HELP!!! Dog attack, oozy and very smelly

[casunbum]

We came home last friday to what I thought was a dead chicken. My beautiful Excheqeur Leghorn hen I call Bonita was outside the coop and had obviously been tormented by our two dogs. With feathers everywhere, and my dogs pecked at guilty bloody faces the story was pretty clear. After looking at her better, I realised she was still breathing.. and lo and behold I couldn't even find any wounds on her. She was very raw from feathers being torn out, and she was obviously in shock, but she seemed to be ok. I set her in a tub with fresh shavings, scrambled eggs, starter feed and some vitamin water. I left her in a quiet dark place for the night and was quite relieved that she was going to be ok.
The next day, she still wasn't herself but I thought she was ok, just thought she was was going to be extremely sore from fighting for her life. I let her back in the chicken run with her friends to avoid the re-initiation later on if I kept her seperate, and thought the company would do her some good. Well..... it didn't. The hen that is at the bottom of the totum pole took advantage of her weakness and let her have it. Her back was all pecked at and I could now see her muscle on her back because her skin was torn open in a couple places. This poor hen!!!!!!!!! I took her back in the house and cleaned her wounds really well with betadine and then sprayed blukote all over them. . . secluded her and waited for her to recover.
Well... she's not recovering. She has an awful stench to her, her wounds are oozing. I found spots on her that are completely exposed now, that I swear were not that way when I initially inspected her. It's obvious she's infected.. and bad. It seems like it is eating away her flesh. None of the feed stores around here sell an antibiotic for chickens, so i bought the antibiotic chicken feed with hopes that would help along with the continual cleaning of her wounds.
Now she's not eating, and can barely hobble if I set her up to walk. She is still drinking, but she looks terrible, and smells even worse. I love her, but I just do not have the money to spend at the vet. I feel like the only humane thing to do at this point is put her out of her misery.. but I don't know exactly what is best. Please help.

 

[smith88]

Sounds (and smells) like gangrene to me. Hard to say what the best thing to do is. The hen will require some serious TLC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangrene

(Link has pictures, kind of graphic)

 

[leadwolf1]

I am so sorry. Medicated feed is not an antibiotic. It is a thiamine blocker only meant to help stop coccidia infections. Your poor chicken needs to see a vet for some strong meds. It may be too late and the kind thing to do would be to put her out of her misery. If you would like to try and save her, you can find all kinds of antibiotics on the internet. I'm afraid with shipping it would be too late for your hen. You don't have a vet or any kind of Tractor Supply around where you are? You need to get her strong antibiotics if she even is going to have a chance.

 

[Sylvestor12]

If you want to kill her shooting her in the head will be the best. If you want to try to save her put antiseptic on her like hydrogen peroxide. I wouldn't use blu-cote because some have said it may hurt chickens. If a hen is hurt, never put them with other chickens. Since the cuts are that bad I'd try to find a dressing for wounds. For your dogs, I'd either keep them in a pen or discipline them by shock collars or something. I hope everything will turn out ok.

 

[FeelingStupid]

Call up your local feed stores and talk to their chicken guys. Be prepared that some may not understand an attachment to one chicken. But if you can find a sympathetic one he may be able to talk you through what to do. They may have antibiotics that you can buy without a prescription. Failing that, or in addition, see if there are other chicken breeders nearby who might have antibiotics on hand and have experience. You can always send out an SOS on Craigslist if you have it in your area. You can put it under the "Farm and Garden" section.

So sorry to hear about her. I looked them up and they are a stunningly beautiful bird.

When this is over and you have the time, please upload about what may have happened with the dogs. You can send this to me privately if you prefer. Were they seemingly "chicken safe" before or was this one of the few times they had been left out with the girls? As a backyard chicken owner with a dog, and a trainer, I am always learning from each person's experiences.

Good luck with Bonita.

