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

[Eggcessive]

I am sorry, I meant raw honey, not organic.

So I double checked with a beekeeper I know. Honey from the continental US and Europe cannot be organic. With the odds of getting fake Manuka honey your best bet is to get local raw honey. The darker it is the better for wounds.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

I am sorry, I meant raw honey, not organic.

You'll see honey labeled organic. It's just not possible. Beekeepers have no idea what the bees are eating to make honey. That would be a serious tracking operation. LOL

 

[abraga]

1. HOME MADE SALINE: Put one cup of water and ½ teaspoon of salt into the pot. Put the lid on.
2. Boil for 15 minutes with the lid on (set a timer).
3. Set the pan aside until cooled to a room temperature.
4. Carefully pour the salt and water (normal saline) from the pan into the jar or bottle and put the lid on.

 

[Eggstatic1727]

Her neck wounds may need closed up. If you don’t want to do stitches (I don’t blame you) you could use steri strips. You don’t want to close it tight. More hold the skin together so it has the chance to meet up and grow together.

I read your post on using sugar, what an amazing story. Would you recommend me trying that on her neck wounds? I need to pick up some VCO for her featherless backside because it's extremely dry back there. I was just wondering if it would cause any bad side effects giving it a try with the sugar though. Your BCM wound looks similar, to how the skin is pulling away.
Granted all of her wounds are coming along very nicely today with using the vetercyn spray and neosporin. I made the saline and flushed the wounds with a syringe on Monday afternoon. She is still eating and drinking and pooping regularly. She is getting pretty fiesty/annoyed everytime I try to doctor her too, which I'm taking as a good sign

 

[Eggstatic1727]

I will say she is still resting a lot, which seems normal and she doesn't seem to be too concerned about being away from her 2 sisters. Which I am partially thankful for. Don't need her stressing out more, with her wounds being severe and not covered I know it will be at least 1-2 weeks before she is able to try to go back outside (at this point I may just keep her as my little bathroom bird so nothing like this can happen again to her). But I am a little worried about reintroducing her, unfortunately she is at the bottom of the pecking order and my alpha BCM hen was notorious for mounting her and plucking her head feathers out.
Any tips on that for when the time comes if you all have any experience with it.

I also wanted to add that it is a miracle in itself that I am talking about her future. It looked so grim Sunday and she has astounded me with her will to survive. Thank you all for all of your timely replies, they helped saved her life.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

I was going with what "felt right". I started with Vetricyn and Neosporin. She was clearly unhappy away from the flock so I knew I had to come up with a way to get her out with them. In the beginnng I changed her bandage 2x a day. I would pull her off the roost at night. Change her bandage and leave her in a crate over night. In the morning I would check her again and put her outside.
The sugar was a last ditch effort before I was thinking I would need to stitch her or glue her or something else. I had nothing to lose.
Where her wound was the lower part of it started to pull away just from gravity. There was a pocket between her skin and flesh that had me really concerned.
So I got up the nerve and rinsed her wound really well, sprayed it with Vetricyn and sprinkled sugar on it. I actually lifted it and threw sugar under it. Hoping it would give the skin something to grab on to. I kept checking her. I used enough sugar that it didn't fall off dry or in thick clumps. I would put gauze over it then the stockinette to keep it in place.
The VCO became helpful at first in her feathers. They had gotten so matted with sugar I was cutting them apart. Then I thought why not use it on the wound itself?
When her skin and scab would seem sorta dry I used the VCO then sugar. If it started to get gooey I used the Vetricyn to get the sugar to stick.

To me it is worth a try. If you have a way, cover her neck so sugar doesn't end up everywhere. The stockinette I used was just snug enough to keep the gauze in place. I know you don't want to strangle her wrapping her neck up so maybe put gauze on and spray it with Vetricyn. You may have some trial and error to see what works. A kids tube sock... or long sleeve from a toddler shirt.
They do like to eat the VCO. And the sugar for that matter. LOL It didn't hurt but if you really give her a good covering of it keep an eye on her poop.

 

[Eggcessive]

I really would try to keep her in a crate in sight of the other birds as much as possible so they can stay familiar, or it might be hard to reintegrate her later if she is gone too long. When I separate broodies they are accepted back after 4-5 days pretty well, but longer than that, it might be hard. As long as she visits them and cannot be touched, that should help. Later when the skin is healing, BluKote or gentian violet can hide wounds.

 

[Eggstatic1727]

View attachment 1360041 View attachment 1360043 View attachment 1360044 ***UPDATE***
Just updating on Sniffles progress, she is doing great. Eating and drinking, her poop is a bit runny but she seems to be going regularly. She is snatching the Q-tips lathered in Neosporin from me each time I apply it, so she seems to be getting mouthfuls of the stuff, I am thinking that is why her poop may be watery.
She got to visit her sisters yesterday outside, she seemed to really enjoy being in the sun.
Couple of questions, I have been spraying her with the Vetercyn 3x daily and applying Neosporin once before bed to let it sit overnight. Just wanted to get an overall opinion of her wounds and if I am applying too frequently or just enough. The wounds seems to be progressing really well.
Also, with her bare back end, (I am sorry if this is a stupid question but I am only a year into raising chickens) will her feathers grow back in? and how long does that take?
It was about 70 degrees yesterday and when the sun wasn't on her she seemed a little chilly!

 

[Eggcessive]

Her feathers should start growing back in, but if she is close to a molt, she may molt first. My injured hen had never molted, but her injuries pushed her into one. Both Vetericyn and Neosporin can be used twice a day. She looks pretty good for what she has gone through. Hen saddles or aprons are something you can make or buy for her as a temporary covering while she regrows feathers.

 

[featherhead007]

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 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.

Poor girl has been thru hell! I'de kill the dog!