouldn't stay in the those wounds, and we kept searching for some way to use the wet/dry to pull out the dead skin. Some things seem to just take time, and today my son was able to clear out the last of the two. So many areas are looking so much better now. Love that pink skin, just like the photos from the lady who started this thread.

I know we can only do so much to help our little gal. I petitioned the Lord to use our hands and direct our eyes and give us His wisdom to bring healing to all areas, even those we can't reach, or even see. He has blessed our efforts; but how my faith wavers at the unseen wounds!--like the exposed bone holes in her back--and all. She still has areas that smell rotten; yet are so greatly improved, it gives me/us hope. We are just trusting the Lord to do His part as we are faithful to do ours.

Whiskers still likes going outside to visit the other girls on the other side of her fenced area. They seem to encourage her to eat more, as they are all eyeing her food. We have been feeding her all the things mentioned in this thread; egg yolk, medicated feed mixed with a little unflavored yogurt (which she doesn't seem to like at all), melon, corn, a little pasta here and there, and other fruits.

She is really tired out by the changing and cleaning the dressings. But she still has a sweet disposition and is only a little feisty when we work in her sensitive spots. It also seems like more feeling sensation is returning to the debrided areas.

If you know all the other things that are going on in our household, I think you might understand why I haven't had time to figure out how to post the photos. Maybe some time soon!

Thanks again for all the posts and encouragement.

That is good news. Happy to hear it.

Imp