Mauled chicken - broken wing bone, skin gone muscle exposed

[GodofPecking]

The flesh has to close over the bone, either by taping, tying, packing or stitching or whatever, if it is open she will or may have already had too many infections. Eventually she may or will already die as the infections overwhelm her system.

 

[Eggcessive]

This is hard to give instructions on care due to wounds in various places, and with bone exposed on the wing. Some people do remove wings if they are shattered or bone is exposed, but that is best done by a vet due to the risk of bone infections. There are some threads we can show you if needed. A figure 8 wing wrap can be done to just hold the wing up and to the body, without having to wrap her legs. I would leave her legs alone, other than to lift her up and help her try to use them more. If they are weak already, binding them might cause more problems.

Usually with most wounds initial disinfection with chlorhexidene (hibiclens) and water, or Betadine is important, especially if bone is exposed. Vetericyn may also be used. Then use some plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment on the wounds twice a day. In a video below they use raw or manuka honey with a small gauze pad.

Here is some info on wrapping the wing with a figure 8 or X wrap, then wrap a strip of vet wrap around the wing and body along with a couple of videos by the same persone wrapping a crow’s wing, and pictures:
https://lafeber.com/vet/external-coaptation-birds-bandages-splints/

 

[Neggative]

i dont think you would have to amputate tho. Chickens are pretty hardy birds so i would just keep doing what your doing and spray some centrigen on the wound

 

[Ebony Rose]

Flesh and skin wounds heal MUCH faster in birds and have a much rosier outlook than a comparable wound on a human. I've literally seen birds thoroughly scalped on more than one occasion (different birds, not the same one more than once), and they've recovered quite nicely without stitches, usually a sufficient scab in a few days, and full recovery within a couple weeks or so. I've had hens gored by overzealous lovers, with the underlying flesh exposed upwards of two inches, and healed quite nicely. Wounds that would be exceptionally troublesome in human terms tend to be pretty much 'small potatoes' to poultry. I'd keep her wound clean, and keep it moist as birds heal differently than we humans do... human wounds prefer to be dry... BIRD wounds prefer to be moist for proper healing. I'd give her the benefit of the doubt and amputate only if complications arise and it becomes clear that the wing itself threatens her life.

 

[Eggcessive]

How is your hen this afternoon? Is she able to stand or use her legs yet? How is the injured wing?

 

[My Chicken Friends]

The spraying...hydrotherapy...can be very helpful if she loves it...the spray like you get from a little sink sprayer can stimulate blood flow and aid healing. Silvadene cream can be helpful in keeping infection under control and help healing by second intention...the filling in and scarring over of missing tissue, Telfa pads are good non-stick dressings if you can keep them on. Exposed bone is prone to infection, but you seem to have kept her happy enough for a week.

Pain is different in prey animals compared to predator animals like us. They don't react to pain or consider pain the same way we do. They have different brain wiring. For us, making a fuss over a small pain is perhaps helpful, but it is not the case for a prey animal, as showing, or BEING, in pain will get you singled out. I'm sure they know and feel pain, but it is different to us. I wouldn't think that pills are very meaningful. Gaping wounds do not stop chickens going about their daily lives. It's weird and different to us. Fixing the cause would help more than treating the symptoms.

Looking at the depth of that wound I would be pressured to think that amputating the wing would be best, WHILE doing the amputation, you'd want to leave enough skin and leave it in a shape that is going to be easy to seal up or at least hold together. perhaps the same kinds of tapes that are used in hospitals. Try putting a piece of tape on either side of the wound that you make and then using smaller pieces to bridge the gap. It would make it easier than a single piece which will pull the wound to pieces if removed or refreshed, but two pieces one on each side may suffer less problems in this regard.

As a rule, things heal best by drying out first, that's wounds in flesh I would think, rather than down to the exposed bone like this one, closing something over the bone so that the flesh can heal would be important because it's hard to make new flesh and cover over the bone.

