Dog attack!!

[buckaroo's wife]

I strain it out when I feed it, only because I buy the big cans, and don't feed it all at once. If you leave it in the juice for storage, it doesn't dry out in the fridge

 

[mkearsley]

Her wound smells like rotting flesh (or dead mice). I've put hydrogen peroxide on it, cleaned it with warm, running water (the bath thing didn't work, she just kept standing taller & taller to keep it out of the water. I've also put antibiotic ointment on it (bactrin + white petrolium jelly), and bag balm. I've cut all the feathers surrounding the wound. I've noticed that she has a sizable chunk (about 1" long, 1/2" wide, and 1/4" deep that is hanging by just the skin. Can/should I cut this off? Should I take her to a vet to have a pro remove it? The lower edges of the wound have greenish spots on it. I just showered her again & am planning on letting it air dry all night long. She devoured the yogurt I gave her. I just bought some medicated feed for her (its actually medicated chick starter) and some black oil sunflower seeds. I actually saw her take a sip of water today. The smell is horrific - it almost makes me throw up.

I hate to ask, but when should I assume she won't make it? What behaviours should I watch for to show me she's suffering too much & should be killed? I want her to make it, but I don't want her to suffer needlessly.

Thanks for all of your advice.

 

[dreamcatcherarabians]

Quote:
If you can get the Vetricyn, either spray or gel, it might clear things up for you. If she was mine, I'd be dosing her food with the antibiotics too before she gets septic. Or give an injection of antibiotics for several days instead of the oral stuff because orally doesn't seem to work as quickly. I had a hen who was pecked bloody behind her head, had a couple fairly deep head wounds and the Vetricyn kept it from getting infected. Your hen's wounds are significantly worse than my hen's were.

She'll tell you when she's done, there won't be any question. Or she'll lay down and die. I hate to see animals suffer.

 

[Bobinasmom]

Oh boy! Just read your thread. How terrible! I hope your chicken pulls through.

 

[mkearsley]

Put some bacterin on her wounds this morning, she's still eating the yogurt & she cleaned up all the sunflower seeds, but doesn't seem to be eating the medicated crumbles. I gave her a mixture of corn & canned dog food yesterday, which she didn't touch, but she did like the yogurt I replaced it with. The odor is back to being tolerable. Her poop has changed, though. It's mostly white & looks fairly pasty. There's also a lot of black in it, but I know that's from the BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds). Should I be concerned about the poop?

My plans are to shower her each evening, put down a new towel for her while she's in the shower. Let her air dry for an hour or so & then put Magic Powder on it (it is mostly charcoal with some iodine & other powdered antiseptics, it's designed to stop bleeding, reduce odor from infected wounds, and to help slowly heal wounds), then apply bacterin (generic neosporin without painkillers) each morning. Also, she's been pecking a little at the wound (its more like she's trying to preen than anything else). Will the Magic Powder or bacterin hurt her if she ingests it?

I had put some antibiotics in her water, but she isn't really drinking a whole bunch & the antibiotics only lasted 24 hrs, although I am still including enzymes in her water. What shots would you recommend? And what dosage? She probably weighs around 3-5 pounds (she's a standard-sized chicken and was hatched this spring). Is there something I could put into the yogurt since she seems to enjoy that?

Again, thanks for all your advice & well wishes for Sexy (my chicken).

 

[TheBantamPrevails]

Sorry, I didn't read all the intermediary posts, but I don't think you need to shower the chicken. It probably is just adding additional trauma. However, if someone with bird experience recommended that, don't mind me.

But I do really worry about the smell and the green spots. That sounds gangrenous to me. I know a lot of people think its silly to spend real money for a critter that cost $2, but it is worth considering a trip to the vet. Before you go, though, be prepared with your own personal sense of where the tipping point is. Even with all the money in the world, will you go to any lengths? Or, will you pay any amount as long as it is a really good prognosis? Or do you realistically have to pay the bills? You can make a choice to spend X dollars for meds and do the care at home, giving it your best shot, come what may.

Remember that she has an open wound that needs to regrow skin. I don't think washing it is helping, and it may be hurting. My sense from mammal vet emergencies is that you should keep it bandaged with ointment. A vet can give you medicine for pain management.

Good luck. I appreciate anyone who is trying to do right by the animal in their care, even if the choices aren't clear.

 

[buckaroo's wife]

I would agree that washing it every day is probably a bad idea. Wounds aren't meant to be damp. I dont have a good dosage idea for antibiotics, but your local feed store should be able to point you in the right direction. I never give my birds shots (thats just me, and my pocketbook limitations). Only thing I ever do for them is the regimine we discussed in earlier posts (vetricyn and electrolytes), and that has always been enough. Definitely not saying its perfect but I haven't lost one yet. Birds have amazing healing capabilities, but this will be a long process for her.

 

[mkearsley]

Well, I think that she's going to make it

Her back end is still pretty gross (I've decided the nasty smell is from her poop, not her), but I'm keeping antibiotic ointment and/or bag balm on it (only applying once a day now). She's been scratching at the towel & food dish like she'd normally do outside. I've noticed some new feathers peeking out above the severe damage. I don't know if/when she'll regrow her lower back & tail feathers. (Our hatchery-raised polish hen just regrew her tail feathers after 6 months of being a free-range chicken!) I really want to let her outside with the other girls, but the threat of her freezing is high with our current temperatures (although she's quite warm now & I should probably have her in a cooler area due to the thick down). But, all in all, she's acting just like normal

I've got a cooler room attached to our garage that I may put her in, what do you guys think? I've got a heat vent that goes to the room, so its probably 5-10 degrees warmer than outside, but its much lower than the 70 degrees we have in the house where she's at now. I want her to get used to being outside in the cooler temperatures before I kick her out, but I also want to make sure she can keep her body heat. I'll post a picture here later tonight to show her wounds now, a week & a half post attack.

 

[they'reHISchickens]

I just checked back here and saw the pics. Your damage looks like ours did, except that feathers didn't cover the wounds until 2 months later. Expect to keep up with the blukote for the next couple months until the feathers cover the area.Otherwise, the flock will peck at her and restart bleeding. I also thought about using an extended saddle on ours to cover the back and tail but never got around to that. I'd say chances of recovery are very good but it will take time-- I am guessing a few months. It's going to be hard keeping her isolated that long. We didn't isolate ours because I felt that the stress of isolation would be worse on the bird than keeping to normal routine. The bad part was absolutely making sure there was no reason for them to peck on it.
Also, be aware that blukote apparently stings when it is first applied. Ours didn't like it one bit, but it does work

 

[Miss Lydia]

To me thats the most important reason for keeping her away from the others unless you can watch them, because they will peck and could even kill her as long as that wound is like it is. I am glad to hear she is improving.