I am a little late responding here but wanted to suggest an alternative to antibiotics. I used to use them but don't anymore after I bumped into someone's suggestion here on BYC to read a book called, "City Chicks". The book sounded good so I bought it for my kindle. I couldn't put this book down! It has wonderful information on nearly everything having to do with chickens. The author is a pharmacist and has the gift of making complex ideas easy to understand. Not too long after reading the book, one of my hens (Pip) was attacked by something out in the barnyard. Apparently, I happened out in time to stop the attack but hadn't taken my flashlight out so, though she didn't feel 'right' when I found her in the yard, I put her up on the roost and locked the door to the coop. Next day she didn't come out of the roost area. I found her very sick and 'wilted' looking with clear damage to the rear area of her body. Owing to the new information I got from City Chicks, I brought Pip into the house, bathed her so I could see the wound area and clean it, put her in a dog kennel, and went on a hunt around town for the things the author of this book suggested would fix a sick/injured chicken. I gathered colloidal silver, comfrey salve, and a 5 mil dropper and went home right away to administer the salve and silver. By morning, she appeared to be feeling better but her poop was coming out of the injury--not where it should be! I worried for several days not sure what to do for her. Clearly the large intestine had been pierced by the predator. After several days of her not eating, I started giving her yogurt mixed with a little water. But she wasn't getting better and the poop was still coming out of the wrong place. I remembered hearing some years ago of a woman that had done minor surgery on her injured bird and I knew my hen would die if I didn't act, so I asked my partner to hold onto our hen and with the smallest needle I have and some thread (sterilizied using alcohol), I sewed the intestine closed. Surprisingly, our hen didn't object. When I finished the surgery, the poop was coming out of the right place again. After several days I had to remove the scab that had developed because there appeared to be pus developing under it. At that time, I removed the sutures, too. Each day I took Pip out to spend about an hour free-ranging with the flock so they wouldn't forget about one another. A couple of days ago, she moved back out with them. She is as good as ever, alot more trusting, and I am proud that I was able to save her. The use of antibiotics was probably warrented given her injuries but I am not as trusting as I once was about such things. By not using them, I didn't compromise Pip's immune system or my family's. We can eat her eggs as soon as she starts laying again and not worry about our exposure to needless antibiotics. Fare thee well, all!
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