Day 3 of dealing with large laceration in side of my favorite hen

[rfmudflap]

Can anyone advise me pls.... One of my hens was stepped on by my horse and a large section of her skin under her wing was torn away from her muscle exposing all of the flesh below. I read many threads here in the early stages and followed the instructions. The wound has been cleaned and anti-biotic ointment applied. I tried to super glue the flap back loosely however this was unsuccessful. I may try to stitch it tonight.

She is separated in the infirmary and I've been nursing her with homeopathy hourly in the day, alternating arnica and calendula hourly. She refuses to eat and only drinks when I give her the homeopathic remedies in water. I give her about 2-3 eye droppers of water each hour.

She seems weak and also in a trance. The wound does not seem to be infected, although the flesh is an awful gray color.

My hen is super healthy as she free ranges and I give them a wide variety of nutrient rich foods. I'm hoping her strong immune system might pull her thru this.

I am concerned that she won't eat. I would love any suggestions please. Thank you, Ruth

 

[OwlLover]

Are you sure that she received no internal damage to her organs when she was stepped on? And can she stand?

 

[Marty1876]

A horse stepping on a 5 lb bird is a very major trauma. If her flesh is graying, it is dying. Seems likely she is suffering internal blood loss, and internal damage, as owl lover has pointed out.

Is she panting?
Can she stand at all?
Are her wings and head hanging down?
Is she having any bowl movements at all? Wet? Dry? Nada?

A bird that doesn't move and doesn't eat is in serious shock, likely stemming from internal damage. Torn muscle and mega bruising may do it, but if there is no sign of infection, I'm afraid the prognosis is poor. Can you please post a pic asap??? I'll watch for it. In the meantime, cover her to conserve warmth, she will be cooling since without regular feedings, her metabolism will slow, and she will not produce heat internally. Your gonna have to keep her in a warm place, like 80 degrees. Think brooder and heat light. Try feeding her mash - grain ground up (coffee grinder) add boiling water to make a thin "soup" and offer that. It will give her needed food.

(edited for lousy spelling)

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Poor hen. She is probably in shock so keeping her warm and hydrated like you are doing is good. When in shock the digestive system kind of shuts down for a few days so it is not unusual for her to stop eating for a while. If you can not entice her with any food or treats in the next day or so, you may want to make a gruel of ground feed and water and syringe it along the side of her beak. Or you could go to a pet store and get avian nutritional mix that is used for hand feeding baby birds.

Keep putting antibiotic ointment like neosporin on her wound. If you see or smell any sings of infection, an injection of penicillin is generally recommended for flesh wounds. If you do add some stitches, it might be a good idea to leave an opening to allow drainage of the wound.

Chickens can heal quite well from skin wounds, so hopefully she doesn't have internal injuries. I sure hope she improves.

BTW, I had a hen who was attacked by a hawk who went into shock and was barely responsive the first couple of days, but she did pull through.

 

[rfmudflap]

Oh grt, this is soooo helpful. I started giving her some honey/salt water and am continuing with arnica and calledula homeopathic remedies....Poor thing. She is such a trooper. Very sweet. I'm continuing to read threads about injuries like this one. Best, Ruth

 

[rfmudflap]

HI Marty, Yes the horse was running and caught her under foot. AT first, I thought it was one of her feet/leg that was injured and there is minor damage to her foot. She can stand although limps and doesn't hang her head. she mainly stays in one location. She has had one large poop, which I thought was a good sign. Her body is still warm and she seems to cooperate with me when I give her droppers of water with the homeopathic remedies. I've added honey/salt water to my hourly regimen. I will try a heat lamp too--good idea. She is in a fairly warm confined garage. I may bring her into my guest bathroom.

Thx...will also try the gruel idea too. Thx gang... she is super strong and has a good immune system so I'm hopeful. best, Ruthi

 

[rfmudflap]

HI Owl, The flap of skin that was torn away is turning gray, but hte flesh that was exposed is still vibrant pink and seems healthy. I'm cleanign it and using vetricyn and antibio ointment daily. I did bathe it with betadine solution at first too. My hunch is that there are no serious internal injuries...but of course, I could be wrong. The horse was moving fast and caught her quickly. I think her leg is injured maybe at hte hip area. I'm going to do my best and hope that Mother nature can lend a hand here and of course you guys. Thanks again, Ruth

 

[rfmudflap]

Hurrah! My hen pecked at some crumble tonight......I'm soooo relieved that she is showing some signs of improvement. The vet quoted me over $250 to stitch her up and well, I'm currently not working and jsut couldn;t justify the expense. I re-cleaned her wound, changed the dressing, and wrapped her body in an ace bandage to hold the wound's flap in place. I've been continuing water at frequent intervals of no more than 60 minutes and more like 30 mintues, alternating aspirin, honey/salt water and/or aspirin water. She's been so cooperative as though she understands that I'm trying to help her. It is now cold and I've moved her inside rather than in the garage, even though she had a heat lamp. She seemed to improve in teh heat by the wood stove. She's safe in a large box and as quiet as i can make it. It will be so gratifying if she pulls through. I'm committed to pulling her thru and it was nice to see a positive sign late this afternoon.

Thanks again, Ruthie

 

[scratch'n'peck]

That's great to hear that she at least pecked at some solid food. I hope you see signs of her drinking on her own soon, too. If the flap of skin is grey and looks like it is not getting blood flow it is possible that you don't want to stitch it to health tissue anyhow. That Vetrycin is a good product even though it is pricey (although it is a lot less than the cost of a Vet) You may soon be amazed by how well chicken wounds can heal.

The chickens who we nursed back to health also seemed to know that we were just trying to help, and they continued to be more trusting than the other chickens in their flock even after they healed.

Keep up the good work.

 

[rfmudflap]

Aw thanks Scratch! Today she was even stronger and after getting some aspirin she really started to eat her layer crumble that I had available. I noticed that and then added a handful of lettuce, a half tomato and some cottage cheese. She gobbled it all down plus ate more grain. I think he aspirin did the trick to relax her yesterday and then today. I am elated. I think she will make it. She loks very funny with an ace bandage wrapped around her body to hold hte wound closed. Today i changed the dressing and used gauze since I didn't have a fresh ace bandage. Lol, it makes me laugh to be nursing her. It's so ironic since I was jsut laid off from my job so I'm home all the time and can nurse her every 30 min-1 hour with liquids etc. Isnt that a blessing?

Hey I'm originally from michgan! Isn't it great about he Tigers!! Thanks again, Ruthie