Pierced mouth

[meandthegirls]

It is a hard day in chickenworld today! Not only do I have an obsessed escapee who won't stop screaming and putting herself in harms way, but my 5 month old hen just hung herself by the lip! She jumped up to "eat" the wire hook that holds the cage door open when the girls free range. The hook hung her and lodged itself through the bottom of her mouth. We had to cut the hook with wire cutters and pull it out from the bottom of her mouth. She seems ok now, is scratching and pecking at a watermelon rind. Is there anything medical I should do? Disinfect it?

 

[aoxa]

Poor girl!

First off, secure that fencing.

Second off, I would just leave it alone. It would be hard to disinfect if the cut is in her mouth. I'm not sure exactly where in her mouth it is, but as long as it doesn't look deep or bad, I would let it heal naturally.

 

[aoxa]

What a weird hen.

 

[meandthegirls]

Thank you. Unfortunately the hook went all the way through the bottom of her mouth (behind the beak) and out the other side. Maybe it is comparabable to a person being peirced through a cheek. It did bleed, but seems to have stopped. Again, her behavior seems to be pretty normal which really suprises me. I would think she couldn't eat or drink. I'll keep watching her.

 

[gottsegnet]

Chickens are weird, but they don't pout much. Even when they're in pain, they tend to continue acting like a chicken because they are prey animals and they don't want to show their discomfort. Once a chicken is acting sick or hurt, it usually doesn't live much longer.

It will probably be OK. They're pretty hardy, but it also won't tell you if it is getting worse are swelling or whatever. I'd clean it and maybe rinse it with some hydrogen peroxide and just keep watching her closely for a week or so and make sure she keeps eating and drinking.

 

[meandthegirls]

It has been a week since the hanging and Marsala (Marsy) seems to be doing well. She seemed a little off for the first hour or two after the incident, but since has been acting normal. I think she even laid her first egg! Who would have thought one would do so well after piercing her neck. She is tougher than I am! Thank you for your help, suggestions and encouragement in this new endeavor or raising chickens! It is fun, most of the time.