Help please! My hen has a large hole under vent, no signs of flystrike.

[SmiYa0126]

Thank you so much! It could be rats, we’ve have one of the worst years this year. I do have some fishmox, how do I know how much to give her?

@Chicksofthepines for fish mox, I would do 250mg twice a day for at least a week. Offer her yogurt to keep her gut flora in check.

 

[azygous]

Thank you @SmiYa0126 for the dosage info. You can pop the whole 250mg into her beak at once or divide it into two doses 10 to 12 hours apart. If you're busy like most of us, the one 250mg dose will do the job. Do it for ten to fourteen days.

I agree that special high protein feedings would help. Egg, tofu, mackerel, tuna, sauteed rat, etc. (Kidding about the last one, sort of.) This can help her immune system.

Have you heard of roller bucket traps? They are easy to set up, no maintenance, and can catch multiple rats a night. The bucket is filled with about four to six inches of water and they drown. Makes disposal easy. Roller is available on Amazon for about $10.

 

[Chicksofthepines]

@Chicksofthepines for fish mox, I would do 250mg twice a day for at least a week. Offer her yogurt to keep her gut flora in church.

Thank you!

 

[Chicksofthepines]

Thank you @SmiYa0126 for the dosage info. You can pop the whole 250mg into her beak at once or divide it into two doses 10 to 12 hours apart. If you're busy like most of us, the one 250mg dose will do the job. Do it for ten to fourteen days.

I agree that special high protein feedings would help. Egg, tofu, mackerel, tuna, sauteed rat, etc. (Kidding about the last one, sort of.) This can help her immune system.

Have you heard of roller bucket traps? They are easy to set up, no maintenance, and can catch multiple rats a night. The bucket is filled with about four to six inches of water and they drown. Makes disposal easy. Roller is available on Amazon for about $10.

We fought all spring and most of the summer with traps but they’re too smart. I would keep moving them but I was catching one every three days if I was lucky and seeing dozens when I went out at night. We finally broke down and bought poison a few weeks ago and now it’s silent when I go out there at night. I knew they would nibble on toes but this is so awful.

 

[azygous]

Try the bucket traps. They are completely safe around chickens, no spring traps to hurt them, no poison to get into. You can neglect these bucket traps and they still go on working. You bait the roller with peanut butter and supply a stick so the rats and mice can climb up onto the rim. Cheaper and more effective than anything else I've used.

My chickens steal the peanut butter off the rollers so I need to re-butter them often. That's about the only hassle.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yesterday I soaked her again and as the blackness started to soften I noticed there was fecal matter in it (seemed to be coming from the wound). After today’s soak I took these photos because I can’t figure out what I’m seeing in the wound.

Good advice/suggestions from everyone.
Sounds like you are doing what you can. I agree, giving the antibiotic is a good idea.

The most concerning thing to me, is you notice fecal matter- is it still coming from the wound?
Is she pooping from the vent at all?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

@azygous, @Wyorp Rock, does this look like a fistula to you? I agree with the treatment options that have been suggested, but should the wound be flushed daily or perhaps more often, if it's filling with fecal matter? Or maybe, once thoroughly cleansed, maybe it should be packed with antibiotic-saturated gauze for a few days?

 

[azygous]

You are better able than we are to observe closely what is going on and to use your judgement as to what your final treatment plan will be after hearing our suggestions.

 

[SmiYa0126]

@azygous, @Wyorp Rock, does this look like a fistula to you? I agree with the treatment options that have been suggested, but should the wound be flushed daily or perhaps more often, if it's filling with fecal matter? Or maybe, once thoroughly cleansed, maybe it should be packed with antibiotic-saturated gauze for a few days?

I was thinking something along those lines, should all the dead tissue be removed so that the healthy has the opportunity to grow? Should she do antibiotics first to bring down infection ? Will then hen take the dead tissue off? Will it grow regardless? Will the dead tissue fall off by itself. Underneath the vent is an empty cavity... So many things to consider.

 

[Chicksofthepines]

I wasn’t sure about the fecal matter in the wound until this morning. After her soak I let her wander around the yard a little to scratch and peck and be a chicken. She tried to jump up on a golf cart and didn’t quite make it. That caused her wound to hit against the golf cart and it EXPLODED with fecal matter. Now the middle of the wound has a constant leak of feces. She has been pooping from her vent but it’s clear mucus with yellow solids in it. Maybe that’s coming from her reproductive tract but she drops it as she’s walking around, just like it was poop.

I gave her the fishmox on some sardines and she ate it up. When I went out this afternoon she was standing over the food dish eating, which I haven’t been seeing.

Now, because her intestines are compromised does that mean she’ll not be able to recover? I’m happy to fight for her but I don’t want her to go through all of the treatments only to lose in the end. It just seems pretty terminal to me.