Dog attack - antibiotics?

[feather16]

Hi y’all, on I came home on Sunday to a dog in the yard and feathers everywhere. I was lucky when an hour and a half later my sweet girl just appeared from where she was hiding, with some bite wounds. I rinsed the wound and sprayed generously with vetericyn. She was had good energy and was drinking heavily the first two days, then her flock mate who had worse injuries, passed away. She got a little depressed, so after a day or so by herself, I got her set up outside locked in with one sweet girl who I know will not peck her wounds.

She has access to food and water 24/7 and is up and about walking. Puts up a little bit of a fight when it’s time to spray and apply neosporin. I just can’t tell if she’s drinking or eating… and tonight she felt really warm. Her wounds don’t stink, they don’t look red, weepy or wet. Do you think this is just normal inflammation? Or does this sound like infection?

Are there any OTC antibiotics I should try to get for her? It’s been 5 days since her attack.

Of course, I took a photo AFTER spraying it and applying ointment.. but here’s her deepest wound. She’s got another gouge on her other side and a few punctures. The second photo was day of, on her opposite side.

 

[feather16]

In reply to myself, it’s the heat coming from her that has me feeling anxious. And I’m this close to wanting to shove food down her

 

[Devyn Nagy]

I don't have much experience with injuries, but I hope someone'll reply soon!

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you spend some time, and offer watery chicken feed, scrambled egg or tuna? Most times when you clean wounds daily with saline or Vetericyn, then keep wounds covered with Neosporin, they usually don’t require antibiotics unless an abscess occurs. It sound good that she is walking about. Does she seem to have lost any weight? Feeling warm could be a sign of increased circulation and healing, but I would continue to observe. Do the wounds smell bad or have any pus drainage?

 

[feather16]

Can you spend some time, and offer watery chicken feed, scrambled egg or tuna? Most times when you clean wounds daily with saline or Vetericyn, then keep wounds covered with Neosporin, they usually don’t require antibiotics unless an abscess occurs. It sound good that she is walking about. Does she seem to have lost any weight? Feeling warm could be a sign of increased circulation and healing, but I would continue to observe. Do the wounds smell bad or have any pus drainage?

Her breast bone felt really pronounced today, so I would say she may have lost a little weight. But there is no puss and the wounds don’t smell bad at all. There’s really good to know that my regimen for her works without antibiotics, thank you for saying that!

I offered boiled egg, scrambled egg, wet cat food, and chicken feed. When I doctored her close to bedtime, it looked like she was going to drink some water, but changed her mind last minute- it made me think I was making her nervous, so I closed up and gave her space. But I’m hopeful she got some?

I’m hopeful by your response that her heat isn’t necessarily a bad thing yet. I’ll see in the morning if her temperament has changed

 

[getaclue]

Infirmary: A decent sized cage, dog crate, soft playpen for animals, work best for sick/injured chickens. It also makes it easier for you to access, and tend to them. If you're able, set it up in your garage, spare bedroom, spare bathroom, etc. You don't want them in total darkenss, but subdued lighting keeps them much calmer/restful, which is more conducive to healing. You can also control the temperature better, avoiding extremes. You can also keep it cleaner.

Treatment: I agree with Eggcessive about cleaning it daily with saline, or Betadine solution, then coat it with any triple antibiotic WITHOUT pain relief (neosporin, bacitracin, generic). Cover it with Telfa pads, and hold them in place with vet wrap. Don't make the vet wrap too tight. You can lift the wings to wrap it around the body. It takes several weeks, but the skin will regranulate. Don't be in too big of a hurry, and let it fully heal.

Nutrition: You may not want to rush in with tube feeding. While there may not be any real internal injury, their insides can be bruised. Instead, add some Nutridrench, or Poly Vi Sol for babies WITHOUT iron, to their water. Add enough that their water is medium brown. I usually mix a gallon at a time, and mix it fresh every other day. You may also add a little Gatorade initially, to help balance electrolytes. See if it perks up, even a little, after it's gotten the water mixture into it. After a day, or two of the water mixture, or as soon as it begins to perk up, I add a LITTLE chicken feed into it, and stir. You still want it very watery, to hydrate them, and the little bit of chicken feed helps balance the nutrition a bit better than just the vitamins. Keep the water mixture available at all times, along with normal chicken feed. When it begins to perk up some, usually it will start eating a little on it's own, however, you may have to encourage it with boiled, or scrambled egg, or add water to some chicken feed so it's mushy. With the watery mixture, it's still getting a lot of nutrition, so don't panic if it doesn't start eating more solid food right away. Again, there may be internal bruising of the organs, so they may not want more solid foods, until there's less internal bruising.

I hope all this helps, and your chicken fully recovers.