Infected wounds, possible tumor, impacted/sour crop... does she have a fighting chance?

[_ChickenQuail_]

WARNING: Unsettling/gory images!

Recently I went outside and discovered that one of my chickens was holding her neck strangely. She was doing typical chicken things with the rest of the flock-- scratching in the dirt, pecking, etc. But when I picked her up I realized she was holding her neck just fine... the swelling was just immense. I believe an owl or a hawk may have hit her and fled, and left behind quite a few injuries. Her comb is ripped and is beginning to turn black in places (perhaps it's gone necrotic?), she has an impacted crop that's also gone sour and feels rock solid to the touch, and she has two profusely swelling wounds. The first picture shows that one wound almost looks like a tumor!!

I've isolated her from the other chickens and syringe-fed her some water at first, but I realized she was happy to drink on her own and so left a bowl of water in there for her, denying her any food. Her crop looks like it's beginning to soften, so I believe that's a good sign. Her wounds look extremely bad and I'm shocked I didn't notice them earlier-- they seemed to appear practically overnight. I sadly believe euthanasia may be the best option, but does she still have a fighting chance?

 

[ronott1]

Poor thing!

She has a good chance since she is drinking. Move her to a hospital cage-- a pet carrier, dog kennel or etc. and treat the wound. Make sure she eats mostly chicken food and starter grower if you have it. Some scrambled eggs once a day should help too.

Nutra drench type of vitamins can help too. Follow the instructions for it

 

[True Patriot]

I don't know that I would write her off yet. I've seen some amazing recoveries in animals. Clean her wounds and put some antibiotic ointment on them. Give her a day or two to see if there's improvement.

 

[_ChickenQuail_]

She's already been moved to a separate cage, so at least I've done one thing right, lol! I already was intending to treat her wounds, but they've actually scabbed over and there's not too much to clean. I'm afraid I've been a bad chicken mama and just flat out didn't notice as the wounds festered! Is it alright if I just dab some antibiotic ointment on, or should I still use some water with it? What I'm honestly most concerned about right now is the swelling-- it's not just a little, the spot itself is practically as big as her neck, and everywhere around the wound is very hot to the touch. Will it go down with the ointment?

 

[True Patriot]

She's already been moved to a separate cage, so at least I've done one thing right, lol! I already was intending to treat her wounds, but they've actually scabbed over and there's not too much to clean. I'm afraid I've been a bad chicken mama and just flat out didn't notice as the wounds festered! Is it alright if I just dab some antibiotic ointment on, or should I still use some water with it? What I'm honestly most concerned about right now is the swelling-- it's not just a little, the spot itself is practically as big as her neck, and everywhere around the wound is very hot to the touch. Will it go down with the ointment?

It may not go down on it's own. You may have to do a bit more. Apply some Neosporin or similar for now. I don't have the experience to give you more directions but I'll see if I can get you someone who can.

 

[True Patriot]

@casportpony,

 

[KentuckyRooster]

It may have pus inside. You need to remove the scab and flush the area with sterile saline solution. If there's pus, it needs to be removed.

Chickens are tough critters so I would not put her down. But I'd try to get antibiotics in her and you definitely need to clean the wounds well (which means removing the scabs and cleaning the actual tissues)

 

[casportpony]

Can you post pictures of all of her wounds? Based on the pictures above I don't think she needs to be euthanize.

 

[_ChickenQuail_]

Thank you everyone for your concern!

I've applied antibiotic ointment to both of the skin wounds and checked her crop again-- it's continuing to soften, which I'm very happy about. Should I try to force everything up (I know there's probably a more scientific term, but I've read that if a vet is not available-- I can't afford one, sadly-- you can turn them upside down and gently push from the bottom of the crop up to try and get them to expel whatever is inside) or leave it and see what happens for now?

I'll take more pictures and post them when I can. She has two large wounds, one on the back of her neck that looks quite like a tumor because of the way it's puffed up and seems to have pus inside, and another on the left side of her breast that looks like a simple swollen flesh wound. A less worrying injury is her ripped comb-- it's turning black and I believe it's gone or is going necrotic.

 

[KentuckyRooster]

If her comb is necrotic it will shrivel and fall off. Chickens are amazing that way.

Don't try to vomit her crop, she could aspirate on it and die.