Dog attack

[Aunt Marge]

Hello
I have an agonizing situation. Four days ago our chicken Pippi was attacked by a dog. He bit into her on the upper hind quarter and the wound looked deep. After pouring hydrogen peroxide on it my neighbor sewed it up. She can't walk. When she gets up she topples forward. I have her in the run but sectioned off from my other four chickens. She ate drank very little the first 3 days --today she ate and drank a little more. I don't know if i should put her down or not. The wound is black but it looks like it is healing. I thought at first she wasn't walking due to the pain of the wound but now her foot (same side as bit) looks limp. It isn't visibly broken. Then there's the poop. Since she can't stand the poop is all over her rear end. My husband and I washed her once but I am having a hard time keeping on top of it since the cleaning requires two people. She smells horribly and I think it is more the poop than the wound. I don't know what to do about the foot. I don't know the first thing about splinting and it isn't (as I said) noticeably broken. I have thought about putting her down but we love her so and even now she is so darn alert and perky. Every morning I think I will be able to make a decision because either she will look miserable and i will need to put her down or she will be walking and we will have hope. But she remains stationary and perky. My fear is that she won't be able to walk again and i am just dragging this out. The poop thing is really miserable. I read a lot of threads about chickens that can't walk but no one has talked about this poop problem. I am rambling and really clueless. Does anyone have any suggestions.
Thanks

 

[Campine Lover]

aaaahhh.... I don't really know what to say. Try making a little hammock for her to take the weight off her legs. (be careful when putting her in it!) if she is perky, then don't give up hope yet!

 

[fancbrd4me02]

I think you should get her on some antibiotics. I wouldn't put her down if she is alert, eating and drinking.

 

[Cetawin]

Okay...first, get her the weight off the foot so it has a chance to heal. She is probably terribly sore and the muscles could have been damaged by the bite.

Secondly, the sew job...was there a portion left open so the wound could drain? If not, remove a few of the lower stitches so any infection can drain.

the black is probably due to using peroxide...it damages and kills healthy tissue. The wound needs to be washed with warm water and betadine ....keep a good triple antibiotic ointment on it without pain reliever.

You need to get her on a good antibiotic like pencillin injections if you can give a shot.

Consider getting a chicken diaper for her... to avoid the poo mess on her feathers and possibly getting into the wound.

Pictures would really help but make sure that wound can drain and that antibiotic ointment is on the wound and she is taking antibiotics....that is the real threat...infection from the bite.

You can add some vitamins to her water, feed her scrambled egg which is a great protein source to help beef her up.

 

[kathyinmo]

From an old thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=203024&p=1

Quote:

 

[rockwoodfamilyflock]

So sorry to hear that!! I'm new to chickens but wanted to say that I hope she's okay. Looks like you've received a ton of good advice and maybe she'll recover, even if slowly.
Hang in there!

 

[Purpledandilion]

I am so sorry! I know it is a pain to keep up with, but I wanted to let you know there is hope.

One of our older hens was attacked by our dog in the back area. It was really deep, and we could see some of her insides. We kept her in a clean bin in our laundry room and rinsed it with warm water three times a day. We actually fed her breast milk, and water wich worked wonders!!! although it sounds crazy, but we were desprate. I was sure she would die, but after about a month of this she was back out whith the other chickens the same as before.

Every time we cleaned out her bin we had someone supervise her outside so that she got some fresh air.

Hope this helps!

H.