MY CHIICKEN'S BACK WAS RIPPED OFF! Wound care advice needed

[MarlaMac]

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I am really unsure. The original wound was feom our dog pulling the feathers out, but her skin was there. If she did it, she ate an eight inch circle of her skin and fat off. Seems unlikely, but chickens are not bright. Yesterday I had her in the chicken yard to stretch with all the others locked out. A hen flew over, attacked her and ripped her bandage off.
It's definitely tricky here with the dynamics!

You might have found your culprit.

 

[NaturalWitchery]

Have to give credit to @Wyorp Rock - she gave me that idea when I had to dose on of my gals. How is she doing?

It was a little scary today. I think her body is working really hard to heal. I took the bandage of to find blue on the bandage and blue and green in her tissues!
After doing a search, I encountered pictures from an old thread on here with a wound almost identical. The poster said this happened for 3 days as part of the healing progression.
I was at my dog's immunization appointment today and the vet (who started in farm veterinary) gave me some pointers and said it would be a month of covering it. She said I'm doing all the right things.
I'm just fretful today, but giving her space.
Thanks for asking. I'm pretty upset, but remaining vigilant.

 

[NaturalWitchery]

You might have found your culprit.

The vet said it is most likely that the scab she had on her back was a tastey treat for her pen mates who probably cannibalize her.

 

[The Brick Coop]

Exact same thing happened here. A neighbor's dog did it. The dog killed the whole flock except her. She was severely injured and had no flock. Both situations hit her hard--physically and mentally. I am not a veterinarian! Here is my experience. Do NOT leave it uncovered. Do not use gauze! The new skin will quickly mesh with it and you will rip new skin off. No need to feed antibiotic if she is eating & drinking well & it seems like it is healing. With clean hands and a helper to hold her and move (dirty) feathers for you, cover it with antibiotic ointment. The bone is right there! Pull as much skin together to close it as you can, but on the back there is not much fat so usually skin is basically barely covering bone just barely. Use sterile cotton balls pulled flat on that layer of ointment. Cover this all with masking tape (not bandage tape which is hard to change), taped all over to her dry feathers around the edges. You will have to lift her wings & move good feathers aside to tape everything down all over her back. Change the cotton & ointment every three days at first. It may look like she is doing ok but she will get depressed unless she has a buddy to see eating close nearby all the time. Ours lost her will to eat much while alone. After a week she was almost dead, then we got a hen buddy just in time. She felt obligated to put the new hen in her place & pecked her, but was too weak to fight. She ate, & healed super fast after that. Keep the edge bandage on the outer dry feathers by carefully cutting off the middle wound part to change it, then re-taping onto the old edge masking tape. Over time she will remove the masking tape herself if you do not, but it is easier than gummy tough bandage tape.

 

[NaturalWitchery]

Exact same thing happened here. A neighbor's dog did it. The dog killed the whole flock except her. She was severely injured and had no flock. Both situations hit her hard--physically and mentally. I am not a veterinarian! Here is my experience. Do NOT leave it uncovered. Do not use gauze! The new skin will quickly mesh with it and you will rip new skin off. No need to feed antibiotic if she is eating & drinking well & it seems like it is healing. With clean hands and a helper to hold her and move (dirty) feathers for you, cover it with antibiotic ointment. The bone is right there! Pull as much skin together to close it as you can, but on the back there is not much fat so usually skin is basically barely covering bone just barely. Use sterile cotton balls pulled flat on that layer of ointment. Cover this all with masking tape (not bandage tape which is hard to change), taped all over to her dry feathers around the edges. You will have to lift her wings & move good feathers aside to tape everything down all over her back. Change the cotton & ointment every three days at first. It may look like she is doing ok but she will get depressed unless she has a buddy to see eating close nearby all the time. Ours lost her will to eat much while alone. After a week she was almost dead, then we got a hen buddy just in time. She felt obligated to put the new hen in her place & pecked her, but was too weak to fight. She ate, & healed super fast after that. Keep the edge bandage on the outer dry feathers by carefully cutting off the middle wound part to change it, then re-taping onto the old edge masking tape. Over time she will remove the masking tape herself if you do not, but it is easier than gummy tough bandage tape.

Thank you so much for sharing your real life experience.
She was getting depressed without her friends. I let her hang out with them in the other side if the coop and she has been strengthening. Today with my sturdy pet bandage, I let her mingle outside the yard, successfully! I have her isolated at night.
I've been using a no stick wound bandage held in place with the pet ace bandage. This has really worked as she has ripped everything else off.
It got kind of blue and greenish for a few days. Did this happen to you? It seems to have moved past this stage.
How long did it take to heal?
How did you clean it? I have been rinsing with saline and coating with triple antibiotic ointment before putting the no stick wound bandage (which I also coat with ointment) on. So far no sticking.
I keep cutting edge feather back to keep them out of the wound.
She seems peppy and I am very hopeful she will heal.
It looks pretty bumpy and strange under there...
Thank you again for your detailed response!

 

[Eggcessive]

Green and blue on a wound can be bruising, and some have seen that with certain antiseptics, especially Betadine or povidone iodine. Please share a picture when her wound heals completely. I had a problem with my young pullets jumping over my 4 foot chainlink fence into my yard to get in trouble with our dog. I had to use a shock collar on the dog for just one day with the carcass of the hen he killed. The dog taught the others to not even look at chickens again. We also installed electric poultry netting, which kept the chickens from being able to jump up on and over a sturdy fence. Eventually the power was turned off, and that netting worked well for many years. We used the lightweight 35 inch high netting here:
https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/...MIuKDF2dvxhgMVCUb_AR3pGQwDEAQYAyABEgJnufD_BwE

 

[NaturalWitchery]

Green and blue on a wound can be bruising, and some have seen that with certain antiseptics, especially Betadine or povidone iodine. Please share a picture when her wound heals completely. I had a problem with my young pullets jumping over my 4 foot chainlink fence into my yard to get in trouble with our dog. I had to use a shock collar on the dog for just one day with the carcass of the hen he killed. The dog taught the others to not even look at chickens again. We also installed electric poultry netting, which kept the chickens from being able to jump up on and over a sturdy fence. Eventually the power was turned off, and that netting worked well for many years. We used the lightweight 35 inch high netting here:
https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/electronet-9-35-12-electric-netting?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PMax: (ROI) - Top Products (NCA) - Shopping&utm_id=20074544158&utm_content=&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuKDF2dvxhgMVCUb_AR3pGQwDEAQYAyABEgJnufD_Bwive finally trained him out of plucking feathers for fun.

 

[NaturalWitchery]

I've finally trained him out of plucking feathers. It took a few days of being on top of him, but he's there.

 

[speckledsuspect1213]

I've finally trained him out of plucking feathers. It took a few days of being on top of him, but he's there.

that’s great! how is your hen doing?

 

[NaturalWitchery]

She has a scab on her back. The flesh in the sides is growing back and feathers are coming.
The other hens won't let her be close or sleep in the coop yet, but I believe that by the time it starts to cool here, she will be healed completely and they will let her back in the coop.
I am leaving the scab as it seems to be shrinking daily!
Thanks for asking. This is my favorite chicken and I'm glad she made it