abrasion injury care

[chella]

one of my hens got attacked 3 days ago ... I don't know what (Dog maybe) there was no commotion but we found her shortly after (pile of feathers close by not yet fully disturbed by the wind). it's a palm size area of missing feathers (like she was scalped) no blood, no punctures at all but she did have irritation & inflammation in the area (expected). After inspection her, rinsing & a little treatment for an oozy patch & ointment (advise appreciated from archives BYC) I returned her to the group. Everyone was dust bathing and she quickly joined in. Her behavior continues to remain normal and her skin abrasion inflammation is reducing each day. of course I am striving for optimum healing and speedy feather re-growth.

Question now - some dirt has stuck to her (maybe because of the ointment & initial dust bath) it has created a scab like structure. How important is it that the dirt is removed? I tried to clean it off since but it's stuck on good and I don't want to scrub or tear at it. I even tried warm compress soaks in hopes to soften it up, no luck. I now have natural poultry abrasion spray (rather than an ointment) that absorbs quickly to I'm using daily ... Should I do more about the "stuck on" dirt ... any and all advise welcome. please.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Considering that the wound is an abrasion and not a puncture wound you don't really need to worry about it scabbing over. I know what you mean about the dirt sticking to it. If you have found that the poultry abrasion spray reduces how much sticks to the wound and it also has antiseptic properties, then that is likely a good option. Another thing to consider is blu-kote which it a spray antiseptic that is not sticky at all. It is sort of messy to use, but it has the added benefit of preventing pecking by the other chickens due to the blue color that covers the bare skin.

 

[jeslewmazer]

Every situation is different. As long as there is no more inflammation, discoloration, or other problems....then I would not try to remove if you can't soften it up first. It is good that you are not scrubbing or tearing at it, because you could do more harm than good (like tearing her skin).