help - dog bite under wing

[hcostantino]

My birds flew the fence surrounding the garden this morning when the tractor mowed close to the area (I didn't know they could fly out -- never have before). Usually they roam the garden in the AM. Our dogs were out and unfortunately got a hold of two of the girls. The silkie is fine -- no punctures and is eating treats.

The other (a buff orphington, the biggest bird and usually #2 in the pecking order) looks as if she had the skin ripped back under her wing. It isn't bleeding profusely but is clearly very, very sore. I put everyone up in the coop and the other girls started to peck at her a little. She has her tail feathers down and is refusing treats. Usually she is the friendliest girl. I now have her inside, resting in a small dog crate with food, water, shavings and it is covered with a towel. Is there anything else I can do for my girl Lorna? I read a few posts about aspirin and such. Any advice welcome. They are pretty young -- born in May and haven't started laying yet but Lorna is full grown, a big girl.

 

[MsPoultry]

I had something very similar happen to one of my turkeys your hen probably doesn't want food like normal for a while because she is in shock.Keep her separated from any other bird so they don't peck her wound and keep it sterile she will most likely be fine if she doesn't get an infection.Try to let her calm down on her own and hopefully she'll be ok.Good luck I hope she gets better!

 

[awesome124]

You should clean the area with rubbing alcohol, then you should apply an anti microbial ointment to the area.

 

[hcostantino]

Thanks so much!

 

[Eggcessive]

Chlorhexadine (Hibiclens) or Betadine to clean it off, and antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin (plain) applied twice a day should help. Aspirin may cause bleeding. BluKote spray can be used to hide the wound to keep pecking down when she returns to the flock. I would cage her inside the coop to keep her part of her flock as soon as possible, as long as flies aren't bad.

 

[hcostantino]

Great advice everyone, thanks. My father-in-law is a vascular surgeon and brought a suture kit over. We cleaned her wound with Betadine and he gave her three stitches just to help pull the skin back together. Will continue Betadine and antibiotic ointment. Will keep her inside for today. Thanks again!

 

[mrsc1951]

That's one lucky chicken to have a surgeon in the family! I'm sure she will recover nicely. Like eggcessive says, use antibiotic cream WITHOUT pain medication.

 

[MsPoultry]

She sounds very well cared for and I bet will heal quickly!

 

[hcostantino]

happy to report that the wound is healing nicely and that Lorna is in the coop socializing and eating with her flock now! will continue to clean and treat sutures -- and make sure no one is pecking her. thanks for all of the help!

 

[Katrina113]

Thank you for posting this. We had an incident last night with one of our girls and one of our dogs (We think)

We did take her to an emergency vet, and came home with antibiotics and painkillers.

The information here was more helpful.

She has two puncture wounds, one on the shoulder, the other under the wing.

I have read that I need to trim the feathers from the wound. How close to the skin should I cut them?