Old(ish) wound on hip

[Goldenpheasantlover]

Discovered a wound on one of my hens this morning after going out to feed them. She went to clean her butt and lifted her wing and I caught sight of a bald spot that looked quite crusty. Got a better look at it just now and there is definitely a puncture of some kind, although it's quite puckered and pink. Doesn't seem to be much infection and it doesn't look super fresh either. I'm thinking it was probably a cockerel mounting issue, she'll be getting a saddle asap, but I'm not sure what to do with the wound in the meantime. There is some crusty dirt etc around it which I feel needs to be washed off but like I said the wound itself seems pretty healthy.

1) Type of bird, age and weight - Ixworth hen, about a year old, good weight just from feeling
2) What is the behavior, exactly - no changes in behaviour, no limps even though it's around the hip area
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms - found it this morning, no prior knowledge, no idea how old it is
4) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma - yes, puckered pink wound, no bleeding or oozing
5) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation - suspected mating injury
6) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all - normal eating and drinking behaviour
7) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? - going to soak/clean with saline, haven't done anything so far
8) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? - considering how good the hen/wound look I feel treating at home will be easiest
9) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help - will update with this

 

[thudson]

Ok Sounds Luke you may be correct on how the hen got the wound. Washing thoroughly with water and saline solution sounds good too. The only other thing, you MAY want to apply some Blue Cote to the wound just to make sure no type of pecking from another hen or herself to the wound. Last thing of course is observation. Monitor the area daily. Hope she remains well.

 

[Goldenpheasantlover]

Bit of a grossness warning

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There's gathered dirt/scabbing at the bottom but the wound itself is pretty clean, the skin around it is still nice and pink and it's not bleeding heavily at all. Only about half a centimetre deep. She has developed the slightest limp since this morning but nothing major. I've washed it best I can with saline although I couldn't get much of the dirt off, and I've plastered it with antiseptic to try and nip any infections in the bud. It's under her wing so not visible to the other chickens, I think that's partly why it looks so good, but I'll be keeping an eye on it and let you guys know of any changes.

 

[thudson]

Bit of a grossness warning

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View attachment 1273751

There's gathered dirt/scabbing at the bottom but the wound itself is pretty clean, the skin around it is still nice and pink and it's not bleeding heavily at all. Only about half a centimetre deep. She has developed the slightest limp since this morning but nothing major. I've washed it best I can with saline although I couldn't get much of the dirt off, and I've plastered it with antiseptic to try and nip any infections in the bud. It's under her wing so not visible to the other chickens, I think that's partly why it looks so good, but I'll be keeping an eye on it and let you guys know of any changes.

If you are concerned about the dirt you could try some hydrogen peroxide. Flushing it with that, then reflush with water and saline solution. Then reapply any ointments. Main thing is observation. Thanks please do keep us informed.

 

[Goldenpheasantlover]

Update

Been a bit of a while but I thought I'd post an update/conclusion to this. The hen is fine and healing well, although I discovered other smaller wounds all along her and her sister's back from the cockerels. I've made them a couple of hen aprons out of old jeans so they're super tough and not likely to tear at all and they seem to both be healing pretty well. No signs of infection anywhere which is a good sign.

The big wound I washed with saline and covered in antiseptic cream, which seems to have negated any infections that might have been brewing. She did get a slight limp the day after I found it, probably from how sore it was, but after being washed that cleared up nicely. I haven't removed her from the flock at all and instead gave her one of these aprons so that the wound doesn't get pulled open again. All in all it seems to be clearing up well and I'll definitely be keeping a closer eye on how rough the boys are being from now on

 

[Eggcessive]

I would trim and dull your rooster’s spurs, and maybe separate some of them to help prevent the hens from getting hurt. In hot weather, those wounds can be infested with maggots causing flystrike. In the future I would spray with Vetericyn or use plain Neosporin/triple antibiotic ointment.