Dog Attack :(

[Eggcessive]

How is your rooster doing now? Chickens have air sacs all over their bodies, and their lungs are close to their backs. I would watch for any trouble breathing or any hissing sounds from wounds. Is he able to stand and walk? If he seems shocky, let him rest in a quiet dim spot in the house in a dog crate. He should not be with the other chickens outside of a dog crate until he heals.

 

[Jessdesk]

He is doing ok, he can hobble around, he is eating & drinking. I checked on him before bed & turned on his heat lamp in the outside hospital room we made him. His back is still oozing, but the cornstarch was helping.

They didn’t have any fowl penicillin at the feed store though, but I got some electrolytes for his water.

The hospital is an xlarge dog crate/cage filled with fresh hay & a sleeping box. We put it on top of a wood pallet against the side of the main coop. He has his own feed, water, and heat lamp. Covered with heavy duty tarp. It was 83 degrees yesterday, and 75 today. So no heat during the day, but at night it still very cold. So heat at night, off in the day.

Our alpha hen spent all afternoon outside his door calling to him, awwwww.

 

[leslielbk]

I am so glad to hear it! It sounds like you're doing all the right things. He has a little babysitter too - that should help a lot

 

[Eggcessive]

Is he continuing to do alright? Sorry I didn’t see your post late Sat. nite. Most feed stores have injectable procaine penicillin G in the refrigerated medicines that is for all animals. They also sell 3 ml syringes, and 20 gauge needles to inject it. You need to ask for those. Dosage for chickens is 0.25 ml (1/4 ml) injected 1/4 inch deep into the thickest part of the breast misxle once a day for 4-5 days. A vet may prescribe oral antibiotics, such as Fish Mox (amoxicillin) and Fish Flex (cephalexin) and those can be acquired online.
https://www.chewy.com/s?rh=brand_fa..._szK2P_KK2NeTT-HOEQF-zm-_n8jH9SYaAqVBEALw_wcB

 

[Jessdesk]

Ok, I got the stuff for the injections, they had to order it, because they were out. Red is hanging in there, even though he looks so tired. He's drinking and eating, & I've been trying to give him protein rich food. Tonight he will get the penicillin & new bandages. I'm still guarded, because of his bad shape.

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you also been using something to clean or spray on his wounds? Vetericyn wound spray, betadine, or chlorhexidene are all good to disinfect a wound. After that plain Neosporin (Triple Antibiotic Ointment) ointment is good to apply to keep the wound clean and promote healing.

 

[Jessdesk]

I noticed last night that the area on his side looked very dry, and I know his moisture barrier is gone, so as soon as I get home from work I will be flushing the wounds & adding new ointment and bandages.

 

[Jessdesk]

Ok, so after work we gave him a warm salt bath to clean out the wound. I trimmed back any feathers that had been missed. It looks super bad, the border of skin has gotten hard, because the skin has nothing to connect to. The muscle under the wing is exposed and looks leathery. I want to cry, because I should have done a better job!

After the salt bath we dried him off. Then I applied iodine to the whole area (iodine picked up from the vet today), covered all with neosporine, which took a whole tube, then covered with large sterile surgical bandages for horses.

He was cold afters, so put him back in the heated chicken hospital with fresh hay.

I got the needles and penicillin, and I am warming first dose, and will give it tonight.

 

[Morrigan]

Don't be too hard on yourself. You did the best you could with the materials on hand. It sounds like you've got him well bandaged and treated now. Where there is life, there is hope, and I've read some truly miraculous recovery tales on this forum. Make sure his sleeping quarters stay warm, and keep up with the high protein foods.

As far as keeping the neighbor's dogs away, a solar power electric fence can be a god send. Most dogs only need to be shocked once before they will give the area a wide berth.

 

[Jessdesk]

Thanks, I'm going to give him his best chance. I'm just not a vet, so not sure what to do with those dead edges. But I've had chickens heal bad wounds before, so I hope the healthy skin stays to regrow. I will make sure tonight that he is dry & warm, and new bandages