Chunk of skin missing

[MoosePijamas]

So the “too many roosters” at the house situation is no longer an issue. The day before the roosters went to their new forever home, this happens. She’s inside and eating, drinking normally. I tried to pull that piece of skin up to see if I could butterfly bandage it together but it didn’t work. I’ve been keeping the wound clean, moist with antibiotic stuff, and wrapped so she doesn’t peck and it. I have antibiotics on hand in case it starts to show sign of infection.

My biggest concern is now it’s been 48 hours. Should I try to get her to the vet to suture it up? I’d be afraid infection would set in. Will a wound this big heal on its own with some TLC?

Hoping she makes a full recovery and all the girls on the ranch get some rest from all them horny roosters. I tried aprons but the girls kept taking them off. :-(

 

[Celeste Cannon]

If there is a chance of infection, I would recommend going to the vet. Better safe than sorry

 

[Redhead Rae]

@casportpony, @Eggcessive and @azygous should be able to help.

 

[Shadrach]

So the “too many roosters” at the house situation is no longer an issue. The day before the roosters went to their new forever home, this happens. She’s inside and eating, drinking normally. I tried to pull that piece of skin up to see if I could butterfly bandage it together but it didn’t work. I’ve been keeping the wound clean, moist with antibiotic stuff, and wrapped so she doesn’t peck and it. I have antibiotics on hand in case it starts to show sign of infection.

My biggest concern is now it’s been 48 hours. Should I try to get her to the vet to suture it up? I’d be afraid infection would set in. Will a wound this big heal on its own with some TLC?

Hoping she makes a full recovery and all the girls on the ranch get some rest from all them horny roosters. I tried aprons but the girls kept taking them off. :-(

The first thing you should do is file the points off your roosters spurs. There is no need to cut the spurs. You do not need to file much off; just the point and any sharp edges if there are any.
You could stitch the flap of skin back in place. When I have had hens with such injuries and I haven't stitched I've thoroughly cleaned and disinfected the wound and covered the exposed flesh with pine tar which seals the wound. You can of course leave the wound open but you will have to clean and disinfect daily.
The flesh will fill in, however you may get left with a flap of loose skin. I have had two hens that were left with such flaps. One I left until the wound was fully healed and then cut the flap away, the other is still running around with a one inch square section with the wound healed and feathers growing. It depends on whether the flap of skin is likely to get caught on anything.
If in doubt, take her to a vet.

 

[webbysmeme]

So the “too many roosters” at the house situation is no longer an issue. The day before the roosters went to their new forever home, this happens. She’s inside and eating, drinking normally. I tried to pull that piece of skin up to see if I could butterfly bandage it together but it didn’t work. I’ve been keeping the wound clean, moist with antibiotic stuff, and wrapped so she doesn’t peck and it. I have antibiotics on hand in case it starts to show sign of infection.

My biggest concern is now it’s been 48 hours. Should I try to get her to the vet to suture it up? I’d be afraid infection would set in. Will a wound this big heal on its own with some TLC?

Hoping she makes a full recovery and all the girls on the ranch get some rest from all them horny roosters. I tried aprons but the girls kept taking them off. :-(

My hen has a injury something like that. I started a thread here "A possum clawed one of my old girls! Help. If you go there you will find everything you need to do!

 

[Shadrach]

Below is a picture of one of the hens and her story.
You can see the flap of skin hanging from just below her neck. She was injured and back with her flock withing 24 hours using Stockholm Hoof Tar. She was eating walnuts out of my hand an hour ago.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/is-it-better-to-let-them-die.1268732/page-9#post-20487168

 

[Eggcessive]

It might be hard getting the skin flap to join the skin again, especially since this was a dirty wound, and it has been 24 hours or more. A vet may be able to get it cleaned and sutured back on, but even then, some of it might slough off around the edges later. I think the flap will curl and die, but may need to be clipped off. I would blot it with saline on gauze, or spray with Vetericyn, and apply plain neosporin/triple antibiotic ointment to it twice a day. If you can make a T Shirt or a hen apron to keep it cleaner that would be fine. Otherwise I would keep her separate until the wound is scabbed and healing. The others will go right for that wound if given the chance. She will eventually heal in a few weeks when the tissue granulates in.

 

[Eggcessive]

To see how well a wound can heal, take a look at this thread with before and after pictures:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...g-graphic-pictures-of-wounded-chicken.915612/

Here is another with pictures of healing down a few posts from the first:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...cle-visible-graphic-photo-please-help.718925/

 

[azygous]

Chickens are amazingly good at healing themselves from some pretty gory looking injuries. There are two main rules in handling large open wounds, keep them flushed daily to rid daily accumulation of bacteria, and keep the wound moist at all times until the new tissue has grown in from around the perimeter completely.

No need to stitch up a chicken wound. Their skin is so thin, it's pretty hard to keep stitches from pulling away, and a closed wound is harder to keep free of bacteria.

I've treated such wounds in the past and the patient has been kept with the flock. I use Blu-kote between the application of Vetericyn (let dry) and the application of an antibiotic ointment. The Blu-kote is very good at making the wound appear inconspicuous to the flock.

 

[MoosePijamas]

Thank you everyone. She is doing really good and even laid an egg.