Dog attack, please help!

[Beastie]

Some stray dogs got into my yard yesterday and attacked my chooks they killed two hens and injured one other. The injured hen has a large wound on her backside, I flushed it with iodine and gently scrubbed the dirt and debris ou then spayed vetericyn on it. I cleaned it up this morning again. My question is this; despite the fact that her wound is on her rear there is a punctured wound that I can hear her breathing through and see air pass through. I thought perhaps she had punctured a lung but there are no wounds anywhere else, her breathing was pretty labored yesterday but as she calmed down it slowed to normal. Has anyone had anything like this happen? Did the bird survive? She is drinking this morning and was trying to stand.

 

[elisabeth44]

I would take her to a vet iv had this happen to me in the past and it's almost impossible to mend this wound at home

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your chicken, and I hope she survives with your good care. All birds have air sacs throughout their bodies, so I think maybe one of the wounds may have punctured an air sac. When birds breathe air in, it goes through the air sacs before getting to the lungs. I don't know how dangerous that is, but I would try to put some antibiotic ointment on it to help seal it. Maybe also put a tiny gauze bandaid over it to help the ointment seal it shut. He are some pictures of the air sacs:

 

[Beastie]

Taking her to the vet is unfortunately not an option right now. What antibiotic would you recommend that can be picked up at ts?

 

[Eggcessive]

Cleansing the wounds with weak betadine for a day or two, and then just using plain Neosporin ointment or bacitracin on the wounds would be good. Watch for signs of infection (redness, pus, or a bad odor.) If you see any, then irrigate the wound again with betadine solution. Tetracycline and procaine penicillin G are about the only antibiotics available from feed stores that might be of help, but I would wait to see how she does with just good wound care.

 

[Beastie]

What is the proper dilution for betadine? Will it hurt if I didn't dilute it at first?

 

[Eggcessive]

Most sources I have seen say to dilute it to a 10% solution. Don't worry if you didn't dilute it the first time. You can always rinse the excess off. If the wound looks soupy or infected I would use it to clean off any pus. But I wouldn't use it on a daily basis--just use the antibiotic ointment or Vetericyn on it twice a day. How is she doing?

 

[Beastie]

Sad to say that when I went in to check on her this morning she had passed. I think I'm hindsight covering the hole may have been a bad idea since her breathing seemed alright before I did (even though I left it slightly open) but her comb this morning is purple so she must have died of oxygen deprivation. RIP my poor little red hen. I'll miss your oddball personality.

 

[Eggcessive]

I'm sorry to hear that you lost her. I've never heard of this before, but subcutaneous emphysema is rather common. That is where there is a blunt injury that causes the air to balloon out under the skin from a leaking air sac. Treatment is removal of the air with a needle. In humans when there is a leaking chest wound, the lung will collapse, so placing vaseline gauze over the wound is routine, especially after removal of a chest tube. Thank you for the update since it may help others.

 

[Beastie]

Yes, that is why I felt it necessary to post it. Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot of information out there for this injury. I can't say for sure that is what caused her to succumb to her injuries but I think it is possible and hopefully it will help someone in a similar position. Thank you for trying to help I appreciate it.