My 7 mo old girl Lacey was attacked by ??? on the 4th leaving a wound on her neck where the skin all the way down to muscle was basically peeled up from almost the base of her neck to almost the base of her skull. I flushed with water and have been trying to continue to do so daily and applying a silver spray and antibiotic ointment. Whether it's getting better and healing I can't say. It doesn't look much better and the area is turning dark which my husband assures me is normal since he says it's "scabbing over". It does NOT smell, no odor coming from the wound at all. I don't know much of anything about chickens but I do know what infection smells like. She is being kept on her own in my garage and she's not very happy about that. Kinda of peeved off actually lol. So the first question is when can she begin rejoining the flock ? I thought about letting her out to roam with them for a little while in the evening but not allowing her to sleep in the coop. Assuming I can catch her again, which maybe I can't so I maybe shouldn't let her out after all. I have been unable to make it so that she can remain near them but still stay safety away from any pecking. The kennel she is in won't fit in the coop and I we haven't been able to fashion a secure pen for her outside either that will keep her in and keep other creatures out. So for now she's stuck in the garage and that's the best we can do. How long does she have to remain there? She's pretty perky and eating and drinking well and even has continued to lay eggs which I've been cooking and feeding to her almost daily.
Next question is what is going to happen to the skin that was basically ripped off the muscle? Is it going to heal back into place or will it die and fall off? It still have all the feathers on it if that matters. What should I do with it in the meantime. I'm worried that it won't heal in it's present state. It has literally been pulled back from the neck up towards the head. Should I be trying to wrap it with something or do I need to just leave it alone and continue with the cleaning to keep any nasties out of it. It still looks really bad, not that I expected it to heal over night or anything.
Oh and one more thing, what's a good way to safely get her OUT of the dog crate? She's back to her feisty pain in the butt self and she's wised up to the towel trick I was using. Trouble is I am rather terrified of bird beaks, yeah I know I'm a weanie but I can't help it. Doing the best I can. Are there any chicken handling secrets out there perhaps that I could use? Or maybe do I just need to suck it up and not be a baby about being pecked. She can't really hurt me can she?
Next question is what is going to happen to the skin that was basically ripped off the muscle? Is it going to heal back into place or will it die and fall off? It still have all the feathers on it if that matters. What should I do with it in the meantime. I'm worried that it won't heal in it's present state. It has literally been pulled back from the neck up towards the head. Should I be trying to wrap it with something or do I need to just leave it alone and continue with the cleaning to keep any nasties out of it. It still looks really bad, not that I expected it to heal over night or anything.
Oh and one more thing, what's a good way to safely get her OUT of the dog crate? She's back to her feisty pain in the butt self and she's wised up to the towel trick I was using. Trouble is I am rather terrified of bird beaks, yeah I know I'm a weanie but I can't help it. Doing the best I can. Are there any chicken handling secrets out there perhaps that I could use? Or maybe do I just need to suck it up and not be a baby about being pecked. She can't really hurt me can she?
