How to take care of a chicken with an open wound?

[MaeM]

Hi! A few days ago, I found an open wound below one of my hen's wings. Like a huge slash that left her skin loose from her "armpit" to the beginning of her thigh. At the time I compared it to a kangaroo pouch. It was super red and... damn, we had a bad time because I knew I needed a vet but couldn't find one. When we finally got someone to see her, it was too late to sew her up because the tissue had died (turned black). The vet recommended not to try to glue it or anything because the skin will not withstand it. He gave her antibiotics and told us to bathe her with antiseptic.

So I have this hen with an open wound and I was wondering if there's something I can do to help her close it. I don't really trust this vet, I don't know if he really knows A LOT about these birds. And maybe there's some sort of "trick" (like an ointment or something) that could help her scar over that wound. The hen is ok because we literally bathe her with antiseptic, but that thing is dangerous and most importantly, I think she is in pain. She isolates herself and barely drinks and eats because it hurts to stand up (she lifts up her leg). She spends her days hidden in the coop, sitting down in that same spot, it breaks my heart.

P.S.: We don't know what caused the wound. The location of the wound makes me think it was the rooster, but I didn't see this. And the vet said it could be a smaller wound which ended up turning into this slash because we didn't see it earlier.

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like a spur injury while the rooster was trying to mate. They can be deep, and it should be cleaned daily either with saline or 2% chlorhexidene, or Vetericyn Hydrogel. You can then apply plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment twice a day until the tissue begins to come together and heal from the inside out. If her wojnd cannot be seen by others, she mY be alright with her flock. But you can keep her in a wire dog crate with food and water, kept with her flock. Don’t forget to check your rooster if you have one to dull or trim his spurs.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You may want to trim the feathers away from the wound so they don't get stuck in the ointment and in the scab as the wound heals.

 

[629522]

Our Speckled Sussex hen had an almost identical injury. We did not know if she would pull through but gave her every chance. My farrier told me that they are tougher than we think. We cleaned the wound, kept her isolated for a few days in a dog crate and gave her water with electrolytes and occasional treats to stimulate her appetite. We dissolved aspirin in water for the pain. She made it and is now healthy and happy. If your hen has made it this far that's a great sign. Isolating themselves is normal behavior, it's instinct not to show injury. Wishing you the best with her.

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes toenails can be trimmed slightly.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Do you have a rooster? Where is the rest of the flock?

You may want to catch her up and cage or pen her. Place her somewhere where she may feel safer.
This way she's got access to her own food/water and you can see what her droppings are looking like too.
Carefully inspect her all over for more wounds, for lice/mites, make sure her crop is emptying and feel her abdomen for any bloat/fluid.

I have to wonder if more is going on with her.

 

[MaeM]

Do you have a rooster? Where is the rest of the flock?

You may want to catch her up and cage or pen her. Place her somewhere where she may feel safer.
This way she's got access to her own food/water and you can see what her droppings are looking like too.
Carefully inspect her all over for more wounds, for lice/mites, make sure her crop is emptying and feel her abdomen for any bloat/fluid.

I have to wonder if more is going on with her.

Yes, I have a rooster and I think she's afraid of him. He was probably the one who hurt her in the first place. He doesn't have his spurs, but he has a balance problem and maybe he hurt her with his toenails when trying to mount her. I believe it was an accident because he is not the kind of rooster that brutally rapes his hens. He is very sweet.

She has her own coop/run with her own feeder and waterer. I separated her when I noticed she had this wound. But she's used to free-range and only goes there to sleep. She eats a bit from that feeder in the morning. But in the morning she literally SCREAMS at the top of her lungs until I let her go outside. Then she hides in the bushes for the rest of the day (?). I don't understand her behavior...

I grab her every day to check her wound and she doesn't have lice/mites (these are visible, right?). Her poop is normal as far as I've seen in the secondary coop she's in. I will check her crop and her abdomen in the morning. I normally don't feel anything weird in her abdomen when I grab her, though.

I think she might be molting because she is getting bald on her 'healthy' side. Can molting cause these weird behaviors?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yes, I have a rooster and I think she's afraid of him. He was probably the one who hurt her in the first place. He doesn't have his spurs, but he has a balance problem and maybe he hurt her with his toenails when trying to mount her.

I think she might be molting because she is getting bald on her 'healthy' side. Can molting cause these weird behaviors?

Can you get photos of all of her?
She may be molting depending on how old she is. Sometimes stress can induce a molt as well.

She may just be hanging out on her own and liking it. I have a hen that spends a lot of time by herself, she sleeps with a flock, but as soon as I open up in the mornings, she's going one way and the rest go the other.

 

[MaeM]

The bald zones extend under the wings. I thought it was normal because she is wounded there but the other side looks the same way even if there is no wound there.

I don't know her exact age since she is a rescued bird but she is not even 1 year old. Probably 9-10 months old?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Feathers under the wings can be a bit sparse.
To me, it looks like it's from treading/mating. I know she has a wound, but the pattern of loss is what I've seen when a rooster is mating hens.
Some hens have softer feathers or feathers that are more easily broken and the loss is more obvious.

If the feather follicles are still intact in the skin, then she will re-feather back in when she does molt.