Hen has large wound on her back

[wsufans]

thank you Gander.

I did take her out of the dog crate today... she isn't walking around moving from her position to lay NOR eliminate I sat her on a towel while I cleaned out the crate and she didn't try to walk around nor run away.

She is drinking water vigorously. Her comb is still quite red.

I'm wondering if she has a broken leg or wing or nerve damage that's caused paralysis.... ???!?

This is the hardest part of pet/animal ownership by a long haul!

 

[gander007]

You need to really wait three days to see what is really going on
but if you suspect a broken leg or wing all you need to do is just
move each limb a little and you will have your answer but if she
is drinking water willingly she is good and needs rest for a couple
of days to really tell but it really sounds like she will make it but
keep her in a safe place and the dog carrier is great for this it
is the same thing I use when I have a problem like this make
sure food and water is available at all times and a little baby
chick medicated food would not heart .......
Waiting for a pet to heal is the hardest part .....

gander007

 

[4chickens3dogs]

I would let her be as much as possible & not worry about her not having much activity for now, which is hard as we want to do whatever we can to help them through it. Based on my experience, the first few days were pretty mellow with little activity. Drinking & eating even just a little is a great sign this early in the injury. Our hen's eliminating definitely slowed down a significant amount the first couple of days. It turned a little green later on which is when I added small amounts of buttermilk to her food. The trauma stresses their digestive system & the buttermilk supposedly helps with that. Seemed to work from my experience. Now it's just patience while she takes her time to heal. Keep us updated. Also for down the road, from my experience she may be really inactive/mellow when the feathers grow back in.

 

[wsufans]

Sorry if my constant updates get annoying but I really just want solid feedback in order to do what's best for her...

Today, the area of skin that was pink/red the day of the incident is now kind of a bluish gray... need I be worried? Or is that normal healing? We don't notice any foul odors other than a little poo.

We're trying to observe without bugging her too much. We are encouraging food but not forcing it, and she doesn't seem very hungry. She is drinking, eyes are alert, and comb/wattle still red.

I've only applied Neosporin, but do you think I should move on to Blue-Kote? And should we be bathing her daily? She is in the house so I don't think hypothermia will be a problem if we bathe her but at the same time I don't want to keep disturbing her either.

 

[gander007]

It sounds like she is being treated just fine and the wound color is correct
as the wound is healing so let her alone and let the wound heal on it's own
and this happens by letting it dry out, the Neosporin is good enough for
now ..... Keep the fly's away .....!!!!!!!!

If you have a animal feed store near by you might go over there and
ask them for a power used to heal small wounds on horses it is a
power and it will heal the wound right up in several days and it only
takes a little bit so do not try to smother the wound more like when
you are putting pepper on a hamburger if that helps ........

Waiting is the hardest part and this is all you need to do now .....
Now I only say this because I have been there enough times think of
it this way it is like hatching an egg all you can do is wait ......

gander007

 

[wsufans]

Thanks Gander for keeping me sane!

 

[wsufans]

So...
Today is the 7th day since our hen survived the dog attack but things aren't too much better. We think the abrasions are healing but it is so hard to tell...

..she is still eating (loves the plain yogurt!) but is unable to stand. She spreads her wings and gets semi-upright but thus far has been unable to stand and has not taken a step yet. The toes on her right leg are not spread apart; they're side-by-side and the left leg is not much better.

Due to the temps being around Zero Degrees here we have kept her in the house instead of the garage or shop. We do clean out the dog crate each day but the other day she "squawcked" at me a fair amount while I was moving her; I assume she is either totally frightened or in pain or both.

any advice as to what you'd do at this point?
THANKS

 

[ilovethechickns]

Hi! I'm just dealing with a recent dog attack on all 4 of my hens plus my rooster. They are in dog crates in the house and I'm doing a lot of reading on these forums about treating their wounds. There are already lots of threads going with replies, so I suggest searching "dog bite" etc. on this site and you'll see what I mean. TONS of good information, very practical stuff - stuff that will leave you feeling relieved and hopeful!

Take heart! 7 days since the attack isn't very long. Chicken injuries can take a long time to heal, and dog bites can be filled with a lot of bacteria and can be infected and especially tenacious. But they sell this antibiotic powder at UFA (farm supply store where I live in Canada) called "Super Booster" by Vetoquinol - you just mix a tiny bit in their water. It's inexpensive and I recommend it. Also we always use Dermagel for our dogs and it's good for horses too, and humans...so we are trying it on the chickens. It's a miracle gel, I swear.

Still researching. I will share what I learn on this site. You can also email me at [email protected] if you like! I'd be happy to brainstorm with you. The thing I wish I had was a painkiller for chickens! Let me know if you find anything out!!

Thanks and best wishes,
Krista

p.s. I *just* scrolled up and read the whole thread! Oops! Seems I may have interrupted a perfectly fine conversation.
Good advice all around!!
Cheers.
p.s. #2 KEEP THE UPDATES COMING PLEASE!

Farm Capers is my blog - tends to be mostly about my chickens and my learning curve!

 

[wsufans]

Well! Two weeks in and she is improving! We moved her from the house (where we kept her when temps hovered around 0 degrees F) to the shop (now that temps are in the 20s and 30s) with a heat lamp as well as daytime "white light".

She's increasingly mobile and she has feathers coming in. Husband took her out to "see" the other birds on Sunday but kept a fence between them. They seemed curious, ignoring the grain he threw in order to come over and say "hi" to their injured friend.

My son took her back out to them yesterday but didn't keep a fence between and she got pecked once... advised him not to do that again for quite awhile.

And while her mobility isn't what it was, she is getting around and that gives us so much hope.

Thanks everyone for their encouragement. She might get through this yet.

 

[4chickens3dogs]

Great to hear! On Sunday, our chicken laid her 1st egg since attack that occurred on Oct 24. And gave us another one Monday & today! I'd say she's fully recovered. Keep up the good work, it will pay off!