My neighbor's dog just attacked my chickens.

[Nyxish]

(sorry, i'm stressed so i babble) i let them out for the 2nd time and had to run in to throw the laundry and she let the dogs out in the front yard (i own a duplex, we share a front yard) and i stopped to love on the cat who was feeling cuddly because i had been gone all day and if i had not done that if i had been out just a minute earlier i would have been there and when Skye and Brody (the dogs) came charging up i would have been able to be there and at the very least distract them if not put the fear of everything unholy and ME into them... and... and i wasn't there. And Skye got one of my guineas.

So i have a guinea in a cat carrier in the dark and quiet bathroom recovering from shock who has the skin ripped off the top part of her thigh and a seriously strained leg if not a dislocated hip.

Help me, please? What do i do? i've washed the wound, put a little neosporin on it. She is not bleeding - i am guessing Skye grabbed a mouthful of feathers and it just ripped the skin clean. So i can see the fascia and the muscle underneath (that whole going vegetarian thing is looking more appealing right now, i won't lie) but it's not bleeding or cut. The muscle seems to be ok, it just must sting and ache like a bi*ch.

What else do i do? If she's not putting any weight on the leg tomorrow i thought i'd take her to the vet... but... really...what...do i expect him to do? He doesn't normally deal with poultry.

 

[noodleroo]

I'm so sorry. You might try a few drops of Rescue Remedy in her water and just keep the would clean. If you have some colloidal silver you could irrigate the wound with that. Other than that, I'd just keep her quiet and let her heal.

 

[tnchickenut]

Personally, without seeing how bad it is... I would put anti-biotics in the water for 10 days. Keep it isolated, keep the wound clean and open to the air. Keep a eye on it and let it heal.

I had a chicken who got a nasty cut alot like what you are describing. I put it on anti-biotics and that was about it. It healed nicely.

I know alot of people "shun" against anti-biotics, but when you have a big open wound... I wouldn't hesitate.


Also, my human doctor told me once that bandaging up wounds is actually bad for the wound. Open air is best... it needs to scab and stay dry.

 

[Imp]

Here's a thread with some good wound info. Pay attention to post #16.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=203024

Good luck

Imp

 

[speckledhen]

Absolutely do antibiotics! I do not hesitate to use them on wounds of that nature. She is probably in shock. Keep her in a dark place, make sure she's eating and drinking, add some protein in the form of eggs or fish to help her heal. Not sure what to do about the leg, but she needs to come out of any shock she's in. Triple antibiotic ointment on the wound, too.

 

[savingdogs]

I had a chicken attacked by a dog just a few days ago. I am amazed at how horrible the wound looked and how great this chicken is doing now. I did isolate it. At first it was very stressed, panting. But by the next morning it was eating and drinking and now it is acting normal. If the injury was not near the vent I would put her back with the flock but I'm just afraid the roo would still mate with her and injure it more. She is a high ranking bird in my flock so I doubt anyone would dare peck her.
But I thought I was going to have to mercy-kill her at first and waited a few hours to see if she improved. I'm shocked that she actually is doing really well now and even escaped from me this morning. Her wound is probably three to four inches long and I did not have antibiotics at all yet. We have cleaned her wound and sprayed on antiseptic is all.

We also had a chicken who found a sharp area on the fence a month ago and cut a deep gash. I felt terrible and repaired the fence of course and doctored her as best I could. Two days later I could not figure out which chicken had the wound as I have mostly the same breed and they look much alike. But again I was not sure it would even live, much less be thriving two days later, and I was totally stumped that I could not find the injured one once the feathers laid back down and a day or two passed.

 

[Nyxish]

Ok... ok. So this dosent sound 100% hopeless. As long as she seems to be not suffering hugely.

So here is my n00b glaring for all to see... erm...how do i find antibiotics for her?



i'm feeling totally unprepared for chicken raising. i have a tractor supply near me and an independent feed store. or my poor unprepared-for-my-hysterics vet. i could always torment him.

 

[KaityKatt26]

I had a chicken get attacked by a raccoon after we forgot to close the gate. I was able to literally rip her from the raccoon's hands and isolated her in a dog crate with a towel over it. I treated her wound with Neosporin because that is all I had. She made a full recovery minus some feathers in a spiral around her neck. She actually laid an egg the next day after the attack at 3am. Good Luck to you!

 

[tnchickenut]

Quote:
I would go with LS-50. It's a powder and TSC may or may not have it. Call around to Co-ops and feed stores before driving around. Someone will have it. There is alot of broad spectrum anti-biotics that could work though.

My favorite chicken friendly, vet ran, meds site is http://www.firststatevetsupply.com - you would want to get the anti-biotics locally to save shipping time, but you can do a bit of window shopping and comparing there. They doctor that runs it will also help you if you have questions... I think he charges now but still... he is very helpful when you aren't near a avian vet.

 

[Imp]

Quote:
You can use over the counter antibiotics, like neosporin (like kaitykatt26 said). Make sure it does not have any pain relief in it ending in "caine" like lodocaine etc. They are toxic to chickens.

Imp