***First Aid Advice Please*** Open Wound Under Hen's Wing

[jnewman]

This morning, my husband found that one of our hens, Pippa, has an open wound under her left wing. The wound is about 1.5 inches diameter and right below it is a flap of skin that is showing some fat; so the wound is very much open. We are not really sure how this happened. It could be from one of the roosters mounting her or she might have gotten it caught on a nail from the coop. Either way, we can tell she is in some pain.

If anyone has any advice on what to do to help little Pippa heal, we could definitely use the help! We are tight financially, so going to a vet would be our last option for right now. This is our first issue we've had first-aid wise, so we are very clueless of what we can and can't use on her right now. She is separated from the others right now to keep her from hurting herself any further.

Advice for our little Pippa please!

 

[Eggcessive]

The wound looks like it is starting to scab over already. I would either use iodine on it or put some plain Neosporin, Bacitracin, or other ointment on it. BluKote wopuld also work. This wound should scab up well and fill in eventually, and feathers should grow back in. If you feel like you need to clean it first, betadine, hibiclens, or plain dish soap and water would work. Watch for infection or abscess, but these wounds will usually heal up. If flies are a problem, you may want to put Swat on it or keep her in the house while it heals because maggots are very dangerous.

 

[jnewman]

Thank you very much for the info! We will definitely try some of those things. Will that help the loose flap of skin reattach to the wound do you think? My husband mentioned something about maybe suturing it possibly because the fat/muscle under it is so susceptible to everything right now.