Hen bit by dog several days ago, infected wound? help!

[TalullaCat]

my hen got attacked by my dog this last tuesday. she has a tear in her skin on the stomach with most feathers missing from that area. only the skin was torn and no muscle was visibly damaged. i stitched the wound closed, applied neosporin and sent her back with the rest of her flock. i have been applying neosporin to the wound once every day. for the entire time since the attack she has been acting lethargic, still eating and drinking, but moving slowly or standing still. she only recently began sleeping on the perches again with the other hens. yesterday i went to care for the wound and i noticed a smell and some redness around the wound that makes me think that its probably infected. how can i solve this? the wound is on her stomach so there is a risk of dirt getting in it when she lays down.should i try and bandage it ? is there an over the counter oral antibiotic i should give her ? please advise. thanks in advance.

 

[50-45-1]

I think what you have done for her is right so far.
The only thing i would have done is put her in a separate pen for awhile. She is sore and may have some internal injuries. You would not want the other chickens pecking at her wounds either.
I would have also gotter her some electilite chicken vitamins stuff from the feed supply and made sure she had some, along with pleanty of fresh water and frre choice food. Someone else here may have recomendations for antibiotics. Good Luck!

 

[TalullaCat]

I think what you have done for her is right so far.
The only thing i would have done is put her in a separate pen for awhile. She is sore and may have some internal injuries. You would not want the other chickens pecking at her wounds either.
I would have also gotter her some electilite chicken vitamins stuff from the feed supply and made sure she had some, along with pleanty of fresh water and frre choice food. Someone else here may have recomendations for antibiotics. Good Luck!

i have some poultry vitamins with electrolytes that i got from a local farm and have been putting that in their water

 

[coach723]

Can you post some pictures of the wound? The problem with stitching wounds is that there is the risk of closing bacteria inside, so often it's better to leave them open. Pictures would help, but if it's infected I think I would go with an oral or injected antibiotic at this point. Can you describe the smell (I know that's gross). Also, have to ask, is vet care an option?

 

[TalullaCat]

here's the wound on her stomach and her standing in the run. the wound is shiny looking from the neosporin. it seems a swollen around the area of the wound, not soft and squishy like usual but sort of hard. is this to be expected or should i be concerned? if i were to give her oral antibiotics where would i find them. there is an avian hospital near me but i would like to avoid going unless it is absolutely necessary. on a more positive note she seems to be perking up a bit compared to a few days ago and is still eating and drinking a normal amount

 

[coach723]

Is the black I'm seeing what it is stitched with? I'm not sure what I'm seeing, and a bit concerned that some of the white/cream around what I think is the wound may be pus. Chicken pus is firm and thick, like hard cheese. If it is pus, I would be inclined to remove the stitches, flush it out really good with saline or diluted chlorhexidine, make sure all pus is removed, reapply the neosporin (leaving it open this time). And depending on what it looks like at that point probably give penicillin. Penicillin is injected into the breast muscle, and is not difficult to do. You can get it at feed stores or tractor supply over the counter, I will give you some links to how to do it. I'm also not clear on exactly where the wound is, near the tail or nearer to the breast. I would trim back any feathers that are around the wound to help keep them from getting in it to help keep it clean. I would probably also crate her with towels or puppy pads to help with keeping it clean, until it heals up enough that getting it dirty is not an issue. If any of those are uncomfortable for you, then vet care is probably your best option.
This is the penicillin, it comes in a smaller 100 ml bottle also: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/durvet-penicillin-injectable-500cc?rfk=1
Here are some links on giving injections:
See post #2, long but informative: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-do-i-administer-a-penicillin-shot-to-a-chicken.352701/
Scroll down to 'give injection' and 'treat with penicillin injection' :
https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry#chickens_shots
And last link, an article on the wound healing process for a wound, with pictures, which should help in knowing how things should look:
http://richie-cunningham.com/2012/04/11/chicken-wound-healing-process/

 

[TalullaCat]

Is the black I'm seeing what it is stitched with? I'm not sure what I'm seeing, and a bit concerned that some of the white/cream around what I think is the wound may be pus. Chicken pus is firm and thick, like hard cheese. If it is pus, I would be inclined to remove the stitches, flush it out really good with saline or diluted chlorhexidine, make sure all pus is removed, reapply the neosporin (leaving it open this time). And depending on what it looks like at that point probably give penicillin. Penicillin is injected into the breast muscle, and is not difficult to do. You can get it at feed stores or tractor supply over the counter, I will give you some links to how to do it. I'm also not clear on exactly where the wound is, near the tail or nearer to the breast. I would trim back any feathers that are around the wound to help keep them from getting in it to help keep it clean. I would probably also crate her with towels or puppy pads to help with keeping it clean, until it heals up enough that getting it dirty is not an issue. If any of those are uncomfortable for you, then vet care is probably your best option.
This is the penicillin, it comes in a smaller 100 ml bottle also: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/durvet-penicillin-injectable-500cc?rfk=1
Here are some links on giving injections:
See post #2, long but informative: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-do-i-administer-a-penicillin-shot-to-a-chicken.352701/
Scroll down to 'give injection' and 'treat with penicillin injection' :
https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry#chickens_shots
And last link, an article on the wound healing process for a wound, with pictures, which should help in knowing how things should look:
http://richie-cunningham.com/2012/04/11/chicken-wound-healing-process/

thanks for your advice, i just moved her into the garage in a large dog crate and will remove the stiches and see about the pus in a minute. there are several feed store in my are, i'll call around to see if any cary penicillin

 

[getaclue]

I don't like using saline solution to flush a wound. It burns, and causes more distress. Instead, I prefer Betadine solution, sold at any pharmacy, including Wal-Mart. It does a great job at disinfecting a wound, and does not burn.

 

[Beer can]

Betadine, and then EMT gel, Tractor supply has it. First aid kit in a tube. Stuff works wonders, will grow back skin where you wouldn't think would ever heal.

 

[TalullaCat]

here's what it looks like before flushing it with saline... it's not directly on top of the muscle but kind of raised since the tear is right near the breast bone