Hen with a very bad abcess on her breast

[lbcoats]

Hello everyone! I'm hoping someone can help me, I have a goldlaced cochin bantam hen that i pulled off an abcess that looked like an extra wing sticking out of her breast. I work for a Veterinarian so i took her to work w/me and they helped me get the rest of the abcess out of her but it left a very large hole approx 3in long 1 in wide & 1 1/2 deep, some of it closed up by using neosporin/iodine/peroxide on it and gave her terrimycin water, unfortunatly this was 4 months ago, the abcess site has closed a little but it still drains constantly and keeps coming back, the warm weather is coming here in michigan & im afraid of flies getting to her. Is there anything else i can do or am i just making her suffer??? My vet doesnt know much about chickens.

 

[Funky Feathers]

For now pack the hole w/antibiotic ointment then apply Swat ointment (for horses) to keep flies off it. She may need more surgery to clean out the wound again.

 

[geebs]

Ditto... lance it open.. clean it out and pack with neosporing... and the swat thing... This time don't let it heal from the outside in..

Good luck.. She sounds like a real fighter so chances are pretty good... get to it.. snap snap...

 

[Funky Feathers]

Also- this time put in rubber drains (penrose drains) so it can keep draining & heal from the inside out. Then keep it clean at all times.

 

[lbcoats]

Thankyou all for your suggestions, I will follow up by letting you all know that only a very small portion (the deepest part) has healed, it keeps devoloping a yellow cottage cheese looking stuff & smells really bad. I keep it cleaned out every day & put iodine and neosporin on it but it is draining so bad all her other feathers are starting to stick together, I even plucked some of them out because there was getting alot of moisture under them. I will take her back to work & get it really cleaned out again & continue w/treatment. She is a really nice hen & lets me do all this to her without a sqauk! I will be very sad if I loose her. Thanks again!