Dog attack and egg bound with a cracked egg

[Sallyhens]

I have a ~10 month Plymouth barred rock that was attacked by a dog about 48 hours ago. She has some injury (one small puncture, a bigger puncture/tear just shy of dime-size, and some skin tearing of the first layer or two of skin). She is very alert, kind of drinking water, and not eating (she did peck at some scrambled egg but I couldn’t tell if she actually ate any, but it’s an improvement). I have her in a Tupperware tub with towels, food, and water with sugar.

Apologies for not having a photo of the injury, but honestly I’ve seen way worse on this forum. Unfortunately, I missed it during my multiple inspections because it didn’t bleed and was under lots of feathers. 24 hrs after the attack, I noticed yellowish poop/discharge and took her to the vet as a precaution. I’m glad I did bc we found the wound there. She has pain meds and Sulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim antibiotics. The vet said sutures weren’t completely necessary so I opted not to (would have just been one stitch and the skin around it was damaged). Had an X-ray done because I was worried about her being egg bound because she hadn’t laid an egg that morning before the attack.

As you can see from the X-ray I attached, she has a cracked egg near her vent. This is probably my biggest concern right now.

I have all the necessary wound care supplies, my question is how to treat both things at once because her injuries are just behind the thigh, maybe midway between that and her vent. Her wounds smell really bad!

I did give her a calcium/d3 supplement this morning. In a few hours, I’d like to bathe her with mild soap and water, let her soak in some Epsom salts, trim the feathers around the wound as best I can, clean the wound again soap/water, follow with antiseptic/veterycin, and pack with neosporin.

- should I dry the veterycin/betadine with a paper towel before applying neosporin? It won’t air dry because it’s under the tip of her wing.
- as long as I clean the wound afterwards, any concerns about an Epsom salt soak getting on it?
- the egg has been there for 48 hours. She’s still pooping and it looks pretty normal. How long can it sit in there before I go back to the vet for an extraction? That would require anesthesia and is risky.

Please let me know if my plan sucks or could be better. Any and all advice welcome!

 

[Sallyhens]

I forgot to ask: it’s chilly here and I’d have to blow dry her after the Epsom salt bath. Aside from stressing her, would a blow dryer on warm (not hot) harm her wounds in any way?

 

[Kaw-Liga]

I’m not an expert.

I would call the vet and ask about the extraction. Anesthesia can be risky and is pricy, but I think leaving a broken egg in her vent is risky, too.

As far as wound care goes, stop with soap and water unless it is visibly soiled, it will dry the tissue out and make it harder to the wound to heal.

Don’t use any ointment, especially to pack a wound. It can be occlusive if applied too thick, and deep wounds need a degree of airflow to prevent possible growth of anaerobic bacteria. A thin layer on a surface wound is okay.

Epsom salt soaks are great, make sure you use enough salt and then rinse with clean water after.

Clean the wounds two times a day with 1/2 iodine 1/2 water solution, should be tea colored. Use a very liberal amount, as in drench it. Let it marinate for 30 seconds or so and pat the excess dry with gauze or lint free pads.You can mix it together and throw it in a baggie of cotton balls if it’s convenient. Make a fresh baggie every other day.

Between antibiotics, NSAID, and iodine solution for wound care, wound should heal. Any foul smell is indicative of infection or, at minimum, suspicious for contamination [with fecal matter]. I’ll add that the broken egg that’s marinating probably isn’t making anything smell better.

Using the blow dryer on a warm, low setting is good. Try holding it 10 or so inches away.

Get some nutridrench and lose the sugar water. Use a syringe to give her water every 2-3 hours if she doesn’t drink regularly enough. Be careful not to give too much at a time so she doesn’t aspirate and take care to not get any in her nostrils.

I’ve used buttermilk, whole milk, whole milk plain yogurt, feed mash with milk or water, refrigerated dog food pate’, raw egg mixed all the way- to entice mine to eat when they were sick or hurt

I’m sorry about your girl!

 

[Sallyhens]

I’m not an expert.

I would call the vet and ask about the extraction. Anesthesia can be risky and is pricy, but I think leaving a broken egg in her vent is risky, too.

As far as wound care goes, stop with soap and water unless it is visibly soiled, it will dry the tissue out and make it harder to the wound to heal.

Don’t use any ointment, especially to pack a wound. It can be occlusive if applied too thick, and deep wounds need a degree of airflow to prevent possible growth of anaerobic bacteria. A thin layer on a surface wound is okay.

Epsom salt soaks are great, make sure you use enough salt and then rinse with clean water after.

Clean the wounds two times a day with 1/2 iodine 1/2 water solution, should be tea colored. Use a very liberal amount, as in drench it. Let it marinate for 30 seconds or so and pat the excess dry with gauze or lint free pads.You can mix it together and throw it in a baggie of cotton balls if it’s convenient. Make a fresh baggie every other day.

Between antibiotics, NSAID, and iodine solution for wound care, wound should heal. Any foul smell is indicative of infection or, at minimum, suspicious for contamination [with fecal matter]. I’ll add that the broken egg that’s marinating probably isn’t making anything smell better.

Using the blow dryer on a warm, low setting is good. Try holding it 10 or so inches away.

I’m sorry about your girl, good luck!

Thank you! I’ll make those changes you mentioned. The vet said that it seemed pretty intact and so close to the vent that she didn’t want to risk it, hoping she would pass the egg on her own with pain meds and what not.

I’ll just see how it goes for now after a soak, and it’ll be back to the vet if it continues into tomorrow. It’s so frustrating because it’s so close to being out!

 

[Kaw-Liga]

You’re welcome. Maybe she’ll pass it by then!

 

[SmiYa0126]

@Wyorp Rock @azygous @Eggcessive please help!

 

[Sallyhens]

Update: she has an attitude! Epsom salt soak was a fail, she refused. Blow drying was a semi fail because I couldn’t get everything dry, she hates that, too.

She is still alert and seems a little better. She pecked at some scratch/layer feed.

I have a vet appointment tomorrow morning to remove the egg as best as she can. This will be very risky because of the anesthesia and her wounds, but I figure she’ll die if I don’t try to get it out.

Her wounds look okay for the most part, time will tell. I trimmed away some feathers and treated the wounds again.

For now I’m letting her rest with a space heater. Not sure what else I can do at this point to help her pass the egg. I’m afraid I’ll crush it since it’s already cracked (if it hasn’t broken already).

 

[Eggcessive]

I would try to get her drinking fluids. You can try to lubricate the inside of the vent. Since soaking in warm water can be stressful, some people will set the hen on a moistened warm towel on top of a heating pad on low, or in a humid warm bathroom. You can give more human calcium with D3 in 24 hours. Let us know if she passes the egg.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I would try to get her drinking fluids. You can try to lubricate the inside of the vent. Since soaking in warm water can be stressful, some people will set the hen on a moistened warm towel on top of a heating pad on low, or in a humid warm bathroom. You can give more human calcium with D3 in 24 hours. Let us know if she passes the egg.

I agree, Calcium and fluids.

Hopefully she'll be able to pass the egg.

 

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

I do hope she is better now.