Help! A dog attacked my hen!

[cackleberrycam]

My hen, Ruby, just got attacked by a dog today. I do not know what to do besides clean out her wound. It is pretty deep. Help!!



Thank you!

 

[WindStep]

Hi I had a hen to have half of her breast pulled off so I put her in a box and I sprayed Vetericyn Wound and Infection care on it 2 times a day until it healed she is fine now.
I always keep in stock with this stuff don't know weather you have it or not.

 

[Farmer Pete]

I would say separate her from the rest of the flock, otherwise they will attack her too. I just had a chick get attacked the other day, and one person said put hydrogen peroxide on it. I did not have any to put on it but my chick seems to be doing fine. As long as you separate her from the flock she should be fine, chickens are hardy. However, try to keep her seperate from them but still in the same coop this way she will not become anti-social. If you completely separtae her the others may not accept her back once you bring her back out. Good Luck!!!! Keep us posted.

 

[cackleberrycam]

Thank you for posting!

Here is an Update: So we examined her wound and then poured water mixed with a little iodine over the wound. Then we moved her into the garage and built her a nice, snug home out of cardboard and we put a heat lamp in it to keep her warm. We got her calm and then started to sew her back together!

Here is a picture as we started to sew her up:



There was a muscle that was ripped in half that we sewed up and a huge piece of live skin was left on her so we were able to close up the entire wound with alcohol soaked thread and a needle. Then we covered it with an antibiotic ointment and gauze pads. It was a long process.

This is after we sewed her up!
Yea!


Is there anything else we should do?

 

[Sarevan]

Nice job stitching her up. I would keep an eye out for infection, swelling, or if the area becomes discolored may be starting an abcess infection from being closed up. You may need to cut a stitch to allow for drainage from inside the wound so infection does not start inside. Keep an eye on the stitches so they do not start tearing through the tissue, keep them clean diluted iodine solution but don't wet the thread if possible.

To keep her from messing with them use an infant tshirt to cover the area with her wings in the armholes to keep it in place. Or make a saddle to cover her up till it is healed up as chickens like to peck wounds even their own.

 

[WindStep]

she should be fine.

 

[cackleberrycam]

She is looking good! Here she is this morning:



Here is a better picture if her stiches:


Thanks All!

 

[Sarevan]

:cd. She looks nice and perky, you have to keep us posted on her recovery.

BTW what kind of thread and needle did you use? For stitches I thought of using dental floss, and read in forums where someone used hair from her horses tail. I have glovers needles that are very sharp, used for my leather projects. Have a needle for stitches but clumsy in using it with a clamp for stitches.

Good luck, may she heal swiftly and back to being herself soon.

 

[cackleberrycam]

. She looks nice and perky, you have to keep us posted on her recovery.

BTW what kind of thread and needle did you use? For stitches I thought of using dental floss, and read in forums where someone used hair from her horses tail. I have glovers needles that are very sharp, used for my leather projects. Have a needle for stitches but clumsy in using it with a clamp for stitches.

Good luck, may she heal swiftly and back to being herself soon.

We used a sewing thread and needle. We never thought of using floss but it sounds like a good idea! We dipped the needle and thread in alcohol to sanitize it before we used it.
Thanks!

 

[cackleberrycam]

The Update: So we went on vacation for three days- Yea, I know what you are thinking- Why the heck did they go on vacation and leave the hen alone by herself for 3 days!?!?! It was probably pretty stupid of us.

But when we came back she was still alive!!!

When I came home I found that she had laid two eggs, was scratching around, eating, drinking and preening! She looked great:




Everything looked alright except for the wound. It looked green. Is it dead tissue?? Is it infection?? What should we do? Thanks!

Here is a picture:



Can you see the green part??

Thanks all!