dog attack

[ctjim]

well our lab/gsp mix got one of the hens daisy,tonight, this has happenned b4 but w/ little to no injury to the hens, mostly he likes to think he's "retrieving" them, typical bird dog. however this time, there was a struggle and the hen was injured she has a couple of lacerations on her sides and back area, the outside skin has torn and i can see the muscle underneath, i was near by when it happened so i was able to get her safely to the coop and out past the dogs range. i immediatly cleaned the wound w/ a light solution of saline and warm water then dried her off and put on some antibiotic ointment and currently have her seperated from the others,but in the same coop so shes not too stressed. will she be able to heal? she just recovered from a wound caused by our roo his spur made a hole in her side. i will be heading to the feed store tomorrow to pick up some more blu cote, i was also wondering if i should get her some type of antibiotic? any help would be great, thanks jim

 

[dlhunicorn]

http://www.worldwidewounds.com/2003/august/Cousquer/Avian-Wound-Assessment.html
excerpt summary on TREATMENT measures:
First aid
Traumatised birds often have multiple injuries and may be further compromised by dehydration, malnutrition and other problems, especially if there has been a delay (hours or days) between injury and presentation [1]. Fluid and nutritional therapy and treatment for shock are critical in the early management of all traumatised birds. Overzealous wound and fracture treatment before stabilisation of the bird may prove fatal [1]. Some first aid of the wound, however, will inevitably be required.

Wound first aid will usually be performed at the time of the initial or subsequent clinical examination. It need not be high tech but should fulfil a number of basic objectives:

Cleaning - The wound should be cleaned quickly to remove as much contamination as possible. A more thorough cleaning should await veterinary examination of the wound. This is usually performed under general anaesthetic to help minimise stress . Sterile isotonic saline (0.9%) or a solution of 0.05% chlorhexidine may be used. Care should be taken not to wet the bird excessively as this is likely to increase the risks of hypothermia.

Haemostasis - veterinary attention should be requested if there is excessive bleeding. Bleeding from most small wounds will stop following the application of a wound dressing.

Protection from dehydration - the use of a hydrogel (e.g. Intrasite) will help protect a wound. This can be covered by a vapour permeable film dressing (e.g. Opsite) to provide further protection. ..............

Analgesia and antibiotics - broad spectrum antibiotics can be provided in the first instance: clavulanic acid potentiated amoxycillin (150mg/kg orally or subcutaneously) will provide cover against most aerobes and anaerobes. Analgesia can be provided with NSAIDs (e.g. carprofen (Rimadyl)) 5mg/kg subcutaneously or intravenously. Local anaesthetics should not be used in birds due to the suggested sensitivity of birds to drugs of the procaine group "."

the following product can often be found in th horse section at feed stores as well as some petstores
http://www.ronsvetsupply.com/granulexv.html
A "must have" product for advanced wound care. This is an over the counter, veterinary version of a prescription human product that has been used for many years to treat bed sores, deep abrasions and thermal burns. The active ingredient, Trypsin, is an enzyme that digests necrotic (dead) tissue, enabling it to be removed while at the same time, stimulating healthy epithelial cells to develop so that they can cover open or slow healing wounds. Can be used with or without bandaging. Use twice daily, washing debris away between applications. Labeled for use on dogs, cats, horses and cattle. Manufactured by Bertek Pharmaceuticals for Pfizer Animal Health."

 

[Donza]

If I were you and it's at all possible I would bring her into your house and put her in a secure cage with water and a little bit of her food and keep her very warm - at least 95F.

Chickens are such resilient little critters and keeping a hurt/sick one very warm will go a long way to helping them mend. You also want to make sure she isn't stressed by any other animals until she's feeling better. AND you want to keep her in as clean an environment as possible to guard against secondary infections.

You will find that you need to become your own chicken expert/vet because very few small or large animal vets will treat them or even know how to treat them. Bird vets won't touch chickens with a 10-foot pole because they believe they carry diseases that can harm their more expensive patients.

I once paid an exotics vet $300 to have a hen's broken leg set and felt lucky to find someone to do it! How sad is that??