Big laceration on back

[LittlePip21]

Ok, flushed it again today, there really isn’t any puss, like yesterday. Just brown scab. Except for this one spot, I don’t know how to describe it. ill put it in the pic. it just smells, but no puss. Does that mean the infection is deeper down? She’s still acting normal. Should I put her in a wire cage outside so she doesn’t soil it? I should be able to find some betadine, or something like it, at the store in town tomorrow, is it labeled under other names?

 

[HollyWoozle]

Last year we had some hens with very similar injuries caused by a rooster before and they all healed up without too much interference. One in particular looked a lot like this and apart from an initial cleaning and then spraying it, we just kept her quarantined and well fed and watered until she was completely healed. I don't have any sensible advice really but just wanted to say that they can recover surprisingly well from such wounds. I hope your hen heals up OK.

As a side note, the rooster in question received a pedicure and didn't cause more injury after that. Now that spring is here I have just given that same rooster another pedicure this evening to try and prevent it from happening again. Fingers crossed!

 

[LittlePip21]

Last year we had some hens with very similar injuries caused by a rooster before and they all healed up without too much interference. One in particular looked a lot like this and apart from an initial cleaning and then spraying it, we just kept her quarantined and well fed and watered until she was completely healed. I don't have any sensible advice really but just wanted to say that they can recover surprisingly well from such wounds. I hope your hen heals up OK.

As a side note, the rooster in question received a pedicure and didn't cause more injury after that. Now that spring is here I have just given that same rooster another pedicure this evening to try and prevent it from happening again. Fingers crossed!

Yes, I had heard about trimming spurrs how did you guys do it? Also, flushed her wound again and it looks good, I think maybe I wasn’t thoroughly flushing out that crevice, and dirt got built up, but now that I’m flushing it out it seems like it’s a lot better. Thank you for the post, it’s encouraging that others have had the same stuff and healed up fine!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

View attachment 1753143 Ok, flushed it again today, there really isn’t any puss, like yesterday. Just brown scab. Except for this one spot, I don’t know how to describe it. ill put it in the pic. it just smells, but no puss. Does that mean the infection is deeper down? She’s still acting normal. Should I put her in a wire cage outside so she doesn’t soil it? I should be able to find some betadine, or something like it, at the store in town tomorrow, is it labeled under other names?

It may be labeled as Povidone Iodine.
Since it smells I would flush it out 2X a day for a few days to see if that helps. If it continues then I would think about a few shots of Penicillin or if you have any Amoxicillin that would be good.

 

[HollyWoozle]

Yes, I had heard about trimming spurrs how did you guys do it? Also, flushed her wound again and it looks good, I think maybe I wasn’t thoroughly flushing out that crevice, and dirt got built up, but now that I’m flushing it out it seems like it’s a lot better. Thank you for the post, it’s encouraging that others have had the same stuff and healed up fine!

We trimmed ours with dog claw clippers and filed with a metal file also for dogs or cats. I don't take much off as it's hard to see where the inner part of the spur ends, so I just snip the end off little bit little to blunt it and file it a bit. Same with the claws, but you can see where the blood flow stops by shining a torch through the claw and just stop trimming before that basically! I advise having one of those pens or some powder which stops bleeding, just in case you do make them bleed accidentally.

 

[LittlePip21]

Hey guys, I’ve got an update for ya. So we took her to the vet, it was starting to look really infected and her back was all red. The vet couldn’t staple it because their isn’t enough skin, so he gave me antibiotics, as IM injections, and had me keep it coated with preparation h and an ointment for the edges. He said the tissue was super dry, so that is helping to keep it covered, I think it’s getting smaller than it was, hopefully she’ll be able to fight off the infection now and heal up

 

[LittlePip21]

Also, she’s tame now, which is making my job a lot easier! I filed down my roos Spurs, only blunted the edges but it seemed to do the trick, my silkie who he was fighting with has been gloating ever since! I separated and am getting rid of my juvenile Roos, so the hens won’t be all plucked anymore. The rest of the Roos do fine and don’t pick on the hens usually.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

View attachment 1759900 Hey guys, I’ve got an update for ya. So we took her to the vet, it was starting to look really infected and her back was all red. The vet couldn’t staple it because their isn’t enough skin, so he gave me antibiotics, as IM injections, and had me keep it coated with preparation h and an ointment for the edges. He said the tissue was super dry, so that is helping to keep it covered, I think it’s getting smaller than it was, hopefully she’ll be able to fight off the infection now and heal up

I'm glad you went to the vet and got some antibiotics for her. I hope she starts to heal up now.
She looks like a sweet girl! Thank you for the update, please keep us posted.

 

[LittlePip21]

Hey guys! Thought I’d update again, everything is going smoothly! As you can see it’s almost healed, her feathers are coming back in.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

View attachment 1786076 Hey guys! Thought I’d update again, everything is going smoothly! As you can see it’s almost healed, her feathers are coming back in.

Wonderful! That looks great
Thank you for taking the time to give an update!