Dog Attack -- please advise!!!

[sab]

We had our 1st dog attack today. He got one of the girls by the hind quarters. She has a puncture wound and I would say it's a good tearing into the muscle. Feathers missing of course. Not a lot of bleeding. She is alert. What can I do to keep this from becoming a disaster??? So far, I have put Puffer on her - it's an animal topical antibiotic that you puff on the wound. I had some Tylan that I have put in her drinking water. She is separated from the others. She can walk but of course she isn't. I just don't want that wound to become infected. I'm thinking of bringing her in for a warm epson salt bath over that area. Good idea or bad?? Thanks for your help... she's one the original 3 and I would hate to loose her. I doubt it matters that she is 5 yrs old. I've never put a bird down and would hate to have to do that....

 

[CMV]

Epsom salt bath? Great idea! Do that 2X/day fro the next 3-5 days. Blow dry her off after if possible to keep her from getting wet and chilled.

I would also put her on a course of antibiotics. Puncture wounds are nasty. PenG can be picked up at any feed store in their refrigerator section along with some syringes. While treating her you should also be treating her with a probiotic. A couple teaspoons of yogurt each day during treatment and for several weeks after should make all the difference.

I know what having a bird for a long time means. You don't want to spend a fortune, but you do want to make sure that bird has the best chance possible. This course of treatment is the best you can do.

 

[sab]

Ok she's still alive and perky for a wounded bird. Treatment so far: warm Epsom salt bath which she seemed to like, using vetrycin several times a day. She is separated and I'm giving her scrambled egg with probiotics. I bought penicillin today. Should I hold off and see if the salt baths & vetrycin is enough? How much should I give her and how do I shoot it?? Chest I am thinking... Not had to do this before.

 

[CMV]

I like to avoid using antibiotics if at all possible because of the risks associated with its use. It stinks to have a wounded bird survive the wounds only to have to suffer from sour crop or vent gleet on top of it from using antibiotics. You see less of that in injectible antibiotics than oral antibiotics, but the risk is still there. Keep a close eye on the wounds in the meantime. If they start getting angry red (not just dark pink, but red), or you see an increase in the amount of drainage, or she suddenly stops eating/drinking, or she gets real hot especially around the wounds, then it is time to use the antibiotics. Fortunately, PenG is very effective and acts rapidly, so if you wait it won't kill her.

Here is a medication chart that is handy to have around. PenG is about 3/4 of the way down the page. I like to use either the breast or the thigh as a site depending on the size of the bird. Skinny birds that have no meat on their breast will generally still have some meat on their thighs. Just make sure you rotate the sites to prevent muscle damage.
https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/medicine-chart

 

[sab]

Could use some help again. I gave her warm epsom salt baths for a week and followed each with a good spraying of vetricin (spelling). I had penicillin to use if she showed any signs of infections but she didn't. For the last 2 weeks she has been in with the general population - eating, and doing all those chicken things that chickens do. She seemed to be well on the way to full recovery, minus tail feathers. Skin always looked very natural pink.

Yesterday, I noticed her skin was sandy looking - which could be mini scabs, sand from trying to sand bathe, or feathers starting back in. I also noticed a bright red picked spot - small. I thought I should probably give her some more vetricin spraying (which I did last night) and maybe another epsom salt bath.

I came home today, and her entire wound area, that was healing, is totally bloodied -- more than when the attack happened. Her behavior was still, hunt & pick chicken behavior. She didn't act like anything was wrong but it's HER beak that is bloody red and I saw her picking at it. So SHE IS PICKING AT HER WOUND!!! How can I stop this? She will never heal. I brought her in and gave her an epsom salt bath and am getting ready to take her back out to the coop but I have a dog kennel set up in the utility area of the coop (where I kept her the week after her attack) ready for to spend the night away from the other girls. But I don't know what's going to keep her from picking at her wound -- it's like she is mutilating herself. She is eating well.... crumbles, scraps, the yard.... her behaviors are very normal only with a limp....

ANY IDEAS????