My chicken got hurt help

[chickadde]

The neighbors dogs got my chicken and and tore a lot of her feathers off and she has some of her skin torn open what can i put on her to protect her. I also moved her away from the other chickens.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
Good that you separated her, as far as wound care wash with warm soapy water then dry real good, protecting her from getting chilled, if the wound is large you may want to trim the feathers away so you can see how bad it is and medicate better. You can use neosporin and just make sure that what ever you use doesn't have any type of pain relief in it. that ends in caine. I like a product called Vetericyn it comes in a spray and it's for infection and wounds will not burn and really is great stuff, i bought mine at TSC. Make sure to keep her warm but not overly and that she has acsess to water and feed. Sure hope she recovers from this and you have a nice talk with your neighbors about keeping their dog home. Don't put her back with the flock till she is healed, chickens are drawn to anything thats red be it wounds or what ever, so after she starts to heal spray with blue-kote to disguise the wound then start letting her out with the flock when you can supervise just in case they go after her.

 

[AHDCST]

I had a similar problem with one of my hens. She had a ragged torn place on her side. I used a q-tip to bring the edges back up and to see how much I could use her of her own skin to cover the wound. I use the saline eye wash for contacts to clean the wound. Dry it as much as possible. Place any remaining skin back where it belongs. I use q-tips to push the skin around gently. Place a thin layer of a triple antibiotic ointment ( make sure it is NOT anti pain kind ). Cover with a non stick gauze. I used a baby's t-shirt to cover it all. Put the legs through the arm holes and make slits for the wings. You can also use a infant one piece undershirt ( Onesies) put legs through the arms and the wings through the leg openings. Be creative. Be sure to check the bandage frequently and change it every day to check for infection. Watch closely for any redness, swelling, dark or foul smelling drainage, or fever. Clear drainage is okay as long as there is no fever. Keep her in an area where she can nest in a dark quiet place if possible. If she develops a fever you need to go ahead and cull her so she doesn't suffer. Once infection sets in there is very little you can do. Hope this makes sense and that it helps.

 

[Uniontown Poultry]

Depending on the size, condition and location of the wound there are a few things you can do.

If the wound is a tear in the skin, like a laceration, but the sides meet, you can sew or tape it shut. If you sew it, clean the wound with a sterile saline rinse, then with a solution like Betadine, you can rub a little Neosporin w/lidocaine on the wound edges before you sew them back together with a sterilized sewing needle and thread that was soaked in Betadine solution. If it's possible to use a piece of athletic tape or a butterfly bandage to keep the edges of the wound closed, that may be an option.

If the wound is a missing patch of skin (with or without minor muscle damage below the skin), you will want to put sulfur powder (sold online, at natural food stores, garden centers, feed stores) or WonderDust (sold at Tractor Supply in horse section) on it. These are antibiotic powders that help the wound to stay dry and to heal.

Your chicken may need to be confined to the house or other warm area for awhile until her wounds close, which will of course depend on the size and severity of the wounds. Keeping her in a place where she has heat (from a heat lamp if necessary), electrolytes in her water (electrolytes for poultry, like Sav-a-Chick), food & treats (melon and grapes help keep her hydrated), will help her body to repair itself. When she is healed up enough to join the flock, a modified baby onesie or a hen saddle (just something that covers the naked or scarred area) should keep her safe from picking. I have used the sew method, sulfur powder method, and have put saddles on my hens & have had success.
Hope this helps!