Chicken Had tail bitten off, need advice.

[kJamesJr]

Lurking for many years. First time chicken owner.

So we we're dog sitting a friends dog. She's never been exposed to chickens. Not sure how it happened but apparently someone let the dogs out to play not knowing the chickens were catching some shade in a nearby bush.

Anyways, this dog got a hold of one of our RI Reds and bit the tail clean off. This occurred yesterday.

I did a quick look to assess the damage and it looked pretty bad. There was exposed tail joint (bone or cartilage?) an very open wound seemed to be open into the chickens cavity. Skin around the wound is torn, not a clean cut, also it looked like the colon was missing too. Lots of blood.

I intended to put her out of her misery but my wife couldn't bear it. So we put her in a box with fresh bedding and expected her to pass peacefully in the night. Well the night came and went, as well as the entire day and she's still alive. I'm sure she's in a lot of pain but she's eating drinking and pooping normally.

I reassessed the damage and the wound is scabbed over with black thick scabs. Her colon is actually intact and functional. Some of her poops are solid and some are runny and getting stuck to her feathers. The tailbone thing is still exposed, but there is scabbed tissue all around it. There's zero bleeding.

A chicken friend came over to assess the damage, she thinks is will actually pull through. I'm thinking there's a %15 survival rate. She's going to give us some meds for it, this stuff called Blu Kote. I'm not sure a topical spray is going to help this poor bird out. My thoughts are; if she's going to survive this, she's WILL need antibiotics.

Any suggestions on how to tackle this? Try healing her? Put her down? Antibiotics types for deep tissue wounds? If I'm not going put her down I certainly want to make her comfortable during the process. Pain reliever???

I'm not too attached to the chickens. It's just unfortunate it had to happen to our friendliest bird! If it were one of the barred rocks... well I wouldn't be posting here tonight.

Edit: I don't have any pictures of the fresh wound. I haven't taken pictures tonight and I don't want to disturb the chicken because she's resting peacefully in our bedroom.

She is a young bird. We got her as a chick this past April so she's about 2 months old... I think.

 

[brucifer]

Of all predators, dogs tend to be the worst problem IMHO.

Without seeing any photos, it's hard to give a fair opinion/assessment of your chicken's chances, but chickens tend to be resilient. I saw a case recently where a chicken lost it's tail due to a neighbor's dog getting in to a chicken pen. The chicken's rump looked red and raw like hamburger, and I had my doubts, but that bird pulled through and started sprouting new feathers a couple of weeks later. Anyway, it sounds like your friend knows what she's doing. I wish you and your chicken the best.

 

[kJamesJr]

Of all predators, dogs tend to be the worst problem IMHO.

Without seeing any photos, it's hard to give a fair opinion/assessment of your chicken's chances, but chickens tend to be resilient. I saw a case recently where a chicken lost it's tail due to a neighbor's dog getting in to a chicken pen. The chicken's rump looked red and raw like hamburger, and I had my doubts, but that bird pulled through and started sprouting new feathers a couple of weeks later. Anyway, it sounds like your friend knows what she's doing. I wish you and your chicken the best.

I'd take hamburger butt over this

The actual tail was left on the ground with feathers attached. There was some fatty tissue along with it and some tail bone

 

[cacknballs]

I intended to put her out of her misery but my wife couldn't bear it. So we put her in a box with fresh bedding and expected her to pass peacefully in the night.

this is why God gave you the man-card and put you in charge. politely tell your wife to go inside and get a pot ready.

unless you think it'll make it...

if you think it'll make it, leave it. if you think its gonna die a painful death, whack it's head off and eat it. God gave you dominion over the animals and if need be, he'll provide you with a good meal to feed your family. never ever feel bad about feeding your family.

but never, ever leave a wounded, suffering animal to "die peacefully in the night". there is no such thing. the only peaceful death is a quick death, and you owe to the animal to make it quick.


i had a bird mauled by a da*n dog once too. i knew she was done, so i wrung her neck on the spot and had the kids skin her, gut her, and give her to mom to prepare for dinner. disemboweling one of their animals has a profound effect on young kids and teaches them valuable lessons about life.

pretend you are in pioneer-times, are the sole man around, and do what he'd do.

good luck.

 

[pennyJo1960]

the Blue Kote will 1 help the bird heal 2 keep others from picking on her while she does heal

 

[kJamesJr]

this is why God gave you the man-card and put you in charge. politely tell your wife to go inside and get a pot ready.

unless you think it'll make it...

if you think it'll make it, leave it. if you think its gonna die a painful death, whack it's head off and eat it. God gave you dominion over the animals and if need be, he'll provide you with a good meal to feed your family. never ever feel bad about feeding your family.

but never, ever leave a wounded, suffering animal to "die peacefully in the night". there is no such thing. the only peaceful death is a quick death, and you owe to the animal to make it quick.


i had a bird mauled by a da*n dog once too. i knew she was done, so i wrung her neck on the spot and had the kids skin her, gut her, and give her to mom to prepare for dinner. disemboweling one of their animals has a profound effect on young kids and teaches them valuable lessons about life.

pretend you are in pioneer-times, are the sole man around, and do what he'd do.

good luck.

That's all good and well but killing it would be for just that.

It's a young bird. There's nothing on it to be had. Thanks for reading the entire post however.

 

[kJamesJr]

Quick update:

Came home from work. Bird making a lot of chatter. I have her confined in a rather small box to keep her from moving too much. Keeps poking her head out the top. I'm not entire sure what a sick bird looks or acts like but she seems restless. Drinking a lot of water. Mixed a little sugar and salt in with it for rehydration.

Again I'm not sure what a sick bird looks like but she seems alert and has good color. Mixed some taste of the wild in with her food. Not sure if she's eating much currently but I haven't been able to monitor too much.

Going to clean her up with some peroxide tonight. Maybe get some pictures up.

 

[Eggcessive]

Peroxide should only be used once or not at all, since it can prevent wound healing. It is not that harmful, sometimes can be helpful to flush out an abscess once, since I used it for decades in a hospital on patients, but nowadays, things like weak betadine or vetericyn, and even plain old saline or water are good for cleaning wounds. Then use some plain neosporin or similar on the wound to keep it moist and prevent infection. If she is pooping, it sounds like she may be able to survive this. Good luck.

 

[kJamesJr]

Okay so no peroxide.

Going through my first aid kit I have:

- Ready mix saline packets.

- Medilite - which is a vitamin electrolyte tablet.

- Triple antibiotic ointment.

- Asprin

Also managed to find some left over amoxicillin in the fridge from my daughters ear infection a few weeks ago... but it's bubblegum flavor

 

[brucifer]

Between the heavy wound and being confined in a box (out of necessity), your bird's little world is upside down right now. She's active, so that's a good thing, but her chatter may be due to something as simple as missing her flockmates.

TAO should be fine, but I like to use the clear (non-aspirin) Neosporin. Sounds like you're taking good care of your girl.