Infected wound HELP

[EDM Mike]

Hi,
Complete noob. Acquired 3 hens on Wednesday. After I got them home I noticed the Plymouth Rock had a bad smell. Found a bad wound on her back approx 2" x 4" that had some DEEP punctures that appeared to be approx 1 to 1-1/2 weeks old. Dry and healing but smelled awful. Started applying Blu-Kote Thursday evening. She has been eating and drinking. Today I brought her to a breeder for advice and while cleaning with hydrogen peroxide I discovered a hole a little smaller than a dime under one of her wings that appeared to be very deep, into chest cavity?.... Right now she has been rinsed with hydrogen peroxide and betadine and her Back is covered with a vest. I added Tetracycline hydrochloride to her water at a mixture of 2 tsp per gallon and a small amount of ACV to her water.
I have Blu-Kote and Neosporin but have not added either to her tonight....

What should I do? There are no vets in my area that will look at her. I can try to post a picture but they are not that great.

Thanks for any help!

Mike

 

[EDM Mike]

Here is a picture that I just took. I put Blu-Kote on it just now....

 

[Busybee1]

Sounds like you are off to a good start. I would now discontinue the hydrogen peroxide and betadine. The peroxide is hard on the flesh and may cause pain, the betadine harms healing tissue. They are both good to use once for initial cleansing only. I would administer antibiotic ointment, without pain reliever daily, or blucote along with the antibiotics. Chickens have amazing healing abilities, good luck!!

I foung an injured rooster in December whose rear end was void of feathers, and the flesh was turning black from some kind of animal attack that went untreated. It also had some puncture marks, though not as deep as yours. I rinsed the wound daily with distilled water and lathered him with antibiotic ointment. The first day treating this rooster, who showed up out of nowhere, was quite comical. His wounds were filthy so i had to chase him around my bathroom squirting water from a sports bottle onto his wounds. He finally hid his head behind the toilet with his rump in the air. He improved quickly, his color improved dramatically each day.

I also recommend hard boiled egg with greek yogurt daily for an extra boost of protein.

 

[EDM Mike]

Thank you for the advice! I hope she drinks her water with the antibiotics... She took a couple of sips when I first filled her dish.
Would neosprin be better than Blu-Kote? Also I bought the Neosprin with pain reliever, what is the reason for no pain releiver? Thanks again!

Sounds like you are off to a good start. I would now discontinue the hydrogen peroxide and betadine. The peroxide is hard on the flesh and may cause pain, the betadine harms healing tissue. They are both good to use once for initial cleansing only. I would administer antibiotic ointment, without pain reliever daily, or blucote along with the antibiotics. Chickens have amazing healing abilities, good luck!!

I foung an injured rooster in December whose rear end was void of feathers, and the flesh was turning black from some kind of animal attack that went untreated. It also had some puncture marks, though not as deep as yours. I rinsed the wound daily with distilled water and lathered him with antibiotic ointment. The first day treating this rooster, who showed up out of nowhere, was quite comical. His wounds were filthy so i had to chase him around my bathroom squirting water from a sports bottle onto his wounds. He finally hid his head behind the toilet with his rump in the air. He improved quickly, his color improved dramatically each day.

I also recommend hard boiled egg with greek yogurt daily for an extra boost of protein.

 

[Busybee1]

I really can't tell you what is better. I just know the antibiotic worked for me just fine. It was a product I was more familiar with than blukote. I am not sure why without pain reliever, someone on this forum gave me that advice so it must be true!! If that is all you have for now it would be fine. YW!

 

[CMV]

-Caine ingredients (topical painkillers) are dangerous to use on birds. It can kill them. That's why we don't use Neosporin with pain reliever in it.

I might switch out her antibiotic from the water soluble to the injectible. Three days of PenG will clear up any infection. It's cheap, can be acquired at the local ag store (in the refrigerator), and there is no question of whether or not she is getting dosed heavily enough with it. Most infected wounds are too tough to be handled through the water soluble antibiotics.

Blukote is a better alternative to use on a wound that size. Neosporin can be used in conjunction with the Blukote to prevent the wound from drying out too much. Large swatches of skin covered in Neosporin tends to chill a bird too much.

I hope this helps. Good luck with her.

 

[EDM Mike]

I will contact TSC to see if they have Pen G. What would the dosage be? Injectable where? Sorry but I am completely new to this.

She is in the house where it is approx. 75 deg right now.

-Caine ingredients (topical painkillers) are dangerous to use on birds. It can kill them. That's why we don't use Neosporin with pain reliever in it.

I might switch out her antibiotic from the water soluble to the injectible. Three days of PenG will clear up any infection. It's cheap, can be acquired at the local ag store (in the refrigerator), and there is no question of whether or not she is getting dosed heavily enough with it. Most infected wounds are too tough to be handled through the water soluble antibiotics.

Blukote is a better alternative to use on a wound that size. Neosporin can be used in conjunction with the Blukote to prevent the wound from drying out too much. Large swatches of skin covered in Neosporin tends to chill a bird too much.

I hope this helps. Good luck with her.

 

[CMV]

http://ultimatefowl.atwiki.com/page/Penicillin

This should help.

 

[Trefoil]

If she's in the house I would use the antibiotic ointment rather than the blu kote. Sorry,I don't know what the dosage is on the penicillin.but it should be on the packaging. Keeping her warm, comfortable, and eating is a priority.

 

[EDM Mike]

Is it ok that she can reach her wound if it has neosprin on it, I am still using the Blu-Kote.... I removed the saddle because the strap cam right across the hole under her wing and was keeping her back wet and it seemed to smell worse, until I let it dry out with the blu kote.

She is very picky about what she eats. And is drinking very little IMO. I have to feed her by hand and bring the water bowl up to her for her to drink. Tonight she ate 3 tbsp of yogurt, 20 meal worms, some pellets, and an entire apple (no core). I sprinkled some of the tetracycline on her apples so she would get some (is this ok) she did drink here and there (Tetracycline and ACV in her water) but it's taken me offering her food and drink every 10 or so minutes over the last 3 hours. I will see if I can get the pen G tomorrow.
When she was out of her cage she did walk around a little.

Can not get any advice from any vets on what to do in my area I called over 10 with no luck.

If she's in the house I would use the antibiotic ointment rather than the blu kote. Sorry,I don't know what the dosage is on the penicillin.but it should be on the packaging. Keeping her warm, comfortable, and eating is a priority.