Dog mauled chicken - help!

[Mrs J]

That's very kind of you to research. I started her already on 250mg of lincomycin. I hope it works. It's too bad the closest poultry vet to me is 90 miles away

Fingers crossed and good luck for a full recovery!

 

[goats-n-oats]

Hi, just an update. The local pharmacist (bless, her, she also owns chickens) recommended the following - non stick pads 2x3" on the wound, then wrap with a few yards of gauze, over the shoulders and breast then under the wings in a crossover pattern, then surgical tape 8" strips to secure the edge of the gauze. It appears to be holding in place and covering the wound. Hen is still active and eating

 

[Mrs J]

Hi, just an update. The local pharmacist (bless, her, she also owns chickens) recommended the following - non stick pads 2x3" on the wound, then wrap with a few yards of gauze, over the shoulders and breast then under the wings in a crossover pattern, then surgical tape 8" strips to secure the edge of the gauze. It appears to be holding in place and covering the wound. Hen is still active and eating

Thanks for the update! That is good news! when cleaning and changing the wound daily, I have found Vetrycin is brilliant. Also, if you find she pecks and pulls off the dressings, you could also use a babies vest or t-shirt to cover loosely. Good luck and keep me posted please

 

[goats-n-oats]

question - is it possible she is picking at her wound and making it worse? Two things make me think this - about an hour after I first noticed she was injured on the back of her neck, all the skin on her shoulders looked torn off. I don't know if the hen or the dog did this. Also I noticed today that her beak is blue, as if stained from the blue-cote I sprayed on her a few days ago.

 

[Lor]

question - is it possible she is picking at her wound and making it worse? Two things make me think this - about an hour after I first noticed she was injured on the back of her neck, all the skin on her shoulders looked torn off. I don't know if the hen or the dog did this. Also I noticed today that her beak is blue, as if stained from the blue-cote I sprayed on her a few days ago.

She could have gotten blue on her beak while preening if it wasn't fully dry yet.

 

[Mrs J]

question - is it possible she is picking at her wound and making it worse? Two things make me think this - about an hour after I first noticed she was injured on the back of her neck, all the skin on her shoulders looked torn off. I don't know if the hen or the dog did this. Also I noticed today that her beak is blue, as if stained from the blue-cote I sprayed on her a few days ago.

She could be, do you still have it wrapped? It’s probably just a case of her trying to get the wrap off and it’s stained her beak. It will come off her beak naturally. How is she doing?

 

[goats-n-oats]

She could be, do you still have it wrapped? It’s probably just a case of her trying to get the wrap off and it’s stained her beak. It will come off her beak naturally. How is she doing?

Hi thank you for asking. She kept getting her feet stuck in the bandages so frankly I gave up and stopped wrapping her after 3-4 days. What I did to make her more comfortable was cut away all the feathers hangong over the wound area, spray her daily with Blu-Cote, and gave her oral antibiotics for 9 days. Also lots of treats like egg yolks and hot oat cereal. She is still alive and eating. It's hard to see through the Blu-cote but it looks like some skin is growing back. Maybe in a week will reassess and let her rejoin the flock.

 

[Mrs J]

Hi thank you for asking. She kept getting her feet stuck in the bandages so frankly I gave up and stopped wrapping her after 3-4 days. What I did to make her more comfortable was cut away all the feathers hangong over the wound area, spray her daily with Blu-Cote, and gave her oral antibiotics for 9 days. Also lots of treats like egg yolks and hot oat cereal. She is still alive and eating. It's hard to see through the Blu-cote but it looks like some skin is growing back. Maybe in a week will reassess and let her rejoin the flock.

That’s great news!! Thanks for the update!! It sounds like everything is going well, plz let us know how it goes when you let her rejoin the flock

 

[goats-n-oats]

Thanks everyone for your ideas and support. Little hen is on the mend. I used oral antibiotics, and the best I could do was dress the wound for 3 days, then leave it uncovered with daily spray of iodine and blu-cote. Left her with a flock mate in their trailer for two weeks. The skin grew back thankfully and I am seeing a couple of new feathers around the wound, not yet from the new skin. She is eating and laying normally. Thanks!

 

[floricik]

Hi, I believe my dog mauled this barred rock hen. He bit her neck and the spine can be seen if you lift the skin. She is still walking normally and drinking water. She is covered in mud (I assume from struggling with my dog.) There is only an emergency vet right now about 100 miles away, and I don't have the funds. Should I put iodine on the open skin? Wrap her in gauze? Any other supportive care? Is there a chance it will heal by itself, or must it be stitched or covered?

I used Vetericyn when one of our pullets got injured and it worked great.
I used hydrogen peroxide to flush the wound and Neospirin the first day untill I got Vetericyn spray from the feed store.
I hope she gets better.