HELP- i think my chicken's back was ripped off

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You've received lots of good advice for taking care of the wound, I just wanted to share this link, with pictures of a fairly serious wound throughout the healing process, which may help you as you go along to kind of know what it's going to look like. Yours looks deeper, with some muscle damage, but I don't think it's hopeless. If she takes a turn for the worse you can always deal with that then. Best of luck! They often recover from some pretty awful wounds as long as you can keep infection at bay. http://richie-cunningham.com/2012/04/11/chicken-wound-healing-process/
 
yes, i saw that last night while waiting for my sister and looking up what to do in general. i believe hers are much worse. she's eating and drinking tho, and is responsive/talking to us. i'll put up another post about what's happened so far.


coach723 said:
You've received lots of good advice for taking care of the wound, I just wanted to share this link, with pictures of a fairly serious wound throughout the healing process, which may help you as you go along to kind of know what it's going to look like. Yours looks deeper, with some muscle damage, but I don't think it's hopeless. If she takes a turn for the worse you can always deal with that then. Best of luck! They often recover from some pretty awful wounds as long as you can keep infection at bay. http://richie-cunningham.com/2012/04/11/chicken-wound-healing-process/
Click to expand...
 
thank you everyone for your help, advice, encouragement. i'm hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. i am a realist and pretty practical.

so we picked up more ointment, EMT gel, baby aspirin, pee pads and some saline. i wetted down the gauze to gently remove it, drowned her back with saline and tried to assess some more. i had my husband snap the pic while i held her wings out- she's got damage under her right wing too. she can hold both her wings in the correct position. i sprayed her with veteracyn, then put the neosporin on gauze and then had my husband squirt some more in that really icky spot under/behind her wing.

i tried to find an oral antibiotic because i am NOT comfortable giving shots. i'm just not. we do have a vet here who may be able to help me- he's semi-retired tho, but i've taken one of my chickens to him when a ladder fell on her and she broke her wing. he does do birds...so if she's still alive by tuesday, i'll get her in to him so he can help me with any antibiotics or deep wound care.
oh, and i didn't find any oral antibiotics at TSC.

@Latestarter, I'm not sure when to use the EMT gel?

anyway, i gave her half an 81mg aspirin and electrolytes via syringe, then put it in her water bowl, and gave her some layer crumble. apparently this was a big deal to her because she ate a little crumble, then started to fall asleep- standing. but we hung out with her talking to her, and my husband played some guitar quietly, and we sang to her, lol. she liked that. eventually she laid down, then after about a half hour or so, she got up and began drinking and eating again. then we gave her some quiet time.

the pic- the top is her neck and the bottom is her tail end. i didn't see anything on the belly- i think all the damage is on the back. and yes, i believe that is bone? this is way beyond my expertise (which is none) alone.

wound2.jpg
 
It looks bad, but chickens will surprise you and recover from some pretty awful injuries. I think giving her some music is a splendid idea. As long as your little patient is still being vocal, it's a good sign. Very sick chickens go completely mute.

Due to the large area of damage, she could use a little bit of a heat lamp, just enough to provide a spot of around 90F as she'll lose body heat through that open wound.

She'll also need fluids more often than normal since she will dehydrate through the open wound. Electrolytes are a good idea, too.

If you can't find antibiotics anywhere else, here's where I get mine. https://www.kvsupply.com/Search.aspx?query=Fish-Pen 250mg 60ct They process the order extremely fast and you'll get it within a day or two.
 
I had to laugh, sorry - no, fish antibiotics are no different than what we take. They will be in pill form and the proper dosage is 250mg just as they come. You will either pop one 250mg pill onto her tongue each morning, or cut it in half and give her 125mg twice a day. You will want to do it for ten full days.

Here's video on how to do it. You only need to get the pill onto the tongue and the chicken will automatically swallow it.
 

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