Gored by a possum

[aliris]

I have a 1.5 yo Rhode Island Red that was gored 5 days ago by a possum. She's good at hiding the wounds and my husband didn't notice how badly she is injured. Though I may have made her worse by trying to clean her up yesterday (when I returned from out of town).

Attached is a picture of the worst wound. It's hard to tell what's going on but it's straight into the inner of her body cavity. She's eating a bit but today I separated her from the flock and she's just been standing in a cardboard box all day. I put water on her beak which she laps out, and I've caught her taking a few sips on her own. She's eating a little but not a lot. I saw a watery-clear poop yesterday. And there's some in her box today. There's no smell and I don't see redness. Maybe just stay the course? Should I try to get antibiotic for her water? Or slather with some antibiotic ointment? I don't think the bathing I did for her yesterday was at all the right thing to do; I don't want to do that again unless necessary. Seems to me the less she moves the better. Any help or ideas to offer?

Thank you all!!

 

[My Bagurks]

I am not a vet or qualified to make animal-medical decisions. This will sound gross, but as long as she’s not leaking any fluids, slap antibiotic ointment on her. Get some electrolyte mix in her water. If she’s separated, get some antibiotic/medicated chick starter for her. It looks nasty and it may be too much for her to come back from. But I’ve seen that chickens are resilient.
The picture is of a day and a half old chick that the mom tried to kill. There is no skin covering his leg muscle at all. 3 days of medicated chick feed and neosporin on the wound and it healed up. He had a bald patch for a while, but feathers even grew where the wound was.

 

[Eggcessive]

A little chlorhexidene or Vetericyn sprayed on the wound, floowed by the plain Neosporin twice a day would be good to do.

 

[aliris]

What form is the chlorhexidine? Is it a liquid? spray? full-strength or diluted? Where do you purchase it? tia.

 

[Eggcessive]

You can Hibiclens in many drug stores, and that is 4% chlorhexidene , so it is mixed with half that much water. Or you can find 2% chlorhexidene in some drug or pet stores or online from Chewies or Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Durvet-B000HHSD8M-Chlorhexidine-Solution-fl/dp/B000HHSD8M

 

[aliris]

OMG I feel so much better reading that. I used that product yesterday, causing a setback I think and then I have been *terrified* on closer inspection of the solution as just 4%, that I used the wrong stuff and may be slowly killing the poor chicken.

We'll see. My ministrations certainly caused her misery. But after a day in chicken hospital (the bathroom then stair landing where there is lots of yummy sunlight) her voice got much stronger this evening and she used her wings (which she shouldn't do). It does seem such a severe wound it is hard to comprehend how she can survive. But, well, .... thanks for the news.

 

[Eggcessive]

Good luck. I hope she survives.

 

[aliris]

I think she's surviving!! Thank you all! fbow I followed suggestions here and washed her and the wounds. I think that set her back and opened the wounds, but I was able to clean them a bit and pack them with antibiotics. After that she was really knocked off her game and I stuck her in chicken hospital for a day (the bathroom in a box) where she slept and made mewling noises. Then around dusk she awakened and made it clear she was done with all this, went back with her flock mates and has slowly gotten stronger. She ran a bit yesterday and yowled quite a bit today. She's still under the weather but she does seem like for sure she's going to survive! It's been 9 days since the attack so... We've exported 3 possums since then (live-trap and removal to a nearby creek) and lots of squirrels. *sigh*.

Anyway, thanks all!

 

[Eggcessive]

So glad that your hen is doing much better, and survived. I hope that she continues to mend, and glad that she enjoys being back in the flock.