Do we think this chicken can heal?

[Mklein176]

Writing in hopes of getting some perspective. One of my girls flew out of their yard today into our main yard, which is pretty difficult to do, and our dog chased and bit her before I could intervene. She doesn’t seem to be in shock and is eating and drinking. I gave her some pain meds we had and cleaned with vetricyn. We went to try and bandage her up with steri strips but upon closer looking are feeling like this may not heal on its own. It looks like the skin and tissue around her tail is drooping and we can’t seem to connect it with a bandage. She was only born this spring. I want to try and save her but my partner thinks we should put her down. Can anyone weigh in on whether their chicken has made it through something like this without stitches?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

You can't connect it, no. But you may be able to try to save her. Fiirst treat her for shock, though. Stir 1 tsp sugar into 1 cup water and add a pinch each of baking soda and salt and hold some up to her beak to drink. Do that while I tag @Eggcessive for her opinion on whether this is recoverable. It really is amazing what these guys can survive.

 

[Beau plus penny]

Writing in hopes of getting some perspective. One of my girls flew out of their yard today into our main yard, which is pretty difficult to do, and our dog chased and bit her before I could intervene. She doesn’t seem to be in shock and is eating and drinking. I gave her some pain meds we had and cleaned with vetricyn. We went to try and bandage her up with steri strips but upon closer looking are feeling like this may not heal on its own. It looks like the skin and tissue around her tail is drooping and we can’t seem to connect it with a bandage. She was only born this spring. I want to try and save her but my partner thinks we should put her down. Can anyone weigh in on whether their chicken has made it through something like this without stitches?

i would take her to a vet for stitches

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Meanwhile mix up some sterile saline solution, you can use that to flush the wound. I don't suppose you have any Hibiclens spray on hand? And it may be too late to run to the feed store to go get some, but you may want to get some tomorrow for flushing the wound. When my hen was severely wounded by a dog, we put saline solution in a spray bottle and flushed the wound twice daily. No way was I going to scrub it! Then we gently blotted it dry with a clean towel, and finally coated it with Neosporin, though any triple antibiotic ointment will do, as long as it does NOT contain pain reliever (nothing ending in -caine), as those are toxic to chickens. Oh, we also sprayed it with Veterycin Gel, to seal it and keep it moist. We kept her in a dog crate in the living room. It healed from the outer edges in about three weeks. You might want to trim feathers around the wound so you can see. Protect her from flies. Give her regular feed, you can wet it if she doesn't seem interested. Provide grit. Courage! And best wishes!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

i would take her to a vet for stitches

There's nothing to stitch.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

You might also trim wings on your other birds to prevent other escapees.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

And leave it open, don't bandage or cover it.

 

[Beau plus penny]

There's nothing to stitch.

ohhhh maybe put some gauze over it with some medical tape to see if she can heal

 

[Anon112]

I'd suggest finding the thread of the person whose chicken lost a wing and toes (I think) to a raccoon attack. That chicken, last we heard, was making very good progress!

 

[Anon112]

I would also support treating for shock and giving her a chance.