Discovered a chicken with a severe laceration by the leg - need guidance on how to deal with it.

[ebl081]

There is no apparent internal damage but the skin is lacerated just above the right leg - which is a tough spot because every time she moves it seems to keep the wound open. These pictures are day 3. No signs of infection but the skin is not staying in place and the muscle that was showing is scabbing over. Should I keep her isolated from the others? Is there anymore I can do for this? I cleaned it well when discovered and applied Neosporin with no pain reliever. I've kept her in a box in my house.

6 week old golden laced wyandote
Behaviour: not acting strange, was limping at first but not anymore
No other birds have injuries
No bleeding
I'm not sure how it happened - it's possible a fox came around while they were out or it got cut on a sharp object around the coop and was then pecked by other birds.
Eating and drinking seems normal, poop is normal
If possible I'd like to have all the treatment done here, the vet is not a realistic option for me

 

[Stipenvlerk]

Great! You found the right part of this forum
hopefully your poor chicken finds the help she needs here....

 

[ebl081]

Great! You found the right part of this forum
hopefully your poor chicken finds the help she needs here....

Thanks so much for the response! I hope so too

 

[Stipenvlerk]

@Miss Lydia @casportpony ? This post was done before in a different category so not seen by many, do you have advise for this poor chick? Or can you tag the people who have?

 

[Stipenvlerk]

@Isaac 0 I’m sorry tagging you again already. But this chicken is in need of medical care and on both posts about it her human got no constructive replies.

I’m tagging you too @Wyorp Rock maybe you can help too....

If you are not the right people to tagg on this kind of matter maybe you do know who are!

Have a great Monday and thanks for your patience

 

[Isaac 0]

Ouch! That looks fairly deep to me, left alone like that it's going to get infected (hopefully it already isn't) I say we cover all are bases and start from step one, I would first trim the feathers around the wound (3cm circumferential zone) should be fine, liberally wash it with some saline to dislodge any foreign matter, for bigger pieces use a pair of tweezers. After that, get some tefla pads, soak them in a little bit of Chlorhexidine, place one/two over the wound and bandage. You'll take that off about two or three times every day, to re-bandage.

Very important to start weighing her for any sign of weight loss, feces are also a good sign of how the chicken may be feeling, as well as behavior. Keep her in a warm, quiet, stressful free area.

 

[ebl081]

Ouch! That looks fairly deep to me, left alone like that it's going to get infected (hopefully it already isn't) I say we cover all are bases and start from step one, I would first trim the feathers around the wound (3cm circumferential zone) should be fine, liberally wash it with some saline to dislodge any foreign matter, for bigger pieces use a pair of tweezers. After that, get some tefla pads, soak them in a little bit of Chlorhexidine, place one/two over the wound and bandage. You'll take that off about two or three times every day, to re-bandage.

Very important to start weighing her for any sign of weight loss, feces are also a good sign of how the chicken may be feeling, as well as behavior. Keep her in a warm, quiet, stressful free area.

Thank you so much. I have her cleaned and bandaged up now and in a good location. Her behaviour and feces seem normal to me and there are no signs of infection. Any idea of when I can get her back to the coop with the others?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

No signs of infection but the skin is not staying in place and the muscle that was showing is scabbing over. Should I keep her isolated from the others? Is there anymore I can do for this? I cleaned it well when discovered and applied Neosporin with no pain reliever.

Good advice from @Isaac 0

For me, I would not necessarily wrap/cover the wound unless she's picking at it. If you do cover the wound, then absolutely check it several times a day. I've seen several that did not do this and the wound became moldy, infected and/or ended up with flystrike.

I prefer to leave a wound open and just keep it moist with triple antibiotic ointment. Even on "moving parts" it will start to granulate and scab over after a few days. I would trim the feathers so the wound is easier to manage.

Keeping her separated from the others is probably a good idea, they may pick at her wound, but I would take her for visits to see them if possible. A lone chick may be hard to re-introduce, it depends on the flock and set-up.

Let us know how she gets along.

 

[ebl081]

Thanks for your input! I'll keep you updated how she does. Wound seems to be drying up and scabbing and still no signs of infection. Poop did seem more liquidy today but no other negative behaviour other than that.