Multiple Punctre Wounds from Neighbor's Dog... Please Give Suggestions

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Eggstatic1727

Chirping
Apr 27, 2017
59
27
71
Kansas City
Yesterday my 1 year old Olive Egger was free ranging in my backyard, I was out with her and her 2 sisters and an Australian Shepherd was running loose in the field behind my house. Well, my chickens where out by my chain link fence and the dog was able to tear into the fence and grab my Olive Egger, Sniffles.

The dog took off with it and it was at least 4-5 minutes before we were able to catch the dog and get her back, we surely thought she was dead. But somehow she was alive and trying to walk. She is missing about 50% of her feathers and has puncture wounds all over her back end and a pretty bad gaping wound on the back side of her neck. This is the stuff of nightmares people, it was one of the most terrifying experiences to know she went through all of that and was still standing afterward.

There is one wound on her back that possibly could use stitches, but with it being a Sunday that this happened there were no emergency vets that saw birds open at the time. My boyfriend and I put her in a box and took her home, we put her in our bathroom and doctored her wounds with peroxide and Neosporin, then covered her backside with an antibacterial wound covering. I checked her wings and legs to see if I could tell if anything was broken, it did not seem like it. We let her rest and I was checking on her throughout the night.

For the first 3 hours she was laying down with her beak to the floor, not eating or drinking. Figured she was in shock. I had very low hopes of her recovering, each time I would check on her I knew I would see my Sniffles dead in the box. At about 2am Monday morning, I couldn't believe it but she was standing. She seemed to be coming out of her stupor a little. And then by 6am this morning I go to open the box and she was alert and even greeted me with a coo :bow and by trying to leap out of the box.
I don't think she is ready to give up! Don't be fooled though, she has severe wounds, but she ate some scrambled egg and drank some electrolyte water I made up for her. So it was very encouraging.

Her wounds looked only the slightest amount better after the cleaning and ointment, so I think we are headed in the right direction.

IF YOU GUYS CAN GIVE ME AS MUCH ADVICE AS POSSIBLE, about where to go from here. I plan on keeping her in the box for now, and cleaning her wounds maybe 2-3 times daily? Should I take her to the vet? Should I just call the vet and inquire about what to do next? I don't want to stress her out anymore by exposing her to traveling to the vet, then the visit itself.
I believe she may need antibiotics, considering the bites from the dog, is there something I can pick up at tractor supply? Also should I get vitamins for her water? Is there something I can be using that's better than Neosporin? Any and all advice is so appreciated. She is actually my pet and not just some farm animal and I want to give her the best chance I can to make it through this.

Also encouraging words are welcomed during this terrible time. Thanks, this is a great community I am glad I can rely on. Sorry for the long post.
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No more peroxide! If u feel you need to clean the wound I would just flush it with saline. Neosporin is good or triple antibiotic ointment. At the feed store I like furizone in the livestock section..horse wound ointment. Since u already cleaned the wounds..unless they look bad I would just use the ointment. Get some blu-kote spray to put on when u add her back to the flock..as chickens can b cannibalistic and will pack at the sounds, blue kote discouraged that.if u feel she needs antibiotics add tetracycline to her water..but if she' doin well..the ointment should work. Probiotics woukd help to. Chickens are really tuff...ive had some heal from really bad dog mailings. Good food, rest..keep her warm . Biggest thing is to make sure her companions don't peck her wounds..blu more helps that a lot. I' hive her a few days of isolation to heal up hood b4 she goes back to the flock.
 
No more peroxide! If u feel you need to clean the wound I would just flush it with saline. Neosporin is good or triple antibiotic ointment. At the feed store I like furizone in the livestock section..horse wound ointment. Since u already cleaned the wounds..unless they look bad I would just use the ointment. Get some blu-kote spray to put on when u add her back to the flock..as chickens can b cannibalistic and will pack at the sounds, blue kote discouraged that.if u feel she needs antibiotics add tetracycline to her water..but if she' doin well..the ointment should work. Probiotics woukd help to. Chickens are really tuff...ive had some heal from really bad dog mailings. Good food, rest..keep her warm . Biggest thing is to make sure her companions don't peck her wounds..blu more helps that a lot. I' hive her a few days of isolation to heal up hood b4 she goes back to the flock.
Thank you so much, this puts me at ease.
I am able to keep her inside as long as I need too, especially since she is missing quite a bit of feathers. But how long is too long for her to be without her other 2 sisters?
 
Keep her separate as long as you need to. Her being lonely is a lot better than an infection happening because she got pecked in the wound. Just keep doing what you're doing, applying the best first aid you can. Chickens can heal from some amazing circumstances you'd be surprised. And I'd be talking to the neighbor about their stupid dog and asking for some kind of compensation. That's technically property damage and they are responsible..
 
we don't keep chickens any more, (now i'ts just quail) but when we did have them, multiple dogs would try to drag them away. one succeeded once, and later we found the dog but no chicken. it took us hours to find her, and she was missing a good deal of her feathers. apparently the owner of the dog found her pet carrying our chicken and made her "drop it", took her dog inside and left Brownie (our chicken) to die.

we took Brownie inside, let her sleep with lots of treats in the mourning, etc. etc.
she went with the rest of the bunch the day after. by some miracle she did not get punctured, just scratched. you may want to keep sniffles inside for a while, because she is a bit more injured then Brownie (probably a bit more then a bit) and might take longer to recuperate enough to be with her sisters. i'd say a week or two would be good,depending on your other birds, and how she is doing by that time.
 
Keep her separate as long as you need to. Her being lonely is a lot better than an infection happening because she got pecked in the wound. Just keep doing what you're doing, applying the best first aid you can. Chickens can heal from some amazing circumstances you'd be surprised. And I'd be talking to the neighbor about their stupid dog and asking for some kind of compensation. That's technically property damage and they are responsible..

Thanks, my thoughts exactly, I was in so much shock during the whole experience that I told him to take his dog and vacate the property. I feel it will be a life long battle keeping dogs away from my girls.
What is the mixture for the saline solution that I should use?
 

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