open wound from dog attack - how do I help?

[gretamae]

My dog managed to get his mouth around a hen today. He mostly got feathers, but tore a piece of skin from her back. It is still attached, like a flap. She is bleeding, but not scarily fast. I have isolated her in my bathroom (she's hiding behind the toilet at the moment).

How should I clean it? I have hydrogen peroxide and neosporin handy.

Should I try to sew it up? I'm not sure I have the stomach for this, but I have a good friend who would lend a hand.

Thank you in advance. I can post a picture if it helps.

 

[Judy]

I wouldn't try to sew it. It needs to be able to drain, for one thing. I would dilute the peroxide to half strength or less and dab the wound clean, apply lots of Neosporin, push the flap back over the would if I could, and keep her by herself for at least a few days so the others don't peck the wound. I'd also get her back with the flock as soon as I dared. Chickens heal remarkably well. Good luck!

 

[gretamae]

Thank you!

After doing some reading of older topics on this forum, I decided not to try to sew or glue the wound shut. I'm about to flush with diluted h202. I've also read that you can then apply diluted iodine. I'm a little wary of that, since it's poisonous if ingested.

I just hope she starts eating and drinking on her own soon.

 

[Judy]

She's probably a little shocky from the attack. Hopefully she will calm down and begin to eat and drink; give her some time to calm down.

I found a chicken lying on her side in the chicken yard once, after a coyote attack. At a glance she looked horribly injured with broken bones, but when I picked her up (expecting to have to put her down) she immediately stretched up and looked around. After some first aid to some rather minor wounds, I put her back with the flock, wounds concealed by feathers and BluKote. She did not eat and drink a whole lot for several days, but she was doing both. She's fine now.

 

[Lollipop]

Yup, she won`t eat or drink for a few days. just keep her alone and make sure the flies don`t blow her. She`ll scab over in a day or so and look real bad, but about day 3 or 4 she`l begin to eat and drink better. Even if you don`t do anything but keep her alone and quiet, she`ll recover. One thing to watch for, their lungs are located close to their back. Listen to her breath. If she doesn`t rattle or wheeze, she should be fine..........Pop

 

[gretamae]

Thank you thank you thank you!

At the moment I'm not too optomistic that poor Molly will recover. I've been trying to leave her alone, even though I'm dying to do SOMETHING, even though I don't know how best to help. Upon further inspection, she has a puncture wound near her vent, but that has stopped beeding as well

She is breathing fine, but is definitely in shock. I got her to drink some water from a dropper. I was so relieved to see her drink! Her poop is very runny at the moment, and I'm afraid she's lost a lot of fluid between that and blood loss.

I'm not confident that I've cleaned her wound sufficiantly - I can't even get at the one on her underside very well. I've read that you can give chickens penecillin or some other antibiotics. So I'm thinking of asking my vet about it.

Thanks again. I love how supportive this community is.

 

[Aj1911]

get iodine ASAP hydrogen peroxide can kill new tissue and make wounds worse if used too much

flush with a diluted iodine mix 3 times a day, keep her by her self for 4-5 days

get ployvisol vitamins in her (2 drops in the beak 2x a day)

pack any puncture wounds with neosporin the type with out the pain reliever as its toxic to birds flush it once a day and packing fresh daily

after a week she will be set to go chickens heal fast, i had a hen that had her entire side ripped open by a roosters spur it was a very deep and nasty wound it took 2 and a half weeks to fully heal flushing twice a day with iodine but she needed no other care and even remained in the flock as top hen, the wound was so deep it affected one of her legs and she would favor it for over 2 months before it fully healed

but yea just get vitamins in her, give her healthy treats and keep it clean and flys off her and she will be good to go in no time at all

 

[gretamae]

Thanks!

I was hesitant to use iodine just because it has a big ol' skull and crossbones on the side of the bottle, and I was a little worried she'd pick at the wound and ingest it (maybe the least of my worries?). I will dilute it and use that from now on.

Does anyone have any experience in getting antibiotics from a veterinarian? I wonder if they'll give me some without having to see the animal. I don't want to move her any more than I have to (or pay for a vet visit!)

 

[Judy]

You can buy antibiotics at the feed store for cows and pigs and such, but I wouldn't recommend it. You don't know which one to give, and you would be building resistance. IMO they are way overused -- we now know this is certainly true for people; overuse has led to growth of strains of "superbugs."

By iodine I assume you are talking about something like Betadine (or a generic version,) a providone iodine scrub solution, readily available in drug stores. The iodine I remember from childhood is not, I believe, available any more. Betadine is a good antiseptic for intact skin but should be used in a limited manner on an open wound. It can be absorbed and can indeed lead to toxicity. For wounds, it should be diluted something like 10 parts water and 1 part Betadine, and then it is best used only for initial cleaning. It kills newly growing skin or other tissue cells, as does peroxide, which should also only be used for initial cleaning.

Really, there is nothing wrong with a simple soapy water solution for most wounds, or some homemade saline (instructions readily available through your friendly neighborhood Google search.) Saline damages nothing and can even be used in eyes.

 

[gretamae]

Saline solution it is then!

I'm told that my vet can give me a powdered antibiotic if I request it. My mom says she got some for a sick cockatiel she found on her porch one day.

I got a little more water in her, and now I'm trying to leave her be for the night. I'm sure I won't have a very restful sleep tonight.