Injured Hen - Help me with wound care?

[unaspenser]

Hi there everyone, I haven't posted for a while but today one of my hens (her name is Chirp, her sisters are Herp and Derp) managed to hide while everyone else got put back in the run, and when I let the dogs out they got to her. I realized within a minute or two that they were too quiet and went out in time to catch them in the act. Luckily the dogs weren't being super violent, and happily backed off.

I don't think she's badly hurt, just stressed out. Chirp was in shock for a while, just laying there, and I was sure something was seriously wrong, despite not being able to see much in the way of actual external injury. I took her in the house and shut her in our bathroom with some water and a little nest box made from an old (clean) cat litter tray with some towels inside. She has a tear in the skin on her chest, at least an inch and a half long. The muscle is showing through underneath but she is hardly bleeding at all, and the muscle looks fine. Chirp is perking up now that she's realized she's safe, but I'm wondering what the best way is to care for her injury. Does she need stitches? My first thought was some antibiotic ointment and then some medical tape to hold it closed, but I don't know if she'd leave it alone, and I'd need a second person to help as she is out of that just flopping into my arms stage and would certainly struggle, perhaps hurting herself worse. I know you can use super glue on wounds to hold them closed... what's the best thing to do about this? Should I just leave it alone and keep her quiet to see if it will heal?

Thanks everyone! I'm as freaked out as she is and our dogs are definitely in the dog house for this one.

 

[unaspenser]

We decided to try some antibiotic ointment and taping the wound closed. Now that she's not in shock she is bleeding a bit, but seems to be leaving the tape alone. We will keep her inside over night and watch her for now.

 

[NJchixs]

If it is a clean margin tear you can try glueing it with surgi glue (pharmacy) or super glue. It needs to be clean then you would hold the edges together and glue. Look it up. I've never done it on a chicken but I've read others whom have.

 

[ThornyRidge]

How deep is the wound? I would gently try to clean the area.. get some activated charcoal powder/blood stop .. I use Wonder Dust (can be purchased at Tractor supply) and shake a good bit of that on her wound.. this will help stop bleeding, help to dry up the area and prevent bacteria from growing.. I had a hen attacked by a mink that literally took two huge chunks out of each side of her neck and ripped flesh off the back of her neck.. Shock was what I found to be the biggest issue.. keep in dark, confined, warm area and I would also recommend some poultry nutridrench. I used that as for a few days until shock wore off hen was not eating so wanted to ensure she was getting some nutrients and energy to fight off crud and begin to heal. Chickens are amazing healers... my method also was to keep the area clean and sprayed with antiseptic spray. Literally within days scabs began to form.. after a few weeks feathers began growing back and now literally a month and a half later you would not even know this hen was missing chuncks of flesh! You may also want to consider antibiotic (pen) to ward off infection.. if wound is very deep maybe consider some of method above and gently wrap some gauze/vet wrap to keep area clean and allow it to close up.. I would definately separate her from others! Good Luck!