Epsom salt for dog attack?

[Cat Ballou]

Can I give a chicken an epsom salt bath 2-3 days after being attacked by a dog?

My favorite little guy was grabbed and carried off on Sunday. I chased them down the mountain, found the bird still alive left on the ground, and rescued him.

There were puncture wounds, missing skin, broken & missing feathers on his backside that I’ve been treating with manuka honey. I tried fully dressing the wound with gauze & medical-grade fabric sticky tape but they don’t stay on.

He was limping very badly at first and keeping all his weight on his left leg. This morning he was walking better and even stood on his right leg to scratch his face.

I think he was also bleeding from between his legs but I couldn’t find that wound with all his feathers covering it. I didn’t want to stress him out and hold him upside down to find it, assess the damage, and treat it.

I’m just concerned because he was looking perkier & had a better appetite yesterday but this morning he was trying to hide and was all puffed out. Should I give him an epsom salt bath or something else?

 

[NestingMillenial]

Wait for others with more experienced advice (especially when it comes to what to give him, drug wise) but I can volunteer a couple things meanwhile:

First did you only apply honey on the wounds? I know it's a pretty good antibacterial agent but... Edit: I looked it up and medical grade honey rivals with some antibiotics so omit what I was saying about maybe not being enough for this situation - might be fine, others will help more on this!

Second, if the attack was Sunday and you think he's still bleeding today, I think it's totally worth his discomfort to check between his legs! Maybe have someone else hold him so you don't touch his wounded back in the process, but don't let it keep bleeding if it's been days.

Finally, cut the feathers away from wounds so they stay clean and can heal better.

Have you been giving him electrolytes? Is he feeding ok?

 

[Cat Ballou]

Manuka honey cures gangrene but our current system will only amputate

https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2015/07/23/manuka-honey.aspx?v=1667926124

I wasn’t able to get a high grade of manuka on a Sunday in a mountain town but it is genuine.

He isn’t still bleeding. I got him to eat about 30 mealworms just now. I’ve been trying to get him to eat baby food for a sugar boost. Sometimes he will but not since yesterday. I’m also giving hard boiled egg but I didn’t see him eat any since yesterday.

I have some ACV. I’ll add it to his water later.

 

[coach723]

You still need to go over him thoroughly to look for any other wounds, punctures, scratches etc that may be hiding in feathers. Part the feathers and look inch by inch. If you find more then they need to be flushed out well, chlorhexidine is good, or diluted betadine. He may have been squeezed or shaken and may have some bruising that may look dark or greenish. Since it's been 2 or 3 days, make sure that no wounds have any bad odor coming from them, redness beyond what would be expected from the trauma, or discharge or pus, all signs of infection. Keep all wounds clean, and covered in the honey or other ointment so they stay moist. Don't cover with bandaging, they will heal better if left uncovered and the bandaging can actually hold bacteria in. If you see any signs of infection then I would get some amoxicillin and start that orally (fish mox or aqua mox can be gotten online without a prescription), 57 mg per pound of weight, twice a day for 5 to 7 days. Some feed stores carry injectable penicillin, you will need syringes for that. Many times wounds like this do fine without antibiotics, as long as infection is not present.