Joined because I have an urgent "chicken wound" issue!

[KrisHoracek]

Hi all,

I've been by this site on numerous occasions to browse the forums for advice, and now I have an issue that I need individual help with!

"Tangy," my Americauna, had an encounter with a raccoon last night. My husband managed to scare it before it could do more damage than it did. It turned out that it tore open the thigh skin badly, and there are two small cuts to the muscle. I trimmed the feathers, irrigated it with sterile saline, and smeared on Polysporin. Then I stitched together the skin with a sewing needle and dental floss soaked in vodka, and smeared with Polysporin again.

I have no idea if any of this was sensible, but I figured she would not possibly heal if I left it alone, and a huge vet bill wasn't an option. She was eating grubs out of my hand after the procedure, and I have her in a dog crate.

My question is: Is it essential and urgent that she get antibiotics, or could I wait and see? She's a laying hen, so I wouldn't be able to eat her eggs anymore if I did. Of course, I would rather that she didn't die!! Any tips or thoughts related to this would be appreciated!

I have spread a good bit of Cayenne pepper around the yard to deter the raccoon, but I'm also going to call Animal Control.


Me: I have three lovely laying hens- a Rhode Island Red, Blue Wyandotte, and (hopefully) an Ameraucana. They forage in my very wild vegetable garden/orchard during the day and get tons of yummy bugs and greens!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

An anitbacterial spray like Blue-Kote (made for animals) should be used.

 

[KrisHoracek]

Thanks! I will definitely get some. How often should I apply it? Will that be sufficient? Do you think I can forego a powdered antibiotic in her water, or should I do that to be safe, since it looks like the 'coon got its teeth into her muscle?

Did I screw up by using Polysporin on the muscle tissue? I had no idea what I was doing, really!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Antibiotic is for infection. You cleaned the wound and if you apply an anti bacterial spray it wont get infected. The point of topical sprays is to prevent infection. If it gets infected then you may want to use an antibiotic but that's not used as a prevention, it's the cure.


This is the prevention and all we keep for injuries:

 

[drumstick diva]

Hope your bird will recover soon. Chickens seem to come back from some really gruesome stuff. I think mainly, if they don't go into shock or develop an infection, they have an unremarkable recovery. Did the wound bleed at all? My father used to tell us IF a wound bled then you wouldn't get tetanus. Who knows?

 

[KrisHoracek]

It bled remarkably little, which surprised me. There was some blood, but not much. Mostly is was just that the skin was open and separated from the thigh, and there were two "chunks" out of the muscle that looked nasty. I hope she doesn't get Tetanus!

 

[KrisHoracek]

Thanks so much! I'm on it

 

[Teila]

G’Day from down under KrisHoracek

Welcome!

Wow! Great job on the quick fix .. fingers crossed I never have to, but I hope I am that skilled if the time ever comes that I need to be.

Please let us know how she goes.

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

If you would like to share pictures and stories of your flock, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out

 

[KrisHoracek]

Her tail is drooping. Does that mean she has an infection?

 

[KrisHoracek]

Her tail is droopy. Does that always mean infection?