Hen has nasty wound probably from rooster's spur

[talkinboutchickens]

Hello,
today I noticed my EE hen, Flo, pecking at a wound that is underneath her wing. She is very fast and skittish but managed to catch her, and investigated her wound. I can't tell how old the wound is but it looks like a hole in her side. No bugs got to it yet. And I'm glad that it's under her wing, because the other chickens can't see it and peck at it. It seems pretty deep and I know that chickens are good at hiding injuries and illnesses but she was hiding it really really good. There were absolutely no changes in her behavior or anything.
I couldn't find the Vetricyn but used hydrogen peroxide instead, it bubbled up a lot. Then I applied Hen Healer. A lot of her back is bare and I came to the conclusion that maybe one of my roos slipped off of her while mating and his spur stabbed into her side? The weird thing is that coincidentally, one of my other hens named Opal who's back is completely bare has the same issue going on. I saw her preening under her wing and saw a dark spot under there which I think is a wound as well, tomorrow I'm gonna treat her as well. One of my rooster's spurs (both spurs) are very long and pointy, I was thinking about how trimming them and using a Dremel, does anyone know how to go about doing that and how far to cut?
As for the wound, I think I know what to do for this kind of thing, I was just wondering if I'm doing it right and if I should dress the wound with something extra? Is this something I can treat at home or will I need to bring her to the vet to get stitches?
I'll try to get some pics tomorrow.

Thank you!

 

[Debbie292d]

For the hens, I would use a triple antibiotic ointment like Neosporin w/o the pain reliever if you can't find your Vetericyn. Don't keep using the hydrogen peroxide though as that will actually start damaging good tissue.

I'd also give them vitamins in their water. We have Nutra Drench and Poultry Cell.

We cut the spurs of one rooster because his point inward so cut his legs when they get long. My hubby does it with me holding the rooster. He uses a dykes/side cutter and takes off a little at a time, like around 1/4". I have cornstarch right there in case he goes too far. Out of about a dozen times of doing this to both legs, he's only made it bleed once and it stopped right away. He's talked of using his dremel but hasn't yet.

I think it's more than his spurs hurting them if their backs are bare. You may want to look into getting the hens saddles.

 

[talkinboutchickens]

For the hens, I would use a triple antibiotic ointment like Neosporin w/o the pain reliever if you can't find your Vetericyn. Don't keep using the hydrogen peroxide though as that will actually start damaging good tissue.

I'd also give them vitamins in their water. We have Nutra Drench and Poultry Cell.

We cut the spurs of one rooster because his point inward so cut his legs when they get long. My hubby does it with me holding the rooster. He uses a dykes/side cutter and takes off a little at a time, like around 1/4". I have cornstarch right there in case he goes too far. Out of about a dozen times of doing this to both legs, he's only made it bleed once and it stopped right away. He's talked of using his dremel but hasn't yet.

I think it's more than his spurs hurting them if their backs are bare. You may want to look into getting the hens saddles.

Hi @Debbie292d, I did not know that hydrogen peroxide would do that, thanks for telling me!
Will electrolytes be good to put in her water?
When my family and I do a coop clean and lice treatment on the weekend we will trim the roo's spurs then too.
I was thinking about hen saddles but wouldn't they make the hens really really hot?

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi @Debbie292d, I did not know that hydrogen peroxide would do that, thanks for telling me!
Will electrolytes be good to put in her water?
When my family and I do a coop clean and lice treatment on the weekend we will trim the roo's spurs then too.
I was thinking about hen saddles but wouldn't they make the hens really really hot?

Electrolytes won't hurt, but they won't do much good either unless it's a kind that has vitamins in it too. Plain electrolytes are for when a bird is under stress, like if yours was attacked by a fox or something and she was scared, it would help. Some use them for when it's really hot outside too, and they're under stress being in the heat. Also, they can help give a weaker chick energy and if they aren't eating, sometimes electrolytes will encourage eating.

I think you're need vitamins to help their bodies heal, plus the additional protein will help their feathers grow.

For saddles, these are what we bought. They're mesh. We only had one hen starting to lose feathers from a rooster, so I got these and are happy with them. They come in different sizes. We got small as ours are silkies, a smaller breed.

 

[talkinboutchickens]

For the hens, I would use a triple antibiotic ointment like Neosporin w/o the pain reliever if you can't find your Vetericyn. Don't keep using the hydrogen peroxide though as that will actually start damaging good tissue.

I'd also give them vitamins in their water. We have Nutra Drench and Poultry Cell.

We cut the spurs of one rooster because his point inward so cut his legs when they get long. My hubby does it with me holding the rooster. He uses a dykes/side cutter and takes off a little at a time, like around 1/4". I have cornstarch right there in case he goes too far. Out of about a dozen times of doing this to both legs, he's only made it bleed once and it stopped right away. He's talked of using his dremel but hasn't yet.

I think it's more than his spurs hurting them if their backs are bare. You may want to look into getting the hens saddles.

Hi,
our hen is doing better, I've been spraying on Vetricyn and then applying hen healer on top of that. The problem is that since she doesn't want the hen healer goop on her, so she's been trying to get it off with her beak which results in her eating it. It doesn't say anywhere on the container if it's toxic or not

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi,
our hen is doing better, I've been spraying on Vetricyn and then applying hen healer on top of that. The problem is that since she doesn't want the hen healer goop on her, so she's been trying to get it off with her beak which results in her eating it. It doesn't say anywhere on the container if it's toxic or not

I'm not familiar with it but it's made for chickens so it almost has to be non-toxic, but still not good for eating as I suppose it could make their crops upset.

Maybe just stick with the Vetericyn? That's good stuff!

 

[talkinboutchickens]

I'm not familiar with it but it's made for chickens so it almost has to be non-toxic, but still not good for eating as I suppose it could make their crops upset.

Maybe just stick with the Vetericyn? That's good stuff!

Sounds good. I'm just worried that if I only use the Vetricyn, that bugs will have a better chance of getting at the wound. It is scabbing up nicely, do you think critters will still be attracted to it and be able to get at it?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I couldn't find the Vetricyn but used hydrogen peroxide instead, it bubbled up a lot. Then I applied Hen Healer. A lot of her back is bare and I came to the conclusion that maybe one of my roos slipped off of her while mating and his spur stabbed into her side? The weird thing is that coincidentally, one of my other hens named Opal who's back is completely bare has the same issue going on. I saw her preening under her wing and saw a dark spot under there which I think is a wound as well, tomorrow I'm gonna treat her as well. One of my rooster's spurs (both spurs) are very long and pointy, I was thinking about how trimming them and using a Dremel, does anyone know how to go about doing that and how far to cut?

I've been spraying on Vetricyn and then applying hen healer on top of that. The problem is that since she doesn't want the hen healer goop on her, so she's been trying to get it off with her beak which results in her eating it. It doesn't say anywhere on the container if it's toxic or not

I'm just worried that if I only use the Vetricyn, that bugs will have a better chance of getting at the wound. It is scabbing up nicely, do you think critters will still be attracted to it and be able to get at it?

Can you post a photo of the wounds?

If she doesn't like the hen healer, don't put it on her.

Spray the wound with Vetericyn or Chlorhexidine.

If you are worried about bugs, then get some Swat Fly Repellent and apply it around the wound.

You have the rooster separated out while the hens heal up correct?

Trimming spurs with a dremel is what I do, but there's various methods, just be sure to carefully file and smooth the edges so nothing is jagged. Sometimes nails need to be smoothed and rounded up a bit too, just file them with an emery board.