Predator Attack: Leg and Breast Injury on Leghorn Hen

[Barnhouse]

We had six adult Leghorn hens until recently. I was a little late closing the door to the run after sunset and something got into the coop, possibly a raccoon or an opossum. Whatever it was, it made off with one hen and injured a second.

The injured bird has a pale and shriveled comb, but that started back in November, long before the injury, and she has since been somewhat outcast from the rest. She had otherwise appeared healthy and I suspected she was growing old.

The predator plucked a thin 2 in long section from her breast, but there is no longer any blood, just bare skin and no infection. On her legs there are cuts which have become infected, but are not swollen. She hobbles around on one foot. The four healthy birds started picking at her causing her comb to bleed.

To protect her from the others, within the coop I constructed a 12 sq ft chicken wire pen (with a cover), and provided water and the commercial layer feed I give to all the birds. Her foot wounds I've cleansed with hydrogen peroxide.

Is there anything more I can do for her? Has anyone experienced something similar and what did you do? I'd rather not euthanize her, but if this situation usually results in a slow death either from the injury or from the other birds, that may be the more humane thing to do.

Thanks for your help.

 

[CMV]

Chickens are amazingly resilient. They can get just about flayed by a predator and somehow live to tell the tale. It sounds like you everything well in hand. Is the foot still infected? What are planning to do about that? The breast sounds like it will be fine, so the only thing to worry about is the foot.

 

[Barnhouse]

I just finished checking on her. She is looking a little better, still favoring one leg, but more mobile than this morning. Isolating her from the others has helped, I'm sure. I read about bumble-foot in Chickens for Dummies, but I don't think it is that bad yet. I'm not sure where I'd find the antibiotics recommended, perhaps Fleet Farm. For now I'm washing her feet in warm soapy water, drying with a paper towel, then liberally applying hydrogen peroxide. I'm seeing the characteristic bubbling of the hydrogen peroxide on her foot injuries suggesting an infection, but her feet are not swollen. Nor are her feet bleeding or oozing, so I'm holding off on wrapping them up in a bandage. That is all I'm doing for her now, that and monitoring her progress. Perhaps some antiseptic ointment would also help.

 

[CMV]

I would recommend stopping the peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide bubbles in response to the enzyme catalase, which is present in blood and damaged cells. It is actually not a very good anti-infective, and slows healing by rupturing cell walls in new skin cells. My personal favorite cleaning solution for dirty wounds is betadine tea (1 part betadine/iodine to 10 parts water). It cleans the wounds without damaging the new skin trying to grow. That's just my personal preference. At this point, I think if the wounds are not showing any pus, swelling, redness or heat (HOT, not slightly warmer), then you can just clean the areas with regular soap and water. A coat of plain Neosporin applied as needed will help to wipe anything out that tries to take hold.

 

[PerseyPoops]

I had a dog attack one of my silkies and kill the other a while back. She had a deep gash on her hip. I had used propolis tincture before on wounded goat udders to great effect so we used the dropper bottle and applied it to her wounds. It creates a seal after it dries that naturally falls off as the wound heals and it also keeps dirt out as well as being anti-biotic and anti-fungal. You can find it at many health food stores in the tincture section or possibly from a local beekeeper, you may also be able to find it for sale on the internet. You can also put small amounts of it in the chickens water to aid with healing internally. Here is a link to the wikipedia article for more info about propolis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propolis

My hen healed in a couple of weeks with no problems and I believe the propolis is a perfect thing for wounded farm animals.