Dog Attack

[churchx3]

One of my Barred Rock hens flew out of the run and was attacked by my dog 3 days ago. The dog basically tore up the top of her back from her neck to her tail. An area approx 2 inches wide and 6 inches long. It was a bloody mess. I took her across the street and had my neighbor check her as he also has chickens and he said she only had tissue damage and would be fine. She is eating and drinking. Bleeding stopped on Saturday. I went to Pet Smart and picked up some Hydrocortisone Spray and have been applying that twice a day. I did not bandage since it is such a large area. I do notice a smell but am thinking that is the medicine??? I am keeping her separate from the other chickens at night and during the day except for when they free range in the evening for a couple of hours. The other chickens are not picking on her at all when she is free ranging. Do I need to do more or am I too late? Please tell me what to do at this point....

 

[LeezyBeezy]

Sounds like you're doing ok. I wonder if an antibiotic oinment would be better? If it's nice and pink, with maybe a little yellow sloug (that's old, dea skin coming off) it should heal. What about giving her some extra protein, which is needed to heal the wound? Eggs, meat, yoghurt?

 

[Oven Ready]

I would switch to an antibiotic ointment or even better a powder.
Hydrocortisone (at least in humans) suppresses the immune system - particularly in skin. That's why it's used for rashes and such like, to stop the body responding to a perceived threat.

Lots of high energy foods will help as mentioned.
Honey is often mentioned as a good biological skin repair preparation - but beware, ants like honey.
Honey in drinking water, or on bits of bread or similar wouldn't do any harm, whether they would do any good other than keeping blood sugars up I'm not sure.