Help! Dog Mauled Chicken! Badly Wounded

[Wyorp Rock]

One question I didn’t see answered: how to help a chicken sleep or at least rest well enough to heal.
And what are the signs that a chicken is no longer in shock?

I'm sure she's sleeping; she's just opening her eyes when she hears someone coming in. Chickens are like that

Alert, eating/drinking is usually a good sign they are no longer in shock.

Curiously pecking at instruments (tweezers, scissors) that were laid beside her is also a sign of alertness. Chickens peck at things out of curiosity and investigation.

I agree on all counts, leave the wounds open, no stitching, no covering, no gluing.
It's going to take time to heal, but if tended to as they are doing now, then very likely she'll heal up fine.

 

[AnyaTotoro]

Sounds good! Thank you so much!!! I appreciate all yalls input and help!

Also, I noticed today she wasn’t interested in drinking water… which concerns me. Before, when I put water directly in front of her face, and sometimes prodded her beak to touch water, she would start gulping it each time. But today, she completely refused water when I checked on her, and based on water level, I don’t think she really drank much on her own… I even tried with a oral syringe, but I wasn’t very successful. However, she is still loving food. I made her warm breakfast this morning with garage cold of mini wheat cereal, oatmeal, honey, fruit, mixed with some pellets and supplements, which she scarfed, as well as gobbled up feed. When I noticed water concern, I did turn her leftover breakfast into more of a soup, which made her intake some water, but any suggestions or ideas on why she suddenly not wanting water or how to get her to drink water without having to make her special soup…?

 

[Ursuline Chick]

@AnyaTotoro
We had a hen who lost most of the skin on her right thigh, as well as gashes in her rear area. She was so badly mauled at first I thought she was dead. When I realized she was in shock and alive, I almost put her down, due to the amount of damage. We decided to try to save her first. All of the wounded areas were cleaned, we placed her in a large plastic bin in the den with a towel on the bottom and a towel on the top of the bin.
She was given pediolyte (unflavored) and after 2 days of not eating we began giving her a layer pellet omelet every day with free choice layer pellets. We also keep her wounds covered in Neosporen at all times ( no pain relief, plain name brand Neosporen). I chose the name brand because the hen's body heat causes it to melt into all the gashes and such.
DH and I are both RNs and treated her like she was in ICU. We never let anything dry, kept all wounds covered in Neosporen at all Times. We interacted with her on a regular basis, often just re moving the top towel so she could see what we were doing and talking to her. Some times I would just sit and pet the back of her head and neck and she would purr.
It took months for all the skin to grow back and feathers to start growing in. Last week she went into a see no touch cage outside and today she reintegrated with the flock with us overseeing the procedure. Very little pecking, over all things went better than we thought they would. She is currently roosting with her flock mates, soundly asleep.

It is a long road, but I would keep giving her pediolyte, egg, and attention. Keep her clean, (change the bottom towel often) and all wounds moist with the Neosporin. She should heal just fine, Good Luck to you and your hen and please do not hesitate to ask if there are any questions I can answer, as I have just finished what you are just starting.


Our hen ate some of the Neosoprin when we put it on her, it did not hurt her at all to eat some.

Please let us know how things are going!

 

[AnyaTotoro]

Yeah I have been mixing unflavored pedialyte with water to keep her hydrated.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

Yeah I have been mixing unflavored pedialyte with water to keep her hydrated.

We used undiluted unflavored Pedialyte. I don't know if that made a difference or not.

 

[AnyaTotoro]

So she didn’t want water/pedialyte again today, so I caved and made her breakfast soup again with pedialyte water she didn’t drink, which she loved.

Here are updated photos… I’m a little worried on color and swelling of the flap on left, as well as swelling below large slice, which I don’t recall seeing but maybe I missed swelling yesterday since I had to trim feathers back more down below since meds were weeping on the feathers and making them gross, but please take a look.

Photo after cleaning but before neosporin

Photos after neosporin, including different angles of swelling.

Do I need to maybe start her on antibiotics for possible infection? Maybe that’s why she less interested in water?

 

[AnyaTotoro]

We used undiluted unflavored Pedialyte. I don't know if that made a difference or not.

I tried pure Pedialyte this morning and she didn’t want it. So I mixed some of it with her breakfast soup.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

I would continue to do what you have been doing. I would include putting a light smear of Neosporan on the exposed skin as well. Let her have free choice pediolyte and her regular food. But for the time being continue to feed the soup. If you have a kitchen scale you will want to weigh her to make sure she is not losing too much weight. If you don't have a scale you can get a rough idea by feeling her keel. (breast bone). Her muscle should be about even with the keel, ideally.
It sounds like you are doing everything you can, I have a feeling that if you continue and keep her clean, she will do fine. Just remember she is not going to heal overnight.

 

[AnyaTotoro]

I would continue to do what you have been doing. I would include putting a light smear of Neosporan on the exposed skin as well. Let her have free choice pediolyte and her regular food. But for the time being continue to feed the soup. If you have a kitchen scale you will want to weigh her to make sure she is not losing too much weight. If you don't have a scale you can get a rough idea by feeling her keel. (breast bone). Her muscle should be about even with the keel, ideally.
It sounds like you are doing everything you can, I have a feeling that if you continue and keep her clean, she will do fine. Just remember she is not going to heal overnight.

Yeah I smeared it all with neosporin since that should help kill any bacteria on surface, but worried with color and swelling that she may have infection starting inside down deeper…

 

[SmiYa0126]

Yeah I smeared it all with neosporin since that should help kill any bacteria on surface, but worried with color and swelling that she may have infection starting inside down deeper…

Does it smell bad? Is there any pus?