You'll need to bind her down so she doesn't move about while you work, using cloth, rags, and so on, keeping her from watching you. You may save her life, but she may not forgive you without a lot of work, if she forgives at all, but that may not be important.

Luckily people have generally studied chicken anatomy in some depth at the university of dinnertime.

It is hard to know if you can save her, because her system is open to everything and it can and has already got in. She seems to need something in the way of amputation, otherwise you'd be looking at making her comfortable in a cloth, sitting in the bottom of a hole in the garden, where she'll be ok with you eventually covering her over with the cloth so you can bring down a large stone as fast as you can, removing her ability to feel pain and sending her on her way. I do hope you'll be ok, and I do hope her spirit will be ok whatever happens.

The best way to stop the killing by ground predators is to be pro-active with TRAPS, I've built one with a $10 electric eye infrared beam as the trigger and a secondhand car central locking actuator to drop the door, the $12 solar regulator that does the solar thing with the 12v battery also puts out voltage only during darkness when chooks are asleep. It prevents cats and foxes taking such a toll on the chickens and chicks as once they did, I do not know what would help with AERIAL PREDATORS except making certain they have places to hide where they can only go on foot, bushes usually do this, perhaps your place is missing bushes in the coop. If the coop is that small, it should be easy to net.

 

[My Chicken Friends]

This is hard to give instructions on care due to wounds in various places, and with bone exposed on the wing. Some people do remove wings if they are shattered or bone is exposed, but that is best done by a vet due to the risk of bone infections. There are some threads we can show you if needed. A figure 8 wing wrap can be done to just hold the wing up and to the body, without having to wrap her legs. I would leave her legs alone, other than to lift her up and help her try to use them more. If they are weak already, binding them might cause more problems.

Usually with most wounds initial disinfection with chlorhexidene (hibiclens) and water, or Betadine is important, especially if bone is exposed. Vetericyn may also be used. Then use some plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment on the wounds twice a day. In a video below they use raw or manuka honey with a small gauze pad.

Here is some info on wrapping the wing with a figure 8 or X wrap, then wrap a strip of vet wrap around the wing and body along with a couple of videos by the same persone wrapping a crow’s wing, and pictures:
https://lafeber.com/vet/external-coaptation-birds-bandages-splints/

Ok, I believe what I’ve read means I’m doing something right. I think. The picture I took is when bandages are off. I do have her wrapped confining her wings. I see the skin is expanding. She loves when she sees me because she knows the freedom from bandages is coming.

 

[My Chicken Friends]

Flesh and skin wounds heal MUCH faster in birds and have a much rosier outlook than a comparable wound on a human. I've literally seen birds thoroughly scalped on more than one occasion (different birds, not the same one more than once), and they've recovered quite nicely without stitches, usually a sufficient scab in a few days, and full recovery within a couple weeks or so. I've had hens gored by overzealous lovers, with the underlying flesh exposed upwards of two inches, and healed quite nicely. Wounds that would be exceptionally troublesome in human terms tend to be pretty much 'small potatoes' to poultry. I'd keep her wound clean, and keep it moist as birds heal differently than we humans do... human wounds prefer to be dry... BIRD wounds prefer to be moist for proper healing. I'd give her the benefit of the doubt and amputate only if complications arise and it becomes clear that the wing itself threatens her life.

Thank you for your kind support. I don’t plan to amputate. And yes, I thought moist was preferable to dry. Especially since bone is exposed. She is stronger today. Is standing alone. Can get up from falling over. She stays bandaged outside of cleaning and refreshing bandages.

 

[aart]

What are you 'spraying' with?
Some updated pics of wounds might help those with experience offer additional advice.

 

[My Chicken Friends]

I have 2 fairly large pens. She was grabbed from over head while out in her chicken yard. She is kept bandaged outside of cleaning and spraying. She amazingly is still a happy bird. Might be because I brought in a calm bird to keep her socialized. I’m not a vet or a surgeon, so I will keep her wrapped until I see marked improvement of wing. Thank you. I was hoping for an estimate of how much time this will take.