Ms. Crazy Chicken Lady
In the Brooder
- Jan 25, 2018
- 27
- 19
- 29
Hello chicken friends, I am asking for emergency advice/help with an injured 4 month old chick named Bucky! She is the sweetest little lady loves being held and snuggled. She is a Buckeye breed the first one Ive had and I feel so guilty for her being hurt. Last night was the first night I put my chicks outside in their new outdoor cage. I knew I have predators everywhere so the cage has chicken wire on top on the floor and all sides. It is a fortress. I knew the chicks would crowd in on the perch and their bodies would be up against the wire fence. SO i built walls that fold down at night made of plywood for this very reason knowing an animal night try to grab them through the wire. I thought that the wood was heavy enough that an animal couldnt move it but I was wrong 
at 4am last night woke up to chick screaming and ran outside scaring whatever it was away. Probably a raccoon because it was clever enough to lift up the plywood so it could get next to the chicken wire and put its arm in the cage. I feel terrible.
So only one chick was injured, little Bucky was up against the fence, one of her feet is very swoolen and has multiple cuts from a bite or claws and is missing scales. she cant put weight on the foot but her toes can move so im hoping its not broken. That is her most minor injury that I saw immediately when i rescued her last night. I didnt see her serious injury till this morning underneath her wing on her right side the same side as her injured leg/foot ALL of her top layer of skin and feathers is missing!!! She was so calm last night i didnt know she had suffered so much and there was NO BLOOD which was so weird. Under her wing its like the animal got its claws in her and ripped her top skin and feathers clean off. Its a really big wound. It honestly looks like a perfectly cleaned skinned chicken breast filet. Its terrible to say but thats how I can best explain. Again NO BLOOD exept around the edges of the wound where her skin/feather layer meets her skinned area. Thankfully there is no damage to her muscle layer no scratches perfectly clean just skinned right off.
I am most worried about infection!! I have tried cutting away some of her feathers at the edge of the wound so they dont stick. I have put terramycin antibiotic cream on the wound 2X today. I have not rinsed or cleaned the whole area or gotten every feather out of the wound around the edges. Her skin does not stick to her muscle layer around the edge of the wound which worries me for infection. She gets really upset and is in a lot of pain when I try to clean it which is why i have put antibiotic only and let her rest. It is not bandaged yet and she is in my kitchen in a fresh clean cage with food an water resting. she has eaten and drank and pooped.
I need advice with how to proceed with cleaning bandaging and treating. Should I also give her internal antibiotics just in case there is an infection? I have been using it externally. The wound is huge but not deep at all. What should i use to clean it and how long should i bandage it for/let it have air so it can heal?
Please help! And thank you in advance. Here are some gruesome photos below proceed with caution.
at 4am last night woke up to chick screaming and ran outside scaring whatever it was away. Probably a raccoon because it was clever enough to lift up the plywood so it could get next to the chicken wire and put its arm in the cage. I feel terrible.So only one chick was injured, little Bucky was up against the fence, one of her feet is very swoolen and has multiple cuts from a bite or claws and is missing scales. she cant put weight on the foot but her toes can move so im hoping its not broken. That is her most minor injury that I saw immediately when i rescued her last night. I didnt see her serious injury till this morning underneath her wing on her right side the same side as her injured leg/foot ALL of her top layer of skin and feathers is missing!!! She was so calm last night i didnt know she had suffered so much and there was NO BLOOD which was so weird. Under her wing its like the animal got its claws in her and ripped her top skin and feathers clean off. Its a really big wound. It honestly looks like a perfectly cleaned skinned chicken breast filet. Its terrible to say but thats how I can best explain. Again NO BLOOD exept around the edges of the wound where her skin/feather layer meets her skinned area. Thankfully there is no damage to her muscle layer no scratches perfectly clean just skinned right off.
I am most worried about infection!! I have tried cutting away some of her feathers at the edge of the wound so they dont stick. I have put terramycin antibiotic cream on the wound 2X today. I have not rinsed or cleaned the whole area or gotten every feather out of the wound around the edges. Her skin does not stick to her muscle layer around the edge of the wound which worries me for infection. She gets really upset and is in a lot of pain when I try to clean it which is why i have put antibiotic only and let her rest. It is not bandaged yet and she is in my kitchen in a fresh clean cage with food an water resting. she has eaten and drank and pooped.
I need advice with how to proceed with cleaning bandaging and treating. Should I also give her internal antibiotics just in case there is an infection? I have been using it externally. The wound is huge but not deep at all. What should i use to clean it and how long should i bandage it for/let it have air so it can heal?
Please help! And thank you in advance. Here are some gruesome photos below proceed with caution.
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