day 17, horrific dog attack. should I bathe her?

[LeafBlade12345]

GodofPecking,
I just realized that I made a mistake. After retracing my old posts I see that when I talked to other BYCers and they responded to my posts saying that honey could cause infection in birds was not actually about honey. The responses seem to be about me using sugar on prolapsed vents, as the BYCers said it could cause a yeast infection. I had already used both remedies, so it may very well have been the sugar tha killed them, or perhaps the disease. I'm inserting foot in mouth at this point...I'm sorry for the confusion. But please do not question me having quail. I do. I would be happy to post pictures as soon as I load some on from my old device. I have never treated a patient using honey, and I understand that it shouldn't be dangerous to humans except in infants, where it can cause botulism. I am relatively new to birds, so I just sort of went along with what I thought the BYCer meant. I should have thought more. Also, I do know some about honey. It cannot grow bacteria because of the high sugar content, but the honey I had used on the quail was very diluted with water, so I assumed it had lost its ability to resist bacterial growth. I meant no harm. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[GodofPecking]

I just had a message from the mods and wrote a long response and I now have a bloody awful headache and am going to need to shut the computer off and spend time with the chooks. Good bye, at least for a while. Sorry for whatever confusion I caused or thought anyone else caused.

 

[LeafBlade12345]

I'm so sorry...why don't we drop the topic and take a little time off, I'm very sorry for my part in this as well, I feel horrible now...please don't let me ruin your evening. I'd love to see some photos of your chickens, maybe through PM so as not to hijack the OP's thread. I do not have the privilege to own chickens in my new area, so seeing them always makes my day. I'm sorry for the rough day again. Perhaps a few quail chick pictures may be in order?

Edited because I spelled quail incorrectly. Now that's sad.

 

[GodofPecking]

GodofPecking,
I have never treated a patient using honey, and I understand that it shouldn't be dangerous to humans except in infants, where it can cause botulism.

Well, looking into that has certainly cheered me up. There are a few references to the sillyness on the internet which all trace back to reporting by the daily mail.

The daily mail article has hysterical headlines which the article itself refutes,

So botulism cannot develop in honey. while it can't kill the spores outright, it renders them inert.

Obviously the daily fail is putting out big pharma's message, bashing alternative treatments. Honey was just hit in the crossfire while they were going after homeopathy. Plus,
Quote:
The dailymail article saying it was honey, says it wasn't honey.

He had taken the homeopathic remedy before becoming ill, though tests on it showed no trace of botulism.
The three-month-old was treated at a children’s hospital in northern England and has recovered.
His mother admitted giving him honey at home, though tests on what was left in the jar also failed to detect the botulism bacteria.

Article says "The disease is caused by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum, which lives in the environment, especially soil. If bees pick it up they can infect honey. " same way kids and relatives can pick it up from the soil and give it to the baby, but UNLIKE BEES, they can't neutralize the spores.

Quote:
I looked up 'daily mail' in the dictionary.

Top Definition
Daily Mail
The only brand of toilet paper that, when used, leaves more on you than you started with. Also see Daily Heil.
(aka, Hate Mail, Daily Fail, Daily Heil, Daily Moan and so on),

"theories have emerged that the Daily Mail merely writes the trash that it does in order to provoke massive swarms of links and clicks to its website, thus milking its sponsors and advertisers for masses of cash."



http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Daily_Mail

 

[LeafBlade12345]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/7197420/

Thought this picture was funny! I'm just curious, haven't there been proved cases where honey caused botulism? Or at least was a key factor?

 

[LeafBlade12345]

I'm not sure, but from what I know, it isn't the actual honey that gives the disease. It is the bacterial spores that the honey could have been contaminated with. I'm sure most honeys do not have these spores, but better safe than sorry I suppose. Yet it has brought some things into a certain light, reading a little more into it. I just went by what I had been taught, but things are changing everyday. It is certainly an interesting topic. Op, how is your hen?

 

[LeafBlade12345]

I found this link, not sure how reliable the source is as it is very old. This shows my concerns pretty much exactly. What do you think?

http://www.aafp.org/afp/2002/0401/p1388.html

 

[lalaland]

She is on day 25 and still in a kennel in the coop. She has wanted to be on the roost at night and frantically paces the kennel. I have let her out and she is able to get up on the roost. however she still can't spend the day with the other hens because of her open wounds. I take her from the roost and pop her in the kennel in the morning . still not feeling well although for the first time in more than three weeks actually ate a few bites of scrambled egg. Two days ago I did give her a half hour soak in Epsom salt bath and I did pull out that hardened plug from the one wound because it looked like it was forcing it to stay open. Some mornings I am able to give her free run of half of the coop keeping the other hens out so she gets a little exercise.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Glad to hear she is continuing to improve and wants to do chicken things. Are you able to cover her wounds in any way or is she just going to have to wait to rejoin the flock.

 

[lalaland]

Most of her wounds aren't visible unless she lifts a wing or moves a certain way, but the broad gash across her back and the hole on her left side are visible as there was so much feather loss. Because she is full of feather shafts/pin feathers, I don't think putting on a saddle is a good idea, plus it would be on top of healing skins.

When all the hens are jockeying for roosting space, no one pays any attention to her wounds, but when she has been wandering in the coop with a couple of hens, they have all stopped to graze on her.

She also does not have enough endurance yet and needs to build up strength.

can't wait for the day when she has a semi full crop!