Hen just attacked by a coyote!

[flocklady]

After I read your first post about lavender oil, I researched it. It is indeed an accepted treatment for wounds and it is safe for chickens. Thanks for posting it. It always is helpful to back up your post with a little science to reassure readers that it's legitimate. So I fired up the search engines.

Being an unapologetic renegade socialist, I believe we should not have to pay for such information, so I finally ran across a study that is available to read for free. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4880962/

I love the fragrance of lavender and it's nice to learn about its healing properties.

Well doll I am totally not a socialist but as long as you don't bring it to my door step I'll give you advise on chickens for free proud patriot here

 

[flocklady]

Do you dilute it? What's the process? Put it in a spray bottle?

Nope dropp it strait on the wound as soon as you catch them alot of birds are stressed really bad after an attack and will die from too much work on them so if you have a bottle keep it handy to your range so you can scoop up a bird in need drop a few drops even punctures bring the bird in the house in a rubber maid storage bucket so you can gage other things wrong if nothing else is wrong lock it up in the coop so it doesn't become a stranger and get bullied

 

[flocklady]

Do I need to dilute? Put in a spray bottle?

No strait no mixing you need it's power for pain relief and antibacterial anti fungal anti viral too

 

[flocklady]

Things happen in nature so you won't save every patient but if you keep it simple and as quick as possible you end up with less tears trust me I've had many heartbreaks and many glorious wins you got to learn how to act fast and deal with whatever comes up I have spent days with chickens in a warm bathtub and a blow dryer only to lose them later and cry my eyes out do what you can and give it to God

 

[ChicNmom]

People have successfully used VetBond glue after an attack with a large skin flap if it won't stay in place. Use it on the skin, not the muscle underneath. Or surgical strips. Again only if the flap won't stay in place.

 

[afrod]

Lucky hen and good timing on your part to startle the coyote into dropping his victim. Good on getting the wound cleaned out right away. That should be the last time you use peroxide on it, though, as peroxide interferes with new tissue growth.

Also, kudos for recognizing the value of using the skin flap as a skin graft. It will cut the healing time in half. No, don't even try to suture or bandage. Use the wound ointment to "glue" the flap in place. I've found in about three days, the graft will begin to take.

Here's my wound protocol for a predator victim.

1. Treat for shock as the number one step. Give warm Gatoraid or mix a half teaspoon of sugar into a fourth of a cup of warm water with a pinch of salt and baking soda. Have the patient drink it all or syringe it into the beak.

2. Flush the wound well with saline. This is better than soap and water as it maintains the PH of the tissues. But warm soap and water will do. You need to wash away the bacteria from the wound.

3. Inspect the wound carefully. If it has a skin flap dangling, keep that. Do not cut it off. Look for bite, tear or puncture marks indicating a puncture wound. If you see this, the patient will need an oral antibiotic such as amoxicillin. Bacteria from the predator’s mouth can be injected deep into tissue and can kill in as little as 24 to 48 hours. You may want to try to obtain some amoxicillin from your vet to treat the bacteria that may have been left behind in the puncture wound.

4. Spray with Vetericyn wound treatment and let dry. Use a topical antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin or a generic without pain killer in it to coat the wound. If there's a skin flap, lay it across the wound that has just been coated with the ointment. Then smooth on a generous amount over the top of the skin flap to hold it in place.

5. It's useless to try to stitch a wound on a chicken. Don't even try. It's also useless to try to bandage a wound other than on the feet. The chicken will not tolerate it. It will be pulled off faster than you can blink an eye.

6. Clean the wound every day following the above steps. Keep the wound covered with the ointment. Never allow the wound to get dried out or it will not heal.

Thank you for this info. If anyone is reading this later, please use this as the method above when treating your chicken's injuries. Unfortunately, I think mine had lung and other internal injuries and she passed shortly after I took her to the vet today. I made the mistake of reading a wound care post somewhere, either on this site or on the reddit Backyard Chickens where someone said put Peroxide on the wound. This was not the right answer. It is damaging to the flesh. I implore people to not post their "feelings" or "intuitions" on any site. Only post what is confirmed medical fact. I know people feel they may be helping other people or that you want to help people but this is hurts. It's damaging. It's wrong. Anyway, thank you azygous for your thoughtful, correct response. I wish I had read it first when I was panicked for an answer. Lesson learned.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for this info. If anyone is reading this later, please use this as the method above when treating your chicken's injuries. Unfortunately, I think mine had lung and other internal injuries and she passed shortly after I took her to the vet today. I made the mistake of reading a wound care post somewhere, either on this site or on the reddit Backyard Chickens where someone said put Peroxide on the wound. This was not the right answer. It is damaging to the flesh. I implore people to not post their "feelings" or "intuitions" on any site. Only post what is confirmed medical fact. I know people feel they may be helping other people or that you want to help people but this is hurts. It's damaging. It's wrong. Anyway, thank you azygous for your thoughtful, correct response. I wish I had read it first when I was panicked for an answer. Lesson learned.

I'm sorry to hear she died, how sad.

An initial one-time cleaning with Peroxide is usually o.k., but you are correct, it can be damaging to healthy skin and delay healing. Repeated use is not advised.