*Graphic Picture* Massive wound on chick...any ideas?

[Mavrik]

While we all love our chickens and want to do everything to keep them around for us, it's better for the chicken to put it down. The poor thing will be in pain the whole time your waiting for it to heal and who knows if it will remain in pain after it's healed. If this was my chicken, I would send it to chicken heaven. Yes, hard task for us, but there is no pain in chicken heaven.

 

[Uniontown Poultry]

With open wounds that can't be sewn b/c of missing skin, I use sulfur powder (one of the least expensive, longest lasting topical antibiotics you can get - way old school), or something similar like Wonder Dust. Keep chickie warm and away from the others while the scar tissue forms (and it can take a long time, but it sounds like some of these supplements & treatments in this thread might work better than just sulfur). Her behavior and activity level will be your clue to how she's feeling & if she's in pain or not. Young birds tend to heal faster than older ones, for some reason. She'll never have feathers there, but the rest of her feathers will cover it. I had a hen that had her skin sliced off her side under her wing (an area almost as big as my hand) and when it finally healed (and she was NOT a nice hen, either!), you couldn't even tell that her side was naked scar tissue unless you picked her up (which she never allowed). Hopefully your chickie won't be an ingrate like mine was! Good Luck!

 

[BirdyMe]

Well, she probably didn't really have to stay inside that long, but I needed to make sure that the wound wouldn't tear open again if she moved quickly to get away from the boss hen or the roo, and I was worried that the hens might peck at her wound since there wasn't anything covering it and it was bright pink skin. She probably could have gone outside after a month, I was just worried that the rooster would injure her since she couldn't run very fast because of the wound. She's been my little buddy ever since then. She follows me around the yard and always wants to be petted. She really did turn into a pet. People would say, she's just a chicken just cull her, but everytime I watch my one breasted little hen grazing in the yard I know it was worth it.

I probably will keep Little Josie (she's been named! ) inside for at least a month then....and if she's closed up by then, move outside into her own pen, away from the roosters and old cranky hens. x) That is so wonderful that she survived it, and is a happy little lady now. Really encouraging to me too!

 

[BirdyMe]

While we all love our chickens and want to do everything to keep them around for us, it's better for the chicken to put it down. The poor thing will be in pain the whole time your waiting for it to heal and who knows if it will remain in pain after it's healed. If this was my chicken, I would send it to chicken heaven. Yes, hard task for us, but there is no pain in chicken heaven.

I agree....usually i do put the chicken down. I had a lovely frizzle once that had this same thing happen to him, but by the time i found him, he was already smelling really bad. We did put him down. It can be so hard!!

With open wounds that can't be sewn b/c of missing skin, I use sulfur powder (one of the least expensive, longest lasting topical antibiotics you can get - way old school), or something similar like Wonder Dust. Keep chickie warm and away from the others while the scar tissue forms (and it can take a long time, but it sounds like some of these supplements & treatments in this thread might work better than just sulfur). Her behavior and activity level will be your clue to how she's feeling & if she's in pain or not. Young birds tend to heal faster than older ones, for some reason. She'll never have feathers there, but the rest of her feathers will cover it. I had a hen that had her skin sliced off her side under her wing (an area almost as big as my hand) and when it finally healed (and she was NOT a nice hen, either!), you couldn't even tell that her side was naked scar tissue unless you picked her up (which she never allowed). Hopefully your chickie won't be an ingrate like mine was! Good Luck!

I will put sulfur powder on my list. Right now we are going back and forth from Vetericyn and neosporin, to aloe vera, to a mixture of oils that my soap-making-oil-and-herbal-genius mother mixed up for me. I'm getting the hint that she's not in much pain now...she's bouncing all around in her box, chirping to herself, sunbathing in the rays that come in through the window....she's happy as a lark! Thankfully the bandages keep her from moving around so much she hurts herself.

 

[NovaAman]

Sorry to read about your losses. Good that you got that bugger...


NOW, a little bit of an admonishment... DO NOT USE CHICKEN DEATH WIRE! A coon, a dog, a fox... they can all go through chicken wire. Spend the money and get hardware cloth. Dont just staple it in, use screws with washers and put it between frames. Bury it a foot into the ground, or get 12x12 walking pavers around the whole run to keep the diggers out. Coons can and will bite through chicken wire. And they don't just eat one as you have unfortunetly found out.

I am so glad that your little BR is going to make it. Don't be surprised though if she never grows feathers in that area. Poor baby. Good job taking care of her!

 

[BirdyMe]

Sorry to read about your losses. Good that you got that bugger...


NOW, a little bit of an admonishment... DO NOT USE CHICKEN DEATH WIRE! A coon, a dog, a fox... they can all go through chicken wire. Spend the money and get hardware cloth. Dont just staple it in, use screws with washers and put it between frames. Bury it a foot into the ground, or get 12x12 walking pavers around the whole run to keep the diggers out. Coons can and will bite through chicken wire. And they don't just eat one as you have unfortunetly found out.

I am so glad that your little BR is going to make it. Don't be surprised though if she never grows feathers in that area. Poor baby. Good job taking care of her!

You know what? "Chicken Death Wire" is an extremely appropriate name!! I'll be using that name from now on! I like the idea of using hardware cloth to repair my pen, although burying it might a problem because the pen is already set.....then again, I could just dig a trench and lay the wire down on the inside......you've got me thinking aloud now. But anyway, I won't be using chicken death wire on my pens anymore!

 

[BirdyMe]

I thought I'd share a few pictures I got of Josie a little while ago. I gave her a blueberry as a treat, and she loved it!

I need to get another picture of the wound- when we rebandaged her last night, we noticed that the wound is considerably smaller! The skin is coming back!

 

[theoldchick]

Bless her little heart. Just keeping her clean, hydrated, and well nourished will get her on the mend. When it comes to chicken wounds, if the intestines aren't hanging out, allowing them to heal is worth a try. So long as she is in good spirits and doing her thing, you are doing the right thing.

 

[NovaAman]

GRAPES!!! Give her split grapes. How my girls love grapes. Red, green, purple... LOVE THEM! And they have a lot of water in them. I always give them to my broody hens.

 

[MadHens]

She looks good! I'm the person who mentioned the link about skin growing back, and for the life of me, I can't find it. Sounds like you're doing a great job taking care of her!