Need Medication/ wound suggestions after pair attacked

[shay0903]

We have a loving pair of lavender silkies (roo and hen). They were attacked early this am or late last night. We aren't sure what got after them but we caught a squirrel fighting with our roo this afternoon. We waited until this evening to fully check them out when we moved them to a more secure coop (so not to stress them). Upon checking we noticed the roo has a quarter size "hole" in his side under his wing. And our hen has several small puncture wounds under her wing. The hen actually acts worse as she doesn't move a whole lot and acts very fatiqued. She was actually brooding 9 eggs ( all messy from poo and gunk no) when this apparently happened. By the time we got everything completed the stores in our area with chicken supplies were all closed. I gave them the vitamin/electolyte supplement in their water, clipped messy feathers out, and offered them the medicated chick food we had. Am I wrong to offer the medicated chick food?? I was just thinking it probably couldnt hurt since it was all I have this evening. I was reading through the forum and thought some cooked eggs and protein would be good in the AM to promote wound healing. I was reading about antibiotics- can anyone tell me where/ how to administer these and which is best. I can definetly get either betadine or peroxide - which would be better?? Somoneone mentioned stiching bad gaping wound- but do roosteres hold pretty still as well. i just imagine the pain it must cause and am a little nervoud about this but would if it would help save my roo.(as they have been together since hatching and one would probably not do well without the other. How often should we clean the wounds?- The hen also acts "stiff " or sore when walking, cant find anything on her feet or legs just between legs/wings? Any suggestions on double checking areas for bigger damage? Anything I should keep an eye on other then eating and drinking ?? - Thanks for the help in advance!

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Quote:
The most important things you can do are to isolate the injured birds from the rest of the flock (and each other) and to CLEAN OUT THE WOUNDS and keep them clean. This will be easier to do if they are in a nice, quiet, clean place away from the others. For tonight, the best thing you can do is to clean out the wounds with whatever you have: clear water is just fine. If you can get them to soak in a sink, drain out the water and then repeat the process, that's a great start. Infection is the enemy. I wouldn't think about stitching anything together until you are certain there is no bacteria in the wound otherwise you'll just be creating a breeding-ground for the infection to thrive. It can air-dry and that'd be fine, or you can blow-dry the birds with a hair dryer. They love that.

Tomorrow if you can get some betadine, that would be good to clean out the wound with again. Soak in a big sink full of water and betadine. They usually like being in a warm bath, so don't be surprised if they look like they're going to sleep! After drying them with a hair dryer on warm, not hot, you may wish to put some Neosporin on the wounds. But do not cover them, let them air dry. Be certain there is no pain killers in the Neosporin (any ingredient ending in "caine" is bad for chickens.). You can use Bacatracin, triple antibiotic ointment, whatever brand or generic you can get. Just no "caine" in it.

Keep them away from the rest of the flock until they're fully healed otherwise they run the risk of having their wounds pecked at by the others.

They do not need medicated food, that is for cocci and won't help with injuries.

You can feed them additional protein if you like. It's most important to have them resting, isolated, wounds clean and dry and watch them for eating/drinking and infection. They are much more resilient than you'd think and they heal quickly.

Hang in there and keep us posted!! (if you have photos of the injuries that you can share, that helps too)

 

[Celtic Chick]

ADozenGirlz pretty much gave you the best advice.
Here is my 2 cents:
From the Chicken Health Handbook, "As soon as a wound is discovered, isolate the bird. Clean broken tissue by pouring peroxide on it. As the peroxide bubbles up, it lifts organic matter so it can be rinsed away with more peroxide. If the injury is serious, remove feathers from around wound so they can't stick in the wound & hinder healing. When wound is clean, coat it with neomycin in the form of Neo-Predef powder (for an oozing wound) or neosporin (for a dry wound). If the injury is quite large, wrap it in a gauze bandage & tape in place. To keep pus from forming & giving bacteria a place to grow, change the dressing daily, clean it with peroxide and reapply neomycin."
Good luck with your chickies. So sorry to hear what happened.

 

[AHappychick]

yes good advise, make sure to search for maggots and eggs as the flies often lay as soon as they find a wound.
As long as you treat the wound and keep them fed they should heal just fine. Chickens are very hearty.

Good Luck!