Chicken was badly injured last night, looking for advice.

[monkeyfish96]

So last night my hen was attacked by who knows what. She was really badly injured on both her tail and her head. The wound on the tail is about 1/4 inch deep and two inches wide. Her head is harder to tell, but on her left side she was bleeding. She lasted the night, but I'm not sure if she will recover or if I should just put her out of her misery. I cleaned the wound and have been putting Bacitracin on it, wondering if suturing is an option/worth it for the wound. She cannot drink on her own, but I've been giving to her through a syringe and she can swallow. It seems like she also can't fully close her beak. Many people said she can/will recover, but I'm not too sure. I don't want to string her along a slow, painful death. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!

EDIT: Photos didn't upload the first time. The darker ones are from last night. Lighter ones are from today.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I've seen worse heal up and recover. Generally they look almost dead for a week before starting to perk up a bit. I would be very careful giving it any water with a syringe as it's very easy for them to aspirate and die.

Keep it quiet and comfortable, and wait. Generally you should see an improvement in a week. If you feel it's suffering too much than it may be best to put it out of it's misery. I always like to give them that week to see.

Mine generally would start drinking by itself in the first 3 days, and start eating a bit in the first week. Expect it to take a few weeks for the chicken to start to really feel better.

 

[Mr.Universe]

first off. here is a list of materials you will need to start treatment and recovery

hydrogen peroxide
q-tips
nitrile gloves
dixie cups
x2 large volume syringes (the type with the screw on needles is best larger volume the better)
uncoated 325mg asprin X5
unsulphered molasses
gallon jug
as much nesoporin as you can get ahold of
KNOTTS apple cider vinegar, the raw stuff with the sediment in it
distilled water
several rolls of paper towels or gauze
a spare set of hands

first off, crush up the 5 325mg asprin into the finest powder you can either with a pill crusher or using the spoon method or a mortar and pestil. add into the gallon jug and fill 1/2 of the way with hot water from the tap. add in 1tbsp of the ACV and 2TBSP of molasses, shake well then top off with cold water and shake till dissolved fully.

next, in dixie cups mix up as close to 50/50 peroxide distilled water as you can. you will be using this to flush the wounds and sanitize the wounds, this isnt as hard on the tissue as straight peroxide is and isnt as traumatizing to the bird as straight peroxide is. using one syringe gently drip the peroxide mixture onto the wounds and let sit, this will make for a very unhappy girl but its for her own good and she will thank you later. DO NOT LET HER INGEST THE PEROXIDE MIXTURE, this is where a spare set of hands comes in handy. repeat the flushing with with the peroxide mixture 2 or 3 times per wound, this is critical to helping prevent infection. once burned out with peroxide thoroughly rinse with distilled water to ensure all peroxide mixture is washed away, rinse the same number of times as you apply peroxide to ensure full rinse. at this time during this be on the lookout for foreign objects, feathers impacted in the wounds as this will be detrimental to the healing process.

once rinsed blot dry gently with paper towels OR the gauze your choice (i use paper towels personally easier to dispose of and use) once again check for foreign object in the wounds, re rinse with distilled water if you find anything inside to try to dislodge the foreign bodys. dont worry about pin feathers in the wounds, these will regrow and be fine even if feathers in the areas are not present.

either wearing gloves or with q-tips slather, and i mean slather as much neosporin as you can into the wounds and the surrounding areas. DO NOT LET THEM GET DRY, a wet wound is both protected and heals faster then a dry wound and will help prevent infections.

during this entire process she will defecate profusely due to the pain of the peroxide burning out the flesh. this is totally normal, just so your prepared for it im putting it in here.

re flush with 50/50 peroxide/distilled 2x a day for 2 days to ensure you prevent as much of an infection as possible, it may be beneficial to administer a internal antibiotic as well to help you in your mission. at day 3 of this process flush with straigh peroxide to cut through any scabs that may have formed and burn it out one last time. making sure to rinse thuroughly and repack the wounds with neosporin as often as possible.

now to the water, and why

the molasses will help replenish lost iron due to blood loss and help clotting, the asprin will help with pain management and help her relax, and the vinegar will help with stomach issues that may come from the lack of food. administer the water a drop at a time from the other syringe to the side of the beak and wait till she swallows. she may act like a baby bird and demand more at which time you can slowly drip it into her eagerly awaiting mouth once shes ready, as her pain subsides she will be more willing to eat. as long as she continues to eat and drink, even just minute amounts at a time throughout the day its better then nothing. the more of the water mixture you can get her to drink, the better off you are in the beginning.

place her in a med-med large dog kennel or dog crate and line the bottom with a double layer of paper towels, leave them all attached and fold in half to fit. change daily, this is the most sanitary way to bed them.

NEVER consider euthinasia till you have exhausted all options first. chickens are extremely resilient, ive posted this everywhere already but its a good example of what this treatment process is capable of. my girl pumpkin had a massive chunk missing from her back side adn in a matter of days will be set loose in her and her partners own runs adjacent to the others for re acclimation.

this will be a slow process, have patience. this is the day i found her like this and 3 weeks later, she is now fully healed and her spry spunky self again. best thing is, we now have a special bond and to see her excitement to see me every time is heart warming. she will quickly recover so long as you, and her stave off infection

this is day 1

this is week 3 of 4. her preen gland was damaged but with persistence and a little luck will function properly again once fully healed