HELP! Dog bite - lots of skin tear! 3 inches of exposed muscle

[10-hens-in-Vermont]

I'm new to this forum and come here for some help! Our neighbor's dog got a big piece of chicken tonight. We are keeping her calm, and have irrigated the wound with saline as best we could. She doesn't seem terribly distressed. Thought about a visit to the doc, but the estimate is upwards of $600!!! So, can we treat her ourselves? What should we do? Is it more humane to put the chicken down? THANKS for your help!

 

[sharol]

A picture of the wound would help with the answer here.

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[Moabite]

That is totally your call, but unless there is internal bleeding, or a punctured lung, it would be worth while to see what happens, she might just pull through it fine. Chickens are a strange combination of tough and fragile. Good luck and

 

[Moabite]

I had to cull my favorite hen because a dog bite her. She was blowing bubbles out her back. Hatchet made it quick. Dog is now reformed and protects chickens, even help us herd them back to the coop.

 

[Urbanfarmerkc]

You will think I'm batty but seriously, I use honey on the wounds and skin ailments for all my chickens. It works. Got the idea while watching a documentary on Egypt pyramids being built. That is what the doctors used to treat wounds back then.

Dave

 

[vatterpa]

I say wait it out a bit. if its just skin, it may just grow back without a hitch. it she still bleeding?

 

[tnchickenut]

Ok, you can handle this... if you seen some wounds I have dealt with successfully you would feel better.....

First off, if you can clean the wound again and then pull the skin over and sow or glue it together it should heal up together again. In my cases I couldn't, so you would have a advantage over my cases already.

There is this stuff called "EMT" and I find it in my meds section of my TSC. You can call around. It's in a little toothpaste looking tube and package for sale in clear plastic. You put this on the wound... it has the consistancy of honey, but then dries hard like glue. It's anticeptic too.... good stuff to have.

I would start antibotics (tetracycline or oxytet) and follow the regiment (usually 7-10 days). By the 4 or 5th day, you should really see improvement.

Good luck... keep us posted!

 

[Daysiechicks]

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Definitely, wait it out! Mostly likely she will be just fine. My dog got to one of mine and it was pretty gruesome looking. I would have sworn that she wouldn't even make it through the night but she did and it's been 3 months and she's as good as new. The first 24 hrs I flushed her wound out with Hydrogen Peroxide and kept her in isolation for 48 hours. It only took her about a week to start acting like her old self again. I wish you the best of luck! It's never fun to have our girls hurt. They are tough little creatures though.

Let us know

 

[Daysiechicks]

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Hi Moabite, fellow Utahan here. Question for you, How did you reform your dog? I need some tips getting my dog under control. Thanks!

 

[charsbird]

How is she doing? Be sure to keep her separate so you can make sure she is eating and drinking on her own, and so her coop mates don't pick her to death. Can you post a pic of her wounds?