Hen nearly beat to death

[Mary Coleman]

I went out this morning to let out my birds. I have 11 chickens 4 geese and 4 turkeys and I found one of my Cochin hens huddled in a corner with all of her feathers on her back gone and her back covered in blood. I have her isolated in a small pen with food and water. It was the best I could do in 5 mins I have to go to work very soon, so I'll keep it short. What should I do? Please help.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Separating her was good.

Since you are having to leave for work, put just a small amount of sugar in her water or if you have some Sav-A-Chick electrolytes/vitamins put that in her water before leaving. This may help is she is in shock.

Depending on how much time you have and how "shocky" she is, gently rinse/flush the wounds with saline, betadine or a little soapy water. If there is any bleeding still, then apply pressure or you can use cornstarch or flour to stop bleeding.

Apply some triple antibiotic ointment or Vetericyn to the wounds. For large open wounds, spray works best, but use what you have.

Keep her in a quiet place. Water/hydration is most important for an injured bird, but leave her some feed too, she may not eat, but hopefully she will drink.

 

[Mary Coleman]

Well I'm home now and she seems fine (eating, drinking, pacing back and forth in the cage...) I just am worried that the others will pick on her. I'm not sure who did it, but while they were out before I separated her, my turkey was harassing her.

 

[3feathers]

Chickens heal from some pretty nasty wounds. I had one with in neck layed open for about 2 inches, skin kinda flapping and loose at the edges. Little neosporin and taped it up and she did fine. You should keep them separate till pretty healed.

 

[Mary Coleman]

I've got er nice and cozy in a cage inside with food, water, and a heat lamp. I have her a bath then dried her the best I could. I then put some hydrocortisone and Vaseline all over her back where the feathers were gone. It's so sad, there are literally no feathers from the base of her tail all the way up to her neck. Her entire back is bare and beaten. I wrapped her up in a make shift bandana that I made from an old t shirt and she's just chillin now. Hopefully she heals quick and regrows her lovely feathers.

(she's still a little wet )

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Glad to see she is alert, eating and drinking.

Keep an eye out for infection - odor, pus, oozing, etc.

 

[3feathers]

I would use one of the triple antibiotics like neosporin or bacitracin. Cortisone is a hormone from the adrenal glands and is for itch rash or inflamation. It isn't a healer specifically and I don't believe is going to help in this case.

 

[MrsBrooke]

You could use Neosporin, but I've found using non-activated chlorihexidine like you would use hydrogen peroxide works wonders.

Pour it on and you don't have to use any goopy ointments. It stings a little, but it's simply the best!

You can order it by the gallon online or pick some up at Walgreens where they keep the hydrogen peroxide.

I hope your mama heals up... She's so pretty!!

MrsB

PS - Watch her to make sure she continues drinking... Hydration is the most important thing. If she doesn't feel like eating, that's okay... As long as she keeps drinking. If she's drinking okay, you could ply her with a little boiled egg for extra protein to help her rebuild tissue and feathers.

 

[3feathers]

Many of the disinfectants like hydrogen peroxide, alcohol are effective but the same way they kill the microbes they tend to kills the cells on the surface. They are disinfectants rather than antibiotics. I have used very concentrated hydrogen peroxide and it instantly turns your skin white and dead. Concentration is always significant. The higher the concentration the better it does but the more cell damage it does. I would tend to use these if I was sterilizing a scalpel or intact skin. The cellular damage in the over the counter concentrations is usually repaired quickly and is a better choice than letting infection in.
chlorihexidine is certainly a decent one. I also like the grease aspect to the ointments. It keeps the wound/scab ductile which improves the heal rate. I use it on myself because I find it much more comfortable when it can stretch some. It also leaves a residual medication.

 

[MrsBrooke]

I agree with you about the flesh-eating aspect of hydro perox, which is why I always recommend chlorhexidine for insta-disinfecting a wound.

MrsB