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.

 

[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/

 

[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?

 

[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.

 

[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

 

[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.

 

[coach723]

I would not use peroxide, it can damage healthy tissue and slow healing.
That's a much better picture. I would get some veterycin wound and skin spray and use that for cleaning as necessary, it will encourage healing. Neosporin is still fine to use. I've never used the EMT gel, but looks like that would be good also, similar to the veterycin. And I would trim back some of those feathers near the wound. Hope it starts looking better and she starts feeling better soon.

 

[TalullaCat]

I would not use peroxide, it can damage healthy tissue and slow healing.
That's a much better picture. I would get some veterycin wound and skin spray and use that for cleaning as necessary, it will encourage healing. Neosporin is still fine to use. I've never used the EMT gel, but looks like that would be good also, similar to the veterycin. And I would trim back some of those feathers near the wound. Hope it starts looking better and she starts feeling better soon.

the smell of the wound is still present after the saline flush. is that normal or does that mean i wasn't thorough enough? do you still recommend penicillin in case it is infected? or should i just continue with the neosporin and possibly vetericyn? the laws in my area prevent feed store from selling antibiotics. if i really need it i would have to go to a vet.

 

[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!

 

[coach723]

If it smells bad then I have to assume it's infected. If you cannot get the penicillin then you can try amoxicillin which you can get as a fish antibiotic, and I'm hoping you still have access to those. Dose is 57mg per pound of weight 2 times a day for 5 to 7 days and I would go with 7 days here, I mix it with about 1.5 ml of distilled water (empty the capsule into a small bowl) and a bit of nutridrench for taste. So for simplicity's sake a 5 pound bird would get the whole 250 mg capsule (the capsules also come 500 mg if you want larger). Give with an oral syringe 1/2 ml at a time and let her swallow, until all is given, to help prevent aspiration. The particles are large and tend to settle, so I try to get them to settle to the tip of the syringe, and have a bit of water ready to mix in the syringe and shake up at the end if any particles are left, so you get as much out of the syringe and into her as possible. I've heard others say they make a paste and put it in bread and feed the bread in small bits til its all taken. I usually do it orally with the syringe. I always follow up after treatment with a probiotic, as this may cause some digestive upset.
You can get it here if you can't get it locally : http://www.allivet.com/p-2377-fish-...hM4081kU04Y5KrpgKiLtUctyrsiTxi-RoCvOcQAvD_BwE
Looks like this: