Chicken attacked with very deep wound

[NightFury06]

I apologise in advance for any spelling mistakes or anything, my hand is shaking.
Just now I went out to see that two of my beautiful girls have been taken by a fox and one has been left badly wounded and in shock. She has a deep, open wound which, as far as I can see, goes straight to her insides. She also has some minor scratches on her comb. I don't know what to do - I know she needs to go to the vet to fix the open wound but I don't know if she will live and the vet is so expensive. I'd do anything for her but my mother is wary about paying such a high price for a bird who may not even survive. She is the world to me, and I'd be grateful for ANY help. Please pray for her. Thank you.

 

[Eggcessive]

Where is the wound exactly? Do you see organs, muscle, or other tissue? Is her crop puctured? Pictures may be helpful. What do you have for wound care? I would separate her in a quiet area, on a clean towel. Saline or salt water (2 tsp or 9 grams of salt per liter of water) is good to clean or irrigate a wound. Honey can be good to put on a wound, and povidone iodine can be used with sugar instead of honey. If you have first aid supplies chlorhexidene is good to use in place of povidone iodine or honey. She may be in shock for awhile, so if she is not actively bleeding, you may want to leave her alone for a bit to rest. Try to get her drinking water soon when she feels better. Sorry that you lost 2 hens.

 

[NightFury06]

Where is the wound exactly? Do you see organs, muscle, or other tissue? Is her crop puctured? Pictures may be helpful. What do you have for wound care? I would separate her in a quiet area, on a clean towel. Saline or salt water (2 tsp or 9 grams of salt per liter of water) is good to clean or irrigate a wound. Honey can be good to put on a wound, and povidone iodine can be used with sugar instead of honey. If you have first aid supplies chlorhexidene is good to use in place of povidone iodine or honey. She may be in shock for awhile, so if she is not actively bleeding, you may want to leave her alone for a bit to rest. Try to get her drinking water soon when she feels better. Sorry that you lost 2 hens.

It is quite late at the moment, so I do not want to disturb her. From what I remember of the wound, there is the skin, then a layer of thin (blueish?) membrane, and then something which was pale, smooth and roundish. She is not in a position that I can get a good photo, so I'm sorry for not attaching one. She was only bleeding from the feathers that had been pulled out, and those cuts looked to be quite small. I admittedly did not check her crop, however I did not notice anything out of the ordinary. She is in a dog crate with food and water, but was too in shock to care. Thank you so much for your help. If she makes it through the night I will send photos and other details. I'm not hopeful, but you never know. If she survives, she will be a spoiled indoor bird for a long, long time. Again, thank you. xx

 

[NightFury06]

It is quite late at the moment, so I do not want to disturb her. From what I remember of the wound, there is the skin, then a layer of thin (blueish?) membrane, and then something which was pale, smooth and roundish. She is not in a position that I can get a good photo, so I'm sorry for not attaching one. She was only bleeding from the feathers that had been pulled out, and those cuts looked to be quite small. I admittedly did not check her crop, however I did not notice anything out of the ordinary. She is in a dog crate with food and water, but was too in shock to care. Thank you so much for your help. If she makes it through the night I will send photos and other details. I'm not hopeful, but you never know. If she survives, she will be a spoiled indoor bird for a long, long time. Again, thank you. xx

I forgot to say - the sides of the wound are quite far apart, with feathers going into it. Should I remove them and maybe bandage the wound in the morning? Will it heal like that? I'm sorry if this is too many questions, I've never had an injured hen before and I'm panicking.

 

[sassychickens76]

I'm praying for your baby.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would trim any feathers away from the wound. What part of her body is the wound near? I hope that she survives. I have had a few pullets injured over the years. The one who did not have a mark on her died within the first hour. The other 3 lived and healed.

 

[NightFury06]

I would trim any feathers away from the wound. What part of her body is the wound near? I hope that she survives. I have had a few pullets injured over the years. The one who did not have a mark on her died within the first hour. The other 3 lived and healed.

I haven’t checked her yet but the wound is right from the base of her tail, and I think goes on for 2, 2 1/2, 3 inches, I couldn’t really tell and I didn’t want to cause her unnecessary pain by irritating the area.

 

[Blingchix6]

I’m sorry this happened. I had a chicken with a deep wound like this and I took her to the vet. He recommended that I rinse the wound with warm running water (like a kitchen faucet) twice a day for 15 minutes each time. Then afterwards put antibiotic ointment on the wound. I did this every day and she healed wonderfully. I hope this helps.

 

[NightFury06]

Update: She is alive and doing well. Her wound is not nearly as bad as I thought, once I could see it with all the feathers cut away, but it is still deep and looks like it could easily get infected. I've washed it with warm salty water, and I will do again this evening. We will go later to get some honey and/or some antibiotic ointment. She is eating and drinking by herself so fingers crossed she will be ok

 

[NightFury06]

Here she is. I have put honey on her wound and the cloth is to stop her eating it. She’s still as greedy as ever.