 

[FeelingStupid]

Here is some advice from the Net below:


How to Treat Cuts and Wounds in Chickens

By Kimberly Willis and Rob Ludlow
3 of 12 in Series: The Essentials of Tending a Sick or Injured Chicken

If you find a bleeding chicken in your coop, or if you suspect a chicken’s skin has been cut or torn, it’s important to treat the bird quickly. Chicken skin is thin and tears easily, and bleeding wounds are very attractive to other chickens. Whether the chicken caught on something or was attacked by a predator, skin injuries need immediate attention.

1. For shallow wounds, wash the area with hot water and soap and gently pat dry, or clean the wound with hydrogen peroxide.
   If the wound continues to bleed, use styptic powder or pressure to stop it.
2. Flush the wounds with hydrogen peroxide, iodine, or betadine.
3. Place the chicken in a clean, separate area and check the wounds for infection several times a day.
4. If infection sets in, clean the wounds two to three times daily.
5. If the chicken can’t reach the area with its beak and the weather is warm, apply a wound dressing to prevent flies from laying eggs on the wound.

The outlook isn’t very good with deep punctures caused by animals. Keep the chicken warm and quiet to prevent shock. If the chicken is very valuable to you, take it to a veterinarian as soon as possible.​

**************Me again: I hadn't thought about the fly egg problem. Be careful that wound dressings, if you buy some are the non-stick kind. Some are much gentler than others to take off. You don't want to be pulling off tissue with the bandage (learned that taking care of my MIL when she had serious skin tears). I'm also thinking that a vet would irrigate (flush) the area very thoroughly each time before treating her with betadine or whatever. A strong jet of water (being careful to not make it too strong and cause more trauma) is necessary to flood out the infection. You might try using a turkey baster or something similar for the flushing. Hopefully you can keep her hydrated too.​

 

[FeelingStupid]

Well, heck , can't believe my pasting of that article lead to weird eyeball looking things being pasted over the rest of my comments. Sorry!

What I added was to follow what most vets would do- irrigate (flush) the area well several times a day before applying betadine (in liquid form) and keep her hydrated.

 

[rungirl]

You need to clean the rotten flesh and infection out of those wounds. Forget the blucote, that stuff makes a mess and you can't see the infection. My vet told me to just wash the wounds with dish soap and water and do it a couple times a day. You can use the garden hose even, to flush it out, but you need keep cleaning it. Don't let the flies get to it or you'll have maggots in it too. It's OK if it's open, don't stitch the skin closed. The wound will need to drain as it heals. Keep her separated from the flock so she can heal without getting picked on.

You could give her a shot of penicillin also. You can use Pen G Procaine (Pen G) from the farm store. Use a 22 gauge needle and and a 3 cc syringe. Give her 1/4 cc in the breast. Make sure it's in the muscle, not a vein. Do it for a few days. Chickens are very resilient but if she doesn't turn around after all that, then I would put her down.

Good luck.

Lisa

 

[FeelingStupid]

Casenbum, Any update on how Bonita is doing and how you are treating her? I called up a friend who has a remarkable track record at keeping wounded critters alive. She said what has worked for her is to flush with Nolvascan (sp?) - can get at feed store- several times a day and spray with the "purple stuff" that is used for horse wounds. She didn't recall the name but you can check at the feed store- very common product. Keep her warm and make sure that rats can't get to her into her box or cage, even in the house. (We live in the tropics and have very wily (though very cute in their own way), rats). She did this with a dog mauled hen, as well as her tortoises when they had wounds.

While I feel so badly for you and Bonita, I am glad to see the sound advice offered here for those of us who may need it in the future.

Aloha,
Sue

3 spoiled Silkie hens, 1 wild Red-Earded Slider who threw herself in our pond and loves Spam, tons of little fishes, koi (who fight off the turtle for the Spam), , Latte Bunny (an opinionated mixed mini-Rex) and 1 smarter than me Border Collie who loves to weave

 

[casunbum]

Thanks for all the support and helpfull info, but Bonita passed away not long after posting. It was a very traumatic experience.. but glad she is out of her misery now.