HELP!!! My chicken is injured and I don’t know what to do!!

[margaret1657]

So a couple of days ago when my family was on vacation and we had a pet sitter, 7 of my 25 chickens were killed in a chicken massacre and several of my chickens were attacked but still survived. One of my ISA browns in particular is very injured that I noticed when we got home today. She is super beaten up and lost a bunch of her feathers, and just on the top of her wing shoulder there is a puncture wound where you can see BONE!!! She seems to be walking around and acting normal but I fear that this could get infected and she could die. For me taking my birds to the vet is not an option, so is there anything at home that I should do to help the situation? Or would it be best to just leave it alone? in the picture of the puncture wound you can’t see the bone only because she was dust bathing, but believe me, before you could DEFINITELY see the bone!!!! Here are some pictures of her:

^^^what the puncture wound looks like. There IS still exposed bone despite the dirt

What she looks like in general now

 

[woodenfarm]

@aart
@Cyprus

 

[Cyprus]

Don't let her dust bathe. That will introduce bacteria.

Take her someplace clean and wash her wounds out thoroughly with warm water and soap.
Make sure to remove any foreign matrial.
Next, coat her open wounds with a painkiller free triple antibiotic. You can wrap her wound if you are putting her back in with other birds. If she is by herself then wrap it if you please.

If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

I would wait for one or more people to chime in before you do anything more than wash her wounds. I sometimes do not give the best advice and my methods of caring for injuries are sometimes different than methods preferred by others.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Flush her wound out with saline then spray some vetrycain on it. Put some antibiotic cream on it like non-medicated Neosporin. Wrap the wound first with gauze then Vet wrap which you can get at your local TSC store with the vetrycain too.

Edit: I would sperate her if possible.

 

[NoFlyBackFarm]

I just treated Bumblefoot and we used a triple antibiotic bream. Since it is on the wing, I would splint the wing, to keep the bone straight, and dress and wrap the wound. That is just me though wait for other opions and do this to:

Don't let her dust bathe. That will introduce bacteria.

Take her someplace clean and wash her wounds out thoroughly with warm water and soap.
Make sure to remove any foreign matrial.
Next, coat her open wounds with a painkiller free triple antibiotic. You can wrap her wound if you are putting her back in with other birds. If she is by herself then wrap it if you please.

If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

I would wait for one or more people to chime in before you do anything more than wash her wounds. I sometimes do not give the best advice and my methods of caring for injuries are sometimes different than methods preferred by others.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

@casportpony @azygous @Eggcessive Can y'all help?

 

[Eggcessive]

Since the wound is dirty, I would rinse it out with a kitchen sink sprayer gently to get the dirt out. Saline is fine to use for any repeated washing. Vetericyn is a good product to use to disinfect twice a day. Or you can use weak betadine water or chlorhexidene and water initially, and just clean it daily with saline or the Vetericyn. Plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment is very good to use twice a day to help heal and prevent infection.

Is she able to use her wings? Does the one appear broken? Having bone exposed presents a real risk for infection. Antibiotics may be a good thing. Is a vet possible tomorrow, so that you may get antibiotics and get help on the wing? I would keep her separated in a dog crate with food and water. She would be more comfortable with her flock.

Is the coop and run safe and predator free now? Were they attacked during the day, or did something get in at night into the coop?

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

I agree on the thorough cleaning. If you can get better pictures after that it could be helpful. Bone exposed isn’t good but better then broken and exposed. If you need to trim back some feathers so they stay out of the wound as well. If she can be separated but stay with the flock that is usually less stressful for the patient.

 

[margaret1657]

Since the wound is dirty, I would rinse it out with a kitchen sink sprayer gently to get the dirt out. Saline is fine to use for any repeated washing. Vetericyn is a good product to use to disinfect twice a day. Or you can use weak betadine water or chlorhexidene and water initially, and just clean it daily with saline or the Vetericyn. Plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment is very good to use twice a day to help heal and prevent infection.

Is she able to use her wings? Does the one appear broken? Having bone exposed presents a real risk for infection. Antibiotics may be a good thing. Is a vet possible tomorrow, so that you may get antibiotics and get help on the wing? I would keep her separated in a dog crate with food and water. She would be more comfortable with her flock.

Is the coop and run safe and predator free now? Were they attacked during the day, or did something get in at night into the coop?

She flaps her wings but has never really been able to fly since her wings have been torn up for years. It is luckily not broken and I did separate her, clean the wound, use antibiotic ointment, and wrap the wound. I hope she will be okay, sadly my dad doesn't allow me to take my chickens to the vet

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

Don’t feel bad about not being able to seek vet care. Most places it is very expensive and lots of vets don’t treat chickens. Even some that do admit to not really knowing what to do for them. Do the best you can. We all do for our feathered friends.