injured hen

[sspeacock]

I've just rescued by hen from a dog who roughed her up pretty well: she now has a big bald spot on her back with a puncture wounds and an area where the skin is torn away. I've sprayed it with Vetricin and she is isolated. Here are my questions:

What else can I do to help her?

How can I cover the bald spot, both to protect her from the other girls ,and to keep her warm this winter? We live in MA.

 

[portiaraylee]

They have chicken saddles that would work perfect! Look them up on EBay. As far as wound care, I would put electrolytes in her water to help her from being stressed. Sounds like you are doing the right thing with the Vetricyn.

 

[chickwhispers]

I am sorry that happened to your hen. I know what that is like. I had that happen to one of my pullets last summer. The dog had punctured her in the chest and ripped it open. I used Vetricyn but it still got infected pretty bad. I search on-line to find out what to do. What I found and did was to wash out with a sterile water and peroxide (I believe it was 50/50) and put powdered antibiotic (Duramyacin) right on afterward. I did this 2x's and it worked for me. She recovered fully, however she did end up losing most of the breast muscle to the infection. But she recovered and in a few weeks was back to laying eggs. Unfortunately she got sick in Feb. this year and passed away. I believe she got chilled in the run one day while I was out of town, stayed outside all night and could not recover due to not enough meat on her. But she did lay almost everyday until then. Good luck and best wishes, I hope whatever you decide to do, that she recovers!

 

[sspeacock]

Thank you so much for this. I'll get to work on finding a saddle right now! Thank you, thank you. I am new to chickens, adore them, and am grateful I could turn to "y'all" for help.

 

[sspeacock]

Thank you for your excellent advice. I will do the duramycin thing as well. Thank you so much. Your prompt response is so, so appreciated.

 

[chickwhispers]

You're very welcome! It took me days to find it and I know it's important to get to it before the infection sets in and gets bad. Please keep us posted.

 

[Xtreme]

Good luck with your hen. I just discovered one of my pullets had been injured in a dog attack a couple weeks ago. She had not shown any sign of injury and has been active and healthy. I had noticed a couple feathers up on her back. The last few days it liked like she may have been getting rough treatment from the rosters as I could see a bald patch. I just picked her up and her back has a patch on it that is rough and there was a higher spot I was not sure about. Turned out it was a scab which I ended up pulling off because I had pulled it to far back looking for infection. There is some puts and it appears to be a bite hole. Wondering about treatment now that it is open and also what to do about the rest of her back. I have Vetricyn on hand and will spray the open spot with it. Should I clean up the test of her back or leave it.

 

[chickwhispers]

Xtreme...If it was me I would clean it up and keep a good eye on it. The infection can grow in no time, fast. I know that first hand.

 

[Xtreme]

I believe the rest of the back is scabbed over. Would you soak it off or leave intact and surface clean and spray with vetricyn. I appreciate the help. She is a sweet partridge rock and I would hate to lose her. I have cared for dogs and horses for years, treating many would over the years, but these are my first chickens.

 

[chickwhispers]

Depending on the size of the infectected area where the pus is, I would clean it up with some sterilized water and make sure it's dry. And use Vetricyn then. If it looks worse tomorrow I would probably go with some peroxide to clean it and then water then vetricyn. If it looks better just the Vetricyn. Just my opinion. Good luck, keep us posted.