Dog attack

[thlayli]

One of my hens slipped under a hole in our fence to cavort with the neighbor roo and got attacked by a dog for her trouble. I found the dog with the hen in it's mouth, hanging by her neck. The dog dropped her and bolted at the sight of me, and I managed to find the hen and bring her back to the flock (and plug the fence hole). I thought she was lucky and only lost a few months off her life, but now 2 days later I was petting her and noticed black, matted feathers under her vent. Checking to make sure no poo was encrusted on her I see a good 1"x1" hole on her backside, covered in yellowish slime. Turns out the dog got a chunk off her after all. I'm new to chickens and don't want to spend a fortune on wound care if it's as simple as how my momma treated our skinned knees -- wash it out, antiseptic spray, and neosporin the ever loving heck out of it. Am I right and need to raid my medicine cabinet, or do I need to see a vet ASAP?

 

[Kiki]

If a vet is possible then that would be the first thing I would tell you to do.

You could wash it out, clean her up, apply neosporin, pick up some antibiotics and keep her in doors for a while til she heals.
You don't want to let flies get to her and lay eggs inside the wound..that would be way nastier than what you are dealing with now.

Infection can kill too ..and you don't want other chickens picking at it making it worse.

Sound doable?

 

[getaclue]

You shouldn't need a vet. Use plain Neosporin WITHOUT PAIN RELIEF. If you think it should be washed out a little, use Betadyne Solution. The skin will regranulate.

 

[JaeG]

If there's pus (yellowish slime) then there's infection. She'd be best getting a shot of broad spectrum antibiotics at the vets. It's never a nice thing to deal with, and as KikisGirls said - you don't want her getting fly blown. Poor girl - I hope she makes it.

 

[getaclue]

Again, you can usually wash it out with Betadyne, then apply Neopsorin, two or three times a day for a few days. Even if infection has set in, will usually take care of it. You will know in a day, or two if the infection is clearing up. If not, then proceed with antibiotics.

 

[thlayli]

Thanks everyone. Our local vet wanted $100 just to look at her, and well, frankly, she's just a chicken. I certainly don't want her to suffer and will do my best to make sure her wound is clean and taken care of, but if she starts to take a turn for the worse I will most likely put her down. Here's hoping that doesn't happen!

 

[getaclue]

How's your chicken doing?

 

[thlayli]

How's your chicken doing?

She's doing really well. I cleaned out the wound and spray it a couple times a day. It's scabbed over but it's pretty deep; she's probably gonna scar there instead of regrow her feathers. I guess when the dog yanked out her feathers the skin split because it's a lot bigger than I thought it should be, but she's eating and drinking, and still laying. The other chickens don't bother her any more than normal flock politics, so I think she's gonna be fine. C:

 

[getaclue]

The skin will usually regranulate, and most of the time, the feathers will grow back in too. Glad she's doing good.