Please help! Chicken wound from dog :(

[ChickenChaser9]

Observation is key. She needs to keep eating and drinking water. I do think she stands a good chance at recovery, the wounds do not look pretty but they do not seem to be life threatening.

 

[tamaraly81]

Someone told me not to use peroxide (I posted in an animal group on Facebook before coming here) Is that really something I shouldn't do? I used it the last time she had wounds and she was fine but now I'm second guessing myself. I just want to do everything rite.

 

[ChickenChaser9]

Someone told me not to use peroxide (I posted in an animal group on Facebook before coming here) Is that really something I shouldn't do? I used it the last time she had wounds and she was fine but now I'm second guessing myself. I just want to do everything rite.

Peroxide is not that good to use on humans or anything else. I copied this article from http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/mind-body/553
It is important of course to clean the wounds and this can be accomplished with warm water rinsed over the area.

1) Use hydrogen peroxide to disinfect the wound.
You might think all that bubbling of hydrogen peroxide on your wound is its germ-killing action hard at work. And you'd be right. But that bubbling isn't just killing the bacteria in your cut, it's also killing your body's “fibroblasts,” the cells responsible for repairing the wound.1
It gets worse: [M]ultiple randomized, controlled trials — the best kind of research — show that hydrogen peroxide does not prevent or treat infections in wounds.
So not only will hydrogen peroxide damage your cells, but it's completely useless to begin with!
2) Apply vitamin E to cuts to help them heal faster.
This is a myth that actually has its roots in the medical community. In laboratory research, a type of vitamin E known as “alpha-tocopherol” has been shown to help regulate the expression of a substance called “connective tissue growth factor.” This growth factor is important in, you guessed it, wound repair.
Unfortunately for those doctors who recommend applying a vitamin E ointment to the skin, there has been no evidence that it makes anything better...
[M]ost studies of vitamin E show no improvement whatsoever in the size, thickness, or appearance of scars after using it. Moreover, many people get an itchy rash from using vitamin E.2
3) It's good to remove a bandage and let a cut air out.
This one might make a bit of intuitive sense... It's hard to imagine that a cut or a scrape can properly heal when it's smothered in ointment and a bandage. Some people will take their bandages off at night, others will remove bandaging after a wound stops bleeding.
In this case, intuition is dead wrong. The cells responsible for tissue repair actually work better in a moist environment. A study conducted in the Annals of Plastic Surgery in 1995 found that wet, bandaged wounds healed at least two days more quickly than dry wounds — and led to less infections and better quality of healing.3
However, that doesn't mean you should keep the same bandage on for days at a time. You should change the bandages to cut down on bacterial growth, and that's also a good time to check up on the progression of the healing.
4) Apply antibiotic ointment on an open wound to prevent infections.
Unless your immune system is compromised in some way, or you're very young or very old, you may want to hold off on the antibiotic ointment...
Let me be clear: This has nothing to do with the effectiveness of the ointment. In fact, ointment is quite good at preventing infections and helping cuts heal faster.
However, you should know that the effectiveness of ointment to heal scrapes and cuts is due more to its main ingredient — petroleum jelly — than to its antibiotic properties. A number of studies have found that a simple petroleum jelly ointment performs as effectively or better than ones containing antibiotics4 — and, in many cases, caused less irritation.5
Shelling out extra cash for antibiotic ointment isn't the only downside... Like all other forms of the drug, it can breed an antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection6, which can end up sending you with an unplanned trip to the hospital.

If you enjoyed reading about these medical myths, or simply want to improve your health, I'd recommend Don't Cross Your Eyes...They'll Get Stuck That Way and Don't Swallow Your Gum, both books by Dr. Aaron Carroll and Dr. Rachel Vreeman. They're easy reads and the information is invaluable.
Yours in health,

Ken Swearengen for HealthWire

 

[tamaraly81]

Ok. So how would be the best way to do that, clean with warm water? And how often? I dont want to frighten her and have her flap her wings. What I gathered from that article is to keep a wound wrapped to heal (I don't know what to do about that, I have gauze and I don't know where to start) and no antibiotic ointment or peroxide. I'm going to try and get her to a vet tomorrow if there's one willing to help her. I let her rest all afternoon and I'm getting ready to take care of her wounds now that I have a list of what not to do. Thank you so much for all your help, it's much appreciated.

