Open wound on my chicken

[ColleenA]

My chicken is molting and I just noticed that under one wing there is a large open wound, looks kind of deep into the flesh. It looks really bad....she is behaving normally. I have separated her from the flock as I wasn't sure if they did this, although I haven't had an issue in the past with these birds during molt before. How do I care for this. I have been reading various things in your forum, but wasn't sure if these were superficial or like what I have. I don't believe there is skin there to stitch it together.
Please help as I am kind of in panic mode here right now.

 

[coach723]

If you are able to post a picture it would help in getting advice. Does the wound look fresh, or scabbed over like it's been there a while? Do you have a rooster? I ask about the rooster because if you have one and his spurs are long and sharp that could be a cause of an injury in that area. If that is the case then a spur trim is in order. In general, cleaning the wound out good, chlorhexidine is good, veterycin wound and skin care spray is good, or warm soapy water, is the first step. Flush it well to make sure there is no debris in there. If you need to clip back feathers to keep the wound clean, do that. You can apply neosporin (plain, no pain killer) to the wound, or some use manuka honey. As long as there is no infection they usually heal up pretty well even from some pretty serious injuries. If the wound is in a place that can be pecked you will need to keep her separated until she's healed up, wounds, red, or blood will attract pecking from the other birds which can be pretty bad. Hope that helps.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

Good reminder for me to trim my rooster's spurs.

I wouldn't stitch up the wound. Give her an epsom salt bath in warm water and saturate the wound. You can towel dry and put a heater on in her room or use a hair dryer. And then apply a nice coating of local raw honey.

Just keep repeating this process daily (twice daily honey applications) and leave the wound uncovered. Honey is simply brilliant for wound treatment, even deep and serious wounds. I'm speaking from experience.

Keep us posted on how she's doing!

 

[Sunshine Flock]

And expect a sticky mess in the wound area and on her wings with the honey. But honey is water soluble. It's truly powerful stuff for healing.

ETA: Also expect her to dip her beak into the honey. As long as she's not shredding the wound, there's no need to worry.

 

[ColleenA]

If you are able to post a picture it would help in getting advice. Does the wound look fresh, or scabbed over like it's been there a while? Do you have a rooster? I ask about the rooster because if you have one and his spurs are long and sharp that could be a cause of an injury in that area. If that is the case then a spur trim is in order. In general, cleaning the wound out good, chlorhexidine is good, veterycin wound and skin care spray is good, or warm soapy water, is the first step. Flush it well to make sure there is no debris in there. If you need to clip back feathers to keep the wound clean, do that. You can apply neosporin (plain, no pain killer) to the wound, or some use manuka honey. As long as there is no infection they usually heal up pretty well even from some pretty serious injuries. If the wound is in a place that can be pecked you will need to keep her separated until she's healed up, wounds, red, or blood will attract pecking from the other birds which can be pretty bad. Hope that helps.

I will try to get a picture once my husband is here to help me get one. It is a bad one. It was fresh this morning or so it looked, pretty red and bloody looking although right now it looks like it is drying. I had to run to town to get some supplies to clean it up. I got some stuff called Rooster Booster wound spray, but it said for external use only yet I know there were others in the forums that said they use it.
I don't think I have a rooster, none of them crows, but the rhode island red has what looks like spurs and they are quite long. I have never seen it mount another hen, but when I noticed the spurs this summer I have to admit I was a bit confused. I thought I had been getting 5 eggs a day once they started laying, so assumed all were hens, but now I'm not so sure.
The hen with the injury is molting so there are no feathers on her back or where the injury is. I was a bit concerned with wrapping the area due to this or do I leave it exposed?

 

[ColleenA]

Good reminder for me to trim my rooster's spurs.

I wouldn't stitch up the wound. Give her an epsom salt bath in warm water and saturate the wound. You can towel dry and put a heater on in her room or use a hair dryer. And then apply a nice coating of local raw honey.

Just keep repeating this process daily (twice daily honey applications) and leave the wound uncovered. Honey is simply brilliant for wound treatment, even deep and serious wounds. I'm speaking from experience.

Keep us posted on how she's doing!

Thank you for the response...I had read to rinse the wound with sterile saline so I have that ready for as soon as I get some help. I have epsom salts too so maybe that will be easier than boiling the water and filtering it. Normally I don't buy raw honey, but that is something my husband picked up last time he went to the local bulk food store.

Again thanks for the help.

 

[SonoranChick]

I recommend a medicine from the feed store, Veterycin. It is a little pricey, around 20 bucks a bottle, but it's worth it. It's safe for birds and can be digested if they accidentally eat it. It comes in a spray bottle so it's easy to administer. I even use it on my own wounds, it's that good. I hope your chcken is ok, sounds like good news if she's acting normal even though she has a wound. Chickens are resilient and wonderful creatures good luck!

 

[coach723]

Some hens do grow spurs, so could be. You can try posting pictures of that bird in the "what breed or gender is this" forum if you are not sure. By the time they have spurs it's usually fairly easy to tell if it's a hen or rooster based on hackle and saddle/tail feathers. And some dominant hens will practice mounting behavior.
Sterile saline or epsom salts will both work for cleaning the wound. The important thing is to keep it as clean as possible. I usually don't wrap or cover wounds unless it's really necessary in order to keep it clean or protected, like on a foot. They just seem to do better that way, and some will fight or mess with the bandaging. They really do heal up really well as long as there is no infection, just takes some time.

 

[BarredRockMom]

Good reminder for me to trim my rooster's spurs.

I wouldn't stitch up the wound. Give her an epsom salt bath in warm water and saturate the wound. You can towel dry and put a heater on in her room or use a hair dryer. And then apply a nice coating of local raw honey.

Just keep repeating this process daily (twice daily honey applications) and leave the wound uncovered. Honey is simply brilliant for wound treatment, even deep and serious wounds. I'm speaking from experience.

Keep us posted on how she's doing!

Ditto on the honey. I've been thinking about the Epsom salt bath. Normally, I'd think "salt + open wound = ouch!...but even a Dr will use Saline solution to debride a wound, so... Honey is a natural antibiotic antifungal so honey all the way, yes!

 

[guinealeghorn]

Veterycin is good. Otherwise, fleet farm has a wound spray for chickens, but it is the exact same thing. Good luck!