Hen bit by dog -- to the vet or home care?

[SnootyHen]

Our puppies got out of the house when they weren't supposed to and got my Russian Orloff, Natasha. I was able to get her away but not before she lost a lot of feathers, most of her tail and some broken skin where feathers were ripped away. Natasha was shaken up but not as much as I would have expected. She let me hold her and inspect her right away. I cleaned and used Vetericyn but she was happy to walk and get a drink of water as if nothing happened. By the time I got both naughty puppies back in the house and all chickens accounted for (one flew into the neighbor's trees so that took a little time) I checked her again. She was roosting and got up there herself. I applied more vetericyn before bedtime and again this morning. There wasn't really a lot of blood. You can see in the picture I took about 10 minutes after it happened that there's broken skin but she didn't bleed more than what you see right on the surface, she's walking, flying, eating, drinking and while she hasn't laid yet today, she was in the nesting box when I last went out to check on her. Aside from being bald in several spots (and the poor thing was already molting so it looks even worse!) she seems okay. The location is under her wing so the others are not messing with it and it doesn't seem to be getting much in the way of dust since the wing protects it. Should I just keep up with the vetericyn or try to get her to the vet for stitches? The nearest vet that will see chickens is about a 45 minute drive and they book up fast so I don't even know if they'd be able to see me today. What say the pros? Home care or vet trip?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would treat her at home. Injuries sound like Vetericyn and plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment would take care of them. She sounds like she wasn’t badly injured. Look her over for any hidden puncture wounds all over and under wings, which could get infected if not seen. Squeezing by their jaws can cause problems, but if she is acting normally and walking, it sounds like she will survive.

 

[SnootyHen]

Thank you! She laid an egg today so I am hoping that means no internal damage. She's been playing with the others and getting on like nothing happened.