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

[Hivoltage]

Blu-kote HURTS! Don't put that on.

They do have a neosporin without pain relief that comes in a spray thing.
I actually have a spray solution that is mostly water, but it's baby toy cleaner, kills germs but baby mouthing safe, that I use on chicken wounds.

I have never had a chicken act like Blu-Kote hurts...ever!

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

I have never had a chicken act like Blu-Kote hurts...ever!

Same. I used it on my rescued Cornish cross after she got picked real bad and it did wonders.

 

[khemo]

again, thanks for the concerns and advice.
i called the vet this morning to see if he had any special messages on his machine that maybe he's taking the holiday week off, and it sounds like he's open tomorrow. so i am taking her to him. i'm just going to go as a walk in emergency.
i need his help in looking for all manner of injury and any meds she could have. i just can't bring myself to move her around and cause any more pain or problems. that's what the experts get paid to do.

she is eating well. i fed her thawed peas and corn and some egg yolk/whites this morning (we had fried today on corn beef hash- the rest of the week will be scrambled) and she ate that in no time flat.
she's still talking to us; she did peck at something overnight as i found a downy feather stuck to her beak and a gauze piece was moved, but not off. i keep 3 lids on the box closed for her to keep her quiet in the cage, but i think she thinks she's ready to come out in the world as she prefers the box to stay open.

and yes, i am well aware of "making the decision" as i have had animals all my life and have dealt with cats, dogs, and horses-especially these last 3 years- but she seems determined. she will let me know.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

Just a tip from flushing awkward horse leg wounds. I use an empty well washed pop bottle, drill a small hole or holes in the cap depending on how much pressure you want, and use that to irrigate wounds. You get a nice slow steady wash, really gets them cleaned well.

 

[azygous]

It's extremely encouraging your little patient is alert and vocal. That's an indication she's strong and fighting. If an infection were to take hold, you would see her go mute, no appetite, and she would go "droopy" and not move around.

If you can afford a vet, by all means have the hen checked out and the wounds treated, but chickens survive for most of us without vet care since most vets don't see chickens. As long as a serious wound is flushed daily with saline or soapy water (and rinsed), any bacteria that has accumulated on the wound over a 24 hour period is flushed away, preventing infection form taking hold. If you have a vet assume the patient care for treating this chicken, it's likely to end up being a pretty expensive chicken.

There really is no magic or technical process involved in wound care. It all involves two things : flush the wound daily and keep it moist while it heals. Your chicken will do the rest.

 

[LoveChooks9000]

I'm very happy to hear you are taking her to the vet. More people should do the same. I find it odd that so many people have pet birds and claim to "love" them, but think that a vet visit is out of the question. If it was their dog that had it's back ripped off, they would darn well FIND a vet right then, come hell or high water, public holiday or not. Every person who owns any sort of bird, unless they are just flocks of birds that they don't actually 'care' about, should make themselves aware of a vet who can help them when needed. I can't imagine that avian vets are impossible to find in the US. They certainly aren't impossible to find here in Aust., although you have to make the effort to actually look for one, which is very easy with the advent of the internet.
That said, it is absolutely lovely of everyone on here to give all the help and support they can, and I help when I believe a situation is reasonable, but the reality is that, as you said from the start, you didn't even know what you were looking at as far as this wound was concerned, and only a proper examination by a vet can show whether she has puncture wounds and who knows what else that can't be easily seen. Just as an example, the horrendous bruising and internal damage inside what can look like a simple dog bite on an animal is something you don't want to see.
Anyway, well done on deciding to be a responsible pet owner and taking her to the vet.

If you can afford a vet, by all means have the hen checked out and the wounds treated, but chickens survive for most of us without vet care since most vets don't see chickens. As long as a serious wound is flushed daily with saline or soapy water (and rinsed), any bacteria that has accumulated on the wound over a 24 hour period is flushed away, preventing infection form taking hold. If you have a vet assume the patient care for treating this chicken, it's likely to end up being a pretty expensive chicken.

There really is no magic or technical process involved in wound care. It all involves two things : flush the wound daily and keep it moist while it heals. Your chicken will do the rest.

I have a different opinion about a few things in this post.
"If you can afford a vet, by all means have the hen checked out and the wounds treated, ..."
Honestly, if you can't afford a vet (especially in an emergency), you can't afford a pet - any pet. If you have a pet and can't afford a vet, you need to be willing to euthanize a pet quickly and painlessly in the event of serious injury or illness. Keeping a suffering animal alive is cruelty, plain and simple.
"...chickens survive for most of us without vet care since most vets don't see chickens."
Very much a matter of opinion, and I don't believe it to be true at all. You only have to look at the number of people posting about how many chooks they have that die, to see that a vet would come in very handy. As for not many vets seeing chickens, avian vets are around if people could be bothered to look for them.
"As long as a serious wound is flushed daily with saline or soapy water (and rinsed), any bacteria that has accumulated on the wound over a 24 hour period is flushed away, preventing infection form taking hold."
This is incorrect. Infection is still likely to take hold with a serious wound.
"If you have a vet assume the patient care for treating this chicken, it's likely to end up being a pretty expensive chicken."
Most likely, and that's the price that responsible people pay for having pets and caring for them properly.
"There really is no magic or technical process involved in wound care. It all involves two things : flush the wound daily and keep it moist while it heals. Your chicken will do the rest."
Again, a matter of opinion. In a human patient, this chicken would be needing some serious skin grafts, not to mention the muscle and who knows what else has been ripped away, plus none of us can see what's gone on under the wound or if there are punctures, etc..
No personal offense to you at all, but I really wish that people would not make excuses for themselves and others not taking sick and wounded animals to the vet. The more people who make excuses, the more "normal" and "acceptable" this sort of behaviour becomes to others, who then do the same. It's not acceptable, end of story, and if more people would call others out on it, the less suffering we would see of innocent animals that depend on humans through no fault of their own.
I hope this chicken survives. After the amount of suffering it has already been through, it deserves to.

