Help!!! No skin to suture after my hen was ripped under wing!!

[sourland]

Two roosters and two hens is a prescription for more damage to happen. Both roosters will try to breed the hen at the same time, and the damage occurs. Trimming toenails and spurs helps, but you need more hens and/or no roosters. Do not put the injured hen back into the flock until she is fully healed. You've done a good job. Your hen is healing nicely.

 

[Whitehouse Quail]

Ouch! I would say just clean w/ hydrogen peroxide, neosporin it and let it heal in isolation. THat's just my two cents!

 

[rhsf072]

Thanks for post so you think she will heal on her own and have renewed skin there? Or will I have to buy her a saddle for her to wear around the other hens and roosters to prevent future injuries. I have had nothing but cats and dogs here at the cabin no experience with all this I lost a duck last month she had a severe puncture under her wing and we don't know how long it was there infection set in and I found her in pen. Now looking back I wonder if the roos did that too? We just got the chickens and etc April they are our first and all special in their own right. I am picking up some more hens later this weekend some guineas coming too. I have two very aggressive roos and since their mating now would you say 10 - 12 hens. I have not had a problem with my roos fighting maybe that is because they were raised together since chicks. Keeping my fingers crossed there!!!!

Bertha is in my cabin with her skin exposed like that I don't want bugs, the other hen and roos irritatating her or making things any worse. I have been alternating using both peroxide and saline solution for 2 days. I have heard that neosporin can hold in infection so I am a little concerned about doing that. Have you heard this before?

 

[BarkerChickens]

Quote:
She will eventually heal it up completely as the skin will granulate inward until it is closed. It may take several weeks though. We've had hens that got tore up with a 4" diameter gash and it healed up completely. The saddles are to protect uninjured birds from getting hurt (and losing feathers). If you plan to keep both roos, I would look at another 14 hens in addition to what you have now. That way you have 8 hens per roo as a safer ratio. Your roos many not ever fight...it depends on personality too. Our roos didn't fight much. The one we have left is a great roo and never fights with the young'uns that come along. We have a 18 week old roo that is taller than her adult roo. Our adult roo just stands still with the a "look" in his eye and the younger roo turns around and walks off. I can't think of a time that our adult roo has gotten into a fight. He was the subordinate to our previous roo, but even then, they didn't get into spats. We've hatched roos for meat purposes and some of them were MEAN!! Your roos may be hormonal, but may do fine in a two-roo flock.

As for your duck, I am sorry to hear that you lost her. Should a wound get infected like that again, you can get antibiotics from a vet supply and some feed stores. I use Pen-G (injectable penicillin) and I know that I have heard of an even better antibiotic for similar injuries, but I can't think of what it is. I just remember that they didn't carry it here and the Pen-G did the job.

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote:
My Gretl was like that, but a 3 1/2 inch gash open more than an inch, with no way to pull it closed, with smaller wounds, ON BOTH SIDES!! Hansel was not the culprit, it was an interloper who got in. She crystallized closed beautifully and is as good as new. with feathers finally going in after about 2 months.

I slathered her in antibiotic ointment, taped gauze across the wide opening with paper medical tape, then wrapped her whole body in wide vet tape (the stretchy stuff that sticks to itself) and changed it daily to start. I changed it every other day after a week, then once a week for a couple of weeks, then it was closed!

The crusty scab will shrink over time, but it itches and they'll pick it off if you don't cover them completely as it crystallizes in.

Good luck!

 

[rhsf072]

I will def follow up on all the info Shelby thanks so much for your advice and concern a couple more things if you don't mind when I post on this forum do I post my return response with the PM or does that send you an email? I know on many websites you can view comments and post without starting over with new posts maybe I just need to familiarize myself with this website more. Will Bertha need a saddle when introduced to flock again thought I might as well pick it up since I am headed to my local farm/tractor supply tonight. I have about 10 hens coming later this week and some guineas think that is how you spell it.

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote:
If you want to respond privately, such as to just Shelby, PM or email will do- otherwise, you can find this same thread in your 'Show my posts' area- you'll see this link on the very bottom left of the page if you click on 'recent posts' at the top. You can then just revive this very thread for future commentary so it's one continuous conversation, including the original history. You can even edit the first post to update the topic title to include relevant new information, such as 'No skin to suture side injury update' or some such.

Excellent question, as I'm sure we all are interested in how your girl will be healing!

 

[rhsf072]

Thank you Renee and Shelby for all info I feel better already knowing it will heal completely with time and TLC what can I give her for pain? She pants a lot and moves radically sometimes I know it hurts her. I'm glad I found BYC today I will keep everyone updated on Bertha's recovery.

 

[SeaHen]

I feel like I've been posting this a lot lately, but I use hydrotherapy for just about all external injuries. I hold the wounded area under warm running tap water for several minutes and do this at least twice a day for however long it takes to heal. In between these treatments the wound can be covered with antibiotic ointment, bandages, etc. The first time I used hydrotherapy was when my Cocker Spaniel had her back ripped open lengthwise by another dog. The stitches fell out and the entire wound dehisced, so I put her in the bathtub under the running faucet several times a day for about two weeks. Her recovery was amazing! Then, about 5 years ago my filly tore her chest open on the neighbor's barbed wire fence when someone spooked her with a fire cracker. We were out of town and didn't find her till the next day; by that time the vet said it was too late to suture the wounds, so I sprayed them with water from the garden hose several times a day. She healed great too, and the scars aren't even visible now. Since then I've used the technique on chickens, ducks, kids, cats and goats, always with positive results. As a nurse I've also used modified versions of it on home-bound patients with serious decubitus/pressure ulcers (bed sores). What the combination of warm water and pressure does is mechanically debride the wound of necrotic tissue and debris while promoting healthy, fresh tissue to regrow. You should see the wound begin to fill in with granulation tissue and the diameter of it gradually become smaller. The goal is for it to heal from the inside out.

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote:
1/4 baby aspirin every 4-6 hours, until she isn't bleeding AT ALL- if she is done bleeding, you can give 1/2 every 4-6 hours. I stuffed it in a kernel of corn, but my girl just took it from me one day while I was fumbling to get it into corn, so it's easy sometimes.