Please help- chick bitten

[michelio]

Hello everyone,
About an hour ago, one of my chicks was bitten by a cat and has a puncture on her back and one right above her right leg. It looks like her right side is filled with air. It is not near her ribs but there is definitely something filling that side. She was not using her leg on that side but she just now got up on both legs. Is there any hope for her? Is she bleeding internally. I thought she would of passed by now if that were the case. She seems to be doing better since she is using that leg again. I am afraid that she isin pain and dying slowly and if so I want to put her out of her misery. Any help would be great.

 

[b.hromada]

I don't know the answer, so I'll bump it for you.

 

[drumstick diva]

I hope someone will be along to give you specific advice. Search here for info. on wound care. Cat bites and punctures are especially prone to infection. I would think she needs to be put on antibiotics STAT, the swollen region is probably filling with pus. I would imagine a vet would lance it. Please don't attempt something like that yourself until you have gotten replies from the chicken folks that really know about injuries. While waiting, hunt down info. on this site or others.

 

[Imp]

Michelio,

Here's some wound care info. Pay attention to post #16.

Good luck &

Imp

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=203024

 

[michelio]

Thank you so much for the quick replies. I have hunted around the forums and googled the heck out of it but couldn't find anything about the air filled side. It is not swollen, and I got the cat off of her and checked her out and it was like that right away so not pus... I have her inside, cleaned the wounds and am headed out to get the antibiotics. She is doing amazingly well. I gave her some water thru a syringe and she pecked at her food a bit. I am just so frustrated with myself. I am in the process of building a coop so I have been letting them in the front yard so they are not caged all day. They are only a few weeks old. I sit there with a spay bottle to spray the cats away but was sidetracked for a second and one came out of nowhere.

Arg!

 

[quiltnchik]

She will need antibiotics ASAP!! Cat's mouths (and claws) are filled with bacteria and can cause nasty abscesses and/or death if wounds are not treated quickly. I'm not sure what to tell you to use, since different antibiotics treat different things, but she needs to be on something immediately!

 

[silkiechicken]

Bites are one of the few things that I would use an antibiotic with. I usually refrain from them b/c of resistance issues and such, but bites can be great habors for nasties. If the side is filled with air, it is very likely she has a punctured lung. Birds have a multi chambered lung system unlike mammals, and a punctured one does not lead to collapse like it would on us, but rather just her insides filling up with circulating air.

 

[michelio]

So if she has a punctured lung, can she survive?