EMERGENCY Chicken attacked by dog, open wound

[Jhodges]

Our new pup got a hold of one of our chickens today. He tore through her feathers and skin. There doesn’t appear to be any bleeding, but her muscles/fat are exposed. Wound is about the size of a baseball just below her neck. I am a first time chicken owner and this is the first wound we have encountered. Chicken was still able to walk, but is moving much slower than normal. Any help? Is she too far gone? Can she be saved? Vets are all closed, as well as most stores (except Walmart).

 

[SilverBirds]

Welcome to BYC!

Treat her for shock first. Bring her inside away from the other chickens and put her in a box or crate to keep her from moving to much. Give her electrolytes or sugar in her water (or Gatorade) to give her a boost. Next, use a wet cloth and clean her wounds. You can make a saline solution and clean with that instead of straight water. In these situations pictures are helpful so we can give you further advice.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

1) pictures will help a ton
2) you need to treat for shock first, some water with a little sugar and electrolytes. Gatorade works in a pinch. Get the chicken somewhere warm and quiet so it can recover.
I'm not an expert but you can flush the wound with saline while you wait for the experts to weigh in

 

[SilverBirds]

Also, what type of dog is it? Once a dog has hurt or killed a chicken it's difficult to train them not to do it again.

 

[coach723]

Can you post some pictures of the wound?
General wound care is to flush it out well with chlorhexidine (hibiclens), sterile saline, or mild soapy water. Dry it off and apply plain neosporin, or plain triple antibiotic ointment to cover the wound. Reapply as needed to keep the wound covered and moist. Don't bandage. Keep the bird separated in a crate so that other birds cannot peck the wound. Make sure she's drinking and eating (drinking is most important), hold it up to her if needed. Make sure shes in a warm place, quiet, low light, let her rest. Monitor droppings to make sure they are normal. She may be very sore and not want to move much at first. You can use rolled up bath towels if needed around her to stay upright. Also better than bedding to keep the wound clean, just change them out as needed.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I'm sorry about what happened. You can temporarily separate her to watch her health.

Is she eating and drinking? Is she walking? Is she making any sound? Is she moving and acting normal?

Is there an open wound? If so, clean with Hydrogen Peroxide for the first cleaning. For any further cleaning, use a Saline rinse (boil 1 quart of water for 10 minutes and add 2 teaspoons of salt and stir until desolved. Don't use until completely cooled off.) Clean 1-2 times a day. Keep her separated and in a clean place until she's healed.

The baseball sized ball below her neck might be her crop and it could be full. To be sure, check your other hens in that same area and notice their crops too. However, it does sound very big, so you might want to keep an eye on it just in case it's impacted.

Are you able to post a picture?

 

[SilverBirds]

The baseball sized ball below her neck might be her crop and it could be full.

I think OP said that the wound itself was the size of a baseball.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I think OP said that the wound itself was the size of a baseball.

Oh, ok. My mistake. I was thinking crops.