Naked turkey hen with abcess

[Dragon Lady]

One of my hens (1 year old) is almost bald on her front from her broody stint, Now she is also quite bald on her back.
I've been observing her for a few days and she is not as chirpy as usual.

I just watched her wash herself and noticed a huge scabby area under her wing. I'm guessing that it is a mating injury due to her lack of feathers.

its hard to get any physical contact with her, so how do I go about treating her?

I'm worried :-(

 

[Arielle]

Well, now is a good time to start handling her. Can you catch her? Maybe at the end of the day when she goes to roost and is fairly quiet?? Plan on wrapping one arm around her wings to her chest, holding the inside wing firmly against your side under your arm AND use the other hand to secure BOTH legs. Reduces resistance.

Have a helper person if you can that is not intimidated by a big bird. If not, hang her by her legs gently, with one hand. And in a brighly lit area, look her over. Look at the scabby area. If the are around it is not red, or filled with areas of pus, leave it alone.

Can you segregate her so you can watch her and she can eat and drink in peace, maybe with a quiet buddy? Decide if she needs further support.

I keep basic meds available in a locked medicine cabinet. Pets get treated; others head for the stew pot. Most drugs have withdrawal times= length of time from last treament to butcher for eating or consuming eggs . I don't mean to sound harsh, just want you to know animals treated with drugs need thoughful handling if used for food.

Sometimes a little support is enough to turn them around. GOod luck.

 

[Dragon Lady]

Thankyou Arielle,
I just chased her around the yard, I guess she's not too sick when she can outrun me lol

I will take your advise and wait until she goes to roost and enlist my husband to help me.

I plan to use a solution of water, witch hazel, tea tree and sea salt and bathe the area. any thoughts on this?

thanks again for your prompt help

 

[Arielle]

Sorry I don't know wholistic remedies. Is witch hazel anything like alcohol?? Alcohol is NOT good for open wounds-- too harsh and damaging. Betadine is best. Sea salt can also be too harsh unless it is diluted enough. Again, I don't know enough wholistic treaments to be certain.

Try posting on the chiken tread asking aoub wound treatment-- Maybe Beekissed or someone else will confirm your treatment.

 

[Dragon Lady]

Sorry I don't know wholistic remedies. Is witch hazel anything like alcohol?? Alcohol is NOT good for open wounds-- too harsh and damaging. Betadine is best. Sea salt can also be too harsh unless it is diluted enough. Again, I don't know enough wholistic treaments to be certain.

Try posting on the chiken tread asking aoub wound treatment-- Maybe Beekissed or someone else will confirm your treatment.

Thanks again Arielle, we managed to get a better look at it whilst she was having a wash earlier. It's not as bad I first thought. whilst it doesn't now appear to be an abcess, it does look like a giant carpet burn that is healing lol. it has a large scab over it. i couldn't see any redness around it to indicate any infection.
I feel more hopeful now

 

[Arielle]

OH good, hopefully she will healup quickly.