 

[ChickenChaser9]

Ok. So how would be the best way to do that, clean with warm water? And how often? I dont want to frighten her and have her flap her wings. What I gathered from that article is to keep a wound wrapped to heal (I don't know what to do about that, I have gauze and I don't know where to start) and no antibiotic ointment or peroxide. I'm going to try and get her to a vet tomorrow if there's one willing to help her. I let her rest all afternoon and I'm getting ready to take care of her wounds now that I have a list of what not to do. Thank you so much for all your help, it's much appreciated.

You are very welcome. The easiest issue to address I will do first. The bandaging. Gauss is perfectly acceptable if it is medical grade. You can use medical tape common in first aid kits to secure the bandage over the wound. It may take some creative wrapping on your part to get the coverage just right but what is important is that she cannot see or reach any open wounds to peck at. She just needs a few days of mending so the bandage doesn't need to be perfect, just changed every day. The vet can probably make suggestions on an ointment to acquire that is just right but do not expect that they will want to treat her. Bird physiology is not the same thing they studied for almost certain of that and they tend to charge more for an hour of labor than 5 chickens are worth so they don't tend to take on chickens but there is no harm in trying. As for cleaning the wound you can try submerging the raw parts of her rear in a warm bath and gently pouring the water over the area but you would really want an extra pair of hands to do this because you do not want her to thrash around and do more harm to herself. A visual inspection to make sure the wounds have no debris or dirt on/in them should be sufficient, don't scrub her. If you cant get some bit of dirt or grit off with the pouring of water, a steady hand and a pair of tweezers to extract the foreign particle would do. Ask more questions if you have them.

 

[tamaraly81]

Thank you. We gave her a betadine bath, poured warm betadine water mixture over her wounds (approximately 15-20 rinses). My mom came over and did the rinsing of the wounds while I held her wings down. She's currently in a tote with a heat lamp over her while she dries. Next and probably not my final question is...I picked up some blue kote and wondering when would be best to apply on her wounds? Now or after she dries? This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do, just picking her up I was worried about hurting her. I can't even look at her wounds they're so bad. I don't understand how a bird can survive such an attack. I keep thinking to myself how badly I would be hurting if I was skinned. This is awful. I just want her to make it.

 

[ChickenChaser9]

Thank you. We gave her a betadine bath, poured warm betadine water mixture over her wounds (approximately 15-20 rinses). My mom came over and did the rinsing of the wounds while I held her wings down. She's currently in a tote with a heat lamp over her while she dries. Next and probably not my final question is...I picked up some blue kote and wondering when would be best to apply on her wounds? Now or after she dries? This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do, just picking her up I was worried about hurting her. I can't even look at her wounds they're so bad. I don't understand how a bird can survive such an attack. I keep thinking to myself how badly I would be hurting if I was skinned. This is awful. I just want her to make it.

Sorry for the delay. I think so far you are doing really well with the care. Best to use the Kote once she is dry. Trust me when I say that a well bred bird can survive aweful injuries. I had on of my Jersey Giants survive being attacked by a dog TWICE. She is a real trooper. The first 24 hours are the worst. If she is doing alright in the morning then you are nearly out of the woods. Keep me posted.

 

[tamaraly81]

Oops, I used the wrong thing to reply...sorry if you get this twice. It's ok, I waited to apply the blu kote. Mom just got back to do that and I'm worried it's going to sting, is it going to hurt her?

 

[tamaraly81]

Oops, I used the wrong thing to reply...sorry if you get this twice. It's ok, I waited to apply the blu kote. Mom just got back to do that and I'm worried it's going to sting, is it going to hurt her?

Blu kote is applied..Mom told me to put "my big girl pants on" and sprayed away. She's in the dining room in her makeshift healing house with her "mother hen" (our 8 year old border collie mix, Hank. I swear he thinks these girls are his children ) and I'm sleeping on the couch to keep an eye on her. Here's to a good night! I'll give you an update in the morning. Tha ks again!

 

[ChickenChaser9]

Blu kote is applied..Mom told me to put "my big girl pants on" and sprayed away. She's in the dining room in her makeshift healing house with her "mother hen" (our 8 year old border collie mix, Hank. I swear he thinks these girls are his children ) and I'm sleeping on the couch to keep an eye on her. Here's to a good night! I'll give you an update in the morning. Tha ks again!

I am so glad your mom was able to offer you the encouragement to do what needed to be done. Border collies, being a flock guardian breed are naturally protective and do see their wee charges as adopted children. I have a good feeling about your injured ward. Rest easy.