 

[azygous]

If there's one thing BYC enables chicken keepers to do, it's to have the self confidence to render first aid and other medical care to our flocks.

Many of us here in the USA can barely afford the exorbitant deductibles and co-pays in order to obtain medical care for ourselves, let alone pay the high fees many vets charge, especially in cities.

BYC is here to encourage folks to develop confidence in caring for the medical needs of their chickens, and that even though they may not have access to a vet that treats chickens or have the money to pay for one, their chickens can survive and thrive with the care they are entirely capable of rendering with the full support of this community.

 

[lazy gardener]

No personal offense to you at all, but I really wish that people would not make excuses for themselves and others not taking sick and wounded animals to the vet. The more people who make excuses, the more "normal" and "acceptable" this sort of behaviour becomes to others, who then do the same. It's not acceptable, end of story, and if more people would call others out on it, the less suffering we would see of innocent animals that depend on humans through no fault of their own.

If there's one thing BYC enables chicken keepers to do, it's to have the self confidence to render first aid and other medical care to our flocks.

Many of us here in the USA can barely afford the exorbitant deductibles and co-pays in order to obtain medical care for ourselves, let alone pay the high fees many vets charge, especially in cities.

BYC is here to encourage folks to develop confidence in caring for the medical needs of their chickens, and that even though they may not have access to a vet that treats chickens or have the money to pay for one, their chickens can survive and thrive with the care they are entirely capable of rendering with the full support of this community.

I would not choose to take any chicken to a vet. Yes, I enjoy their company. But, they are livestock in my yard. If I can't render appropriate care, and if in my assessment the animal is suffering more than I am willing to see her suffer, and if I can't expect a fairly reasonable time frame in her healing, then I will cull her. We all have our own husbandry methods. I will not call some one irresponsible with their money if they choose vet care for a hen who's been torn up, and I don't expect any one to call me irresponsible because I choose to cull such a hen.

 

[LoveChooks9000]

If there's one thing BYC enables chicken keepers to do, it's to have the self confidence to render first aid and other medical care to our flocks.

Many of us here in the USA can barely afford the exorbitant deductibles and co-pays in order to obtain medical care for ourselves, let alone pay the high fees many vets charge, especially in cities.

BYC is here to encourage folks to develop confidence in caring for the medical needs of their chickens, and that even though they may not have access to a vet that treats chickens or have the money to pay for one, their chickens can survive and thrive with the care they are entirely capable of rendering with the full support of this community.

Sorry, but first aid is one thing....major illnesses and major injuries are quite another. BYC is NOT here to replace vets. I see that BYC has many roles, and if people can help in minor first aid matters, that's great. I am happy to help in that way when I can as well.
I did not say I'm well off financially either, but I would never get pets if I didn't make it a priority to be sure that I could pay vets when necessary, so people in the US are no worse off than here. I can tell you that I never walk out the door of my avian vet without having paid a fair amount of money, but the fact is that I'm a responsible pet owner, and would never pretend that I know as much as a vet, especially with birds. (Anyone who actually takes their bird to an avian vet will know what I'm talking about). There is just no way an everyday person can do the tests, etc. that the vets do.
BYC is NOT here to encourage folks to develop confidence in caring for the "medical needs" of their chickens. Basic medical needs and first aid is fine, but anyone who comes here with a chicken that has it's back ripped off and expects to get expert advice is barking up the wrong tree.
Clearly, many chickens that people get advice about here do not "survive and thrive with the care they are entirely capable of rendering with the full support of this community", as many people get advice and their chickens die. It's obvious that some people here over-estimate their own knowledge and abilities. Offering help in minor and common health problems is one thing, but major injuries and serious illnesses are another matter.
As I said....there are no excuses for not taking seriously ill or seriously injured animals to the vet, simple as that.

 

[LoveChooks9000]

I would not choose to take any chicken to a vet. Yes, I enjoy their company. But, they are livestock in my yard. If I can't render appropriate care, and if in my assessment the animal is suffering more than I am willing to see her suffer, and if I can't expect a fairly reasonable time frame in her healing, then I will cull her. We all have our own husbandry methods. I will not call some one irresponsible with their money if they choose vet care for a hen who's been torn up, and I don't expect any one to call me irresponsible because I choose to cull such a hen.

Hi Lazy Gardener. You have just made the exact point I made in my first post. You don't claim to "love" your chickens and try to make them live when they are clearly suffering, knowing that you aren't going to take them to the vet no matter how much they suffer. You see them as livestock and you cull them rather than see them suffer. Amen to that. That is exactly what I said. I grew up with the lifestyle, and that is the point I'm making.
The only point where I can disagree with you is that I DO realise that people who allow animals to suffer but don't take them to the vet with a major illness or major injury are irresponsible. Sorry if people don't like to hear that, but they are. As I said before...if you can't afford vets, you can't afford pets, and I also said that if you DO have pets and need a vet but don't go to one, you need to be willing to cull the animal quickly and painlessly.