Chicken attacked by a coyote, big neck wound, please HELP

[BigBlueHen53]

Here's what you do in the event of a predator attack to treat the survivor.

1. Treat for shock as the number one step. Give warm Gatoraid or mix a half teaspoon of sugar into a fourth of a cup of warm water with a pinch of salt and baking soda. Have the patient drink it all or syringe it into the beak.

2. Flush the wound well with saline. This is better than soap and water as it maintains the PH of the tissues. But warm soap and water will do. You need to wash away the bacteria from the wound.

3. Inspect the wound carefully. If it has a skin flap dangling, keep that. Do not cut it off. Look for bite, tear or puncture marks indicating a puncture wound. If you see this, the patient will need an oral antibiotic such as amoxicillin. Bacteria from the predator’s mouth can be injected deep into tissue and can kill in as little as 24 to 48 hours. You can order this https://www.kvsupply.com/item/aqua-mox-250mg-capsules-100-count/P06184/250mg once a day for ten days. Or you may be able to find this or something similar at TSC or a pet store.

4. Spray with Vetericyn wound treament and let dry. Use a topical antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin or a generic without pain killer in it to coat the wound. If there's a skin flap, lay it across the wound that has just been coated with the ointment. Then smooth on a generous amount over the top of the skin flap to hold it in place.

5. It's useless to try to stitch a wound on a chicken. Don't even try. It's also useless to try to bandage a wound other than on the feet. The chicken will not tolerate it. It will be pulled off faster than you can blink an eye.

6. Clean the wound every day following the above steps. Keep the wound covered with the ointment. Never allow the wound to get dried out or it will not heal.

@azygous, this would make a wonderful article!

 

[Rach403]

So... I'm probably going to be read the riot act for saying this. I'm no expert but ended up with a chicken that got her head stuck in a fence which scalped her. I took her to the vet and mind you, I don't live in an area where we have specialized bird vets. My vet cleaned her up, put elastogel on her head, stapled it on, put a bonnet on her and we did water therapy. She grew back feathers and all. It took months but she was very much worth it. I hope everything works out for your kiddo.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

So... I'm probably going to be read the riot act for saying this. I'm no expert but ended up with a chicken that got her head stuck in a fence which scalped her. I took her to the vet and mind you, I don't live in an area where we have specialized bird vets. My vet cleaned her up, put elastogel on her head, stapled it on, put a bonnet on her and we did water therapy. She grew back feathers and all. It took months but she was very much worth it. I hope everything works out for your kiddo.

Why would you be read the riot act for that? It worked for you, so great. Glad your girl survived and healed well. Sounds like a raccoon might have got hold of her and tried to pull her through.

 

[alinas2010]

So... I'm probably going to be read the riot act for saying this. I'm no expert but ended up with a chicken that got her head stuck in a fence which scalped her. I took her to the vet and mind you, I don't live in an area where we have specialized bird vets. My vet cleaned her up, put elastogel on her head, stapled it on, put a bonnet on her and we did water therapy. She grew back feathers and all. It took months but she was very much worth it. I hope everything works out for your kiddo.

I agree with BigBlueHen, I think it’s wonderful that worked for you, and even better that a vet was able to help with care. If it were me I would always try to seek and trust vet care first if it’s an option. But for some people it’s just not due to costs or availability of a vet who treats poultry. The steps azygous listed are great and aimed more towards when people need to treat on their own, with no vet involved. I would trust a vet who has poultry experience to put staples in my hen if needed, but treating on my own I would follow azygous’s list. It all just depends on the circumstances. We’re all ultimately just trying to do what’s best for our flock I’m also glad your chicken survived, that sounds awful!

 

[Rach403]

Why would you be read the riot act for that? It worked for you, so great. Glad your girl survived and healed well. Sounds like a raccoon might have got hold of her and tried to pull her through.

It happened during the day so I'm really not sure. I think elastogel is a god send, if it's in an area that it can be used. I have done it at home since, and it truly does help the chicken heal faster. The issue is, of course, that you have to remove and restaple every couple of weeks when the pad gets ruined. I'm confident it would work for the chicken above, but it's scary to have to staple it.