Chicken lost the back of her neck?

[Lillith37]

Thank you. I suppose I should ask if anyone has any idea on how to get the feathers unstuck? I clipped them, but I can’t get them off of her. It’s seriously like they’re glued to her. I don’t understand it

Not sure, probably wait for one of the people who have been tagged to respond with an answer. I’ll tag @Wyorp Rock too.

 

[PonderingKiwi]

Not sure, probably wait for one of the people who have been tagged to respond with an answer. I’ll tag @Wyorp Rock too.

Thank you. We kinda assumed it was maybe some kind of bodily fluid scabbed over since her skin got torn off. But I’d think it would loosen with warm water. I tried soaking it for a while. I tried gently picking at them like you might a sticker or something.. just trying to get the edge up. It wouldn’t come up I don’t want to use force but it certainly won’t be able to heal with feathers stuck to it.. I’d imagine. We gave up and decided she needed rest and less prodding so she could build some strength back after such a big day.

Sorry I’m rambling, I’m just trying to give as much information as I can. I’m terrified she won’t make it.. I raised her from a puffball so I admit I’m attached

 

[Lillith37]

Sorry I’m rambling, I’m just trying to give as much information as I can. I’m terrified she won’t make it.. I raised her from a puffball so I admit I’m attached

She should be okay. You’re doing the right things. Is she eating and drinking?

 

[PonderingKiwi]

She should be okay. You’re doing the right things. Is she eating and drinking?

No. She hasn’t. We thought maybe since it’s night and she just wanted to sleep she’ll resume food and water in the morning. Or should we wake her up, you think?

 

[Lillith37]

No. She hasn’t. We thought maybe since it’s night and she just wanted to sleep she’ll resume food and water in the morning. Or should we wake her up, you think?

I just know that they can go into shock after an event like this and it’s good to give them some sugar water, or an electrolyte mix, as part of supportive care.

 

[PonderingKiwi]

We woke her up and gave her 6ccs of electrolyte water. She was very unhappy about it, which I took as a good sign. We also put some Vaseline on her neck cuz it seemed dry. She very much did not want me touching it. It took both of us to get her to let us gently apply it. She’s back in bed now. Hopefully that was enough to help

 

[Eggcessive]

Using ointments with “-caines” including promo ins/pramocaine has been a bit overblown by some people on BYC, including myself in the past. Vets use lidocaine in surgery on chickens to some extent. If the only Neosporin or other ointment I had contained pramocaine or benzocaine, etc, I would use it. Then get some plain ointment later. Pretty much anything can be toxic if used in excess. That includes iodine, neomycin—one ingredient In Neosporin, and other things. Just use your noggin. Vaseline or petrolatum is okay to use to keep the area from drying out after cleaning, but I prefer Neosporin at first. It will take weeks for the wound to granulate in from the sides.

Just spray on saline or a wound spray such as Vetericyn and then apply ointment to keep it most. No bandage needed. Clip feathers need the wound. With the ointment and saline, the “glue“ should loosen in time. Encourage her to eat with tempting with wet chicken feed, cooked egg bits, or a little tuna or ground meat in moderation. Fluids are most important. When eating well, stop the tuna/meat, and stick with chicken feed. Let us know how she gets along.

 

[azygous]

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.

For the feathers and sticky substance that you can't get off, use Dawn detergent. Dawn is safe but has a high amount of surfactants that will dissolve just about anything. I've had good luck using it to dissolve stubborn scabs when debriding a wound. I wet a rag in hot water, squirt some Dawn on the wet rag and hold it to the stuff you want to remove. Once it softens, rinse with clean warm water.

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

poor girl

 

[PonderingKiwi]

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.

For the feathers and sticky substance that you can't get off, use Dawn detergent. Dawn is safe but has a high amount of surfactants that will dissolve just about anything. I've had good luck using it to dissolve stubborn scabs when debriding a wound. I wet a rag in hot water, squirt some Dawn on the wet rag and hold it to the stuff you want to remove. Once it softens, rinse with clean warm water.

Thank you. This was very informative! I appreciate you taking the time. She’s still alive this morning, but she’s definitely in pain. My browns are all sassy, prissy ladies and she’s definitely not looking very sassy today.