Overbred - infected wounds on back

[antheat]

Poor Henny Penny is not having an easy time of things. She survived the dog attack only to be overbred by enthusiastic rooster.

I got rid of the rooster, but its too late, she has a major infection in her back.

I have Tylan and Pen-G on hand, also have some water soluble Lincomycin.

I'm started her on 1cc of Pen-G - have not wanted to dunk her in water as the weather here in OK is iffy at the moment.

What are my best options?

thanks

Anthea

 

[d.k]

* The bad news is that those wounds need to be thoroughly cleaned out-- which ain't likely to be pleasant for either one of you. I'd dose her with 1-1/4 baby aspirin in a quart of water before you start--and pour out yourself a wee dram of somethin' 'medicinal' as well to look forward to for when you finish. ONCE she's had a good drink of the painkiller and 2O minutes or so have passed and it ought to be working some, you can start the clean-up. Assemble everything you think you may need while waiting on her aspirin. GLOVES, A WHOLE BOX of fresh cotton swabs, gauze pads to soak up pus, neosporin ointment, antibacterial soap in hot water, saline solution, cleaned scissors to trim feathers, betadine or hydrogen peroxide are some of the possibles. Clean her up good, wash the wounds gently with almost hot water and a few drops antibacterial soap, pat dry and apply neosporin. Give her more of her painkiller water when you're done, put her in a quiet, warm, isolated area to recover, and go have YOUR drink!!!

 

[antheat]

Thanks DK

I have never trimmed feathers before - I'm a newbie - I always seem to have a steep learning curve

So, how do I trim feathers?

And how do I use the 1 1/4 tablets of aspirin? Smash up and put in a syringe or?

I have hydrogen peroxide, have neosporin, have iodine (the strong 10% stuff), may have betadine, will have to check. Do have scissors and gauze pads and cotton swabs. So I'm pretty set.

And I normally am a tee-totler, (don't drink at all) but I think I may have a wee bit of Amarula waiting for me once I'm done.

thanks again

Anthea

 

[d.k]

* You may not need to trim any unless they are dirty and touching the wounds or too close to the wounds to let you see to work. AFAIN back feathers pose no risks of bleeding from the shaft at all, so you shouldn't have a problem there. Just trim away whatever really needs it to get the clean-up done. Crush the 1-1/4 baby aspirin and stir them into a quart of water. Encourage her to dry several times to get a decent dose in her to help with the pain b/f you start. Keep in touch and update us, 'kay??

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Don't use the neosporin if it has the painkiller with it. The pain killer is one of those -caine meds and it can be fatal to chickens. Speckledhen just lost her Hawkeye to one of those -caines.

The usual dosage recommended on BYC is 5 regular (325 mg) aspirin (NO SUBSTITUTES) crushed and mixed with ONE GALLON of water.


She will need to be healed before she can go back with the others. If they still peck at her then you may need a chicken saddle. You can follow the link in my sig. for the patterns.

 

[antheat]

Farmer Kitty,

Thanks for the info, so its 5 baby aspirins in a gallon - do I need to do this daily?

She's in a crate by herself. I'll have roomier digs for her this weekend when I get the two roosters out. She's not wanting to roost or anything like that

I'll continue with a 10 days of 1cc of Pen-G to the breast area daily, and clean her up tonight.

thanks

Anthea

 

[Farmer Kitty]

If she doesn't seem to be in a lot of pain, I would only give it to her for when you're cleaning her up. You don't want to over due it either.

It's 5 of the 325 mg asprins.

 

[antheat]

I'll try - she's rattling and rasping breath-wise so I think she's got a dose of pneumonia as well *sigh*

Anthea

 

[dlhunicorn]

do you have a pic of the injured back? This would be most helpful... How long have you been dealing with this injury? If possible get some hibiclens (active ingredient is chlorhexidine) as this is what is recommended for wounds... (flush first with saline) Daily cleansing is important.

Isn't baby aspirin paracetamol? ( You should not use anything but aspirin or metacam with birds... no aspirin "susbtitutes") Be careful with aspirin...it should only be used sparingly.

 

[antheat]

I will try.

she's currently rasping and wheezing and sneezing and the Pen-G isn't helping so I think I need to switch to Tylan 50

Anthea