**Raccoon Attack - Chicken Hurt, Please Help! Graphic Pic

[Aimin4strz]

Yesterday Morning 3/1, a raccoon managed to get a hold of my daughter's 4-H birds... He took out 1... Can't find another one (No trace, no feathers)... 2 others were hurt... 1 severely.. She has a puncture wound on her back between her wings which I think will heal with time... but she also has a 2inchx2inch hole (appears to be skin only) on her right side breast area. I have flushed the area and put vetericin on it... but the skin that would normally cover that area has gone inside of the wound leaving feathers inside of the wound. I have been able to pull out the feathers and flush it some more... But this is my daughter's 4-H project and she is pretty devastated by this and I am doing everything possible... Any suggestions? I'm going to try one more time to get the skin to flip and if I'm successful then I will find a section of sterile tubing and create a drain and attempt to sew her shut again... Does anyone have any recommendations as to medicine that could help that I could get soon.... I really really appreciate any help or suggestions. The chicken doesn't appear to be in any pain but I am worried that the would won't heal it self because of the size.... Thank you in advance!

 

[ten chicks]

Clean and flush the wounds daily,vetericyn is an excellent product. Wounds will heal from the inside out,do not cover unless flies will be a problem(maggots).

The wound on right side of breast,are you sure it is not her crop,this could explain why skin/feathers keep sinking inside,check this carefully. If it is her crop,you will have to close(suture),the best thing to suture is with ordinary nylon fishing line(less risk of infection). Sterilize needle till red hot,sterilize fishing line with rubbing alcohol,cut away any feathers and sterilize area before suturing. Suture,tie each stitch off separately,leave sutured for approx 7-10 days,you will have to cut sutures to remove. Watch for infection in all wounds,signs of infection are:redness/swelling,spreading/redness swelling,foul smell coming from wounds,bird becoming lethargic,not eating/drinking,if black tissue(necrotic,dead) develops,remove as this is dead tissue and can cause a severe infection.

For pain you can give her a low dose aspirin(81mg) or reg aspirin(325mg)dose is 25mg per lb of body weight,crush and place in water or give orally(wrap in a pce of meat or cheese)or sprinkle over feed.

Keep her warm,when ill/injured birds cannot regulate their body temp so additional heat is required. Give her electrolytes for shock, Encourage eating/drinking,especially drinking first 24 hours. If she will not eat,i would suggest tube feeding her,often after birds do not eat for a period of time,they will not they become lethargic and eventually die. The require a constant supply of food to fuel their high metabolism,without food they have no energy to fuel body,they become lethargic trying to conserve whatever energy they have left(just sleep)and often go into a type of suspended animation,tube feeding often will snap them out of this. Often birds die from dehydration/starvation than from the actual illness/injury.


Might be a good idea to put her on antibiotics.

 

[Aimin4strz]

Clean and flush the wounds daily,vetericyn is an excellent product. Wounds will heal from the inside out,do not cover unless flies will be a problem(maggots).

The wound on right side of breast,are you sure it is not her crop,this could explain why skin/feathers keep sinking inside,check this carefully. If it is her crop,you will have to close(suture),the best thing to suture is with ordinary nylon fishing line(less risk of infection). Sterilize needle till red hot,sterilize fishing line with rubbing alcohol,cut away any feathers and sterilize area before suturing. Suture,tie each stitch off separately,leave sutured for approx 7-10 days,you will have to cut sutures to remove. Watch for infection in all wounds,signs of infection are:redness/swelling,spreading/redness swelling,foul smell coming from wounds,bird becoming lethargic,not eating/drinking,if black tissue(necrotic,dead) develops,remove as this is dead tissue and can cause a severe infection.

For pain you can give her a low dose aspirin(81mg) or reg aspirin(325mg)dose is 25mg per lb of body weight,crush and place in water or give orally(wrap in a pce of meat or cheese)or sprinkle over feed.

Keep her warm,when ill/injured birds cannot regulate their body temp so additional heat is required. Give her electrolytes for shock, Encourage eating/drinking,especially drinking first 24 hours. If she will not eat,i would suggest tube feeding her,often after birds do not eat for a period of time,they will not they become lethargic and eventually die. The require a constant supply of food to fuel their high metabolism,without food they have no energy to fuel body,they become lethargic trying to conserve whatever energy they have left(just sleep)and often go into a type of suspended animation,tube feeding often will snap them out of this. Often birds die from dehydration/starvation than from the actual illness/injury.


Might be a good idea to put her on antibiotics.

Thank you so much! I don't believe it's in the crop area... it's more forward and under her wing a little... She smells horrible but I don't see any necrosis and I'm flushing every 4-6 hours... I do have it slightly covered because she keeps trying to peck at it. I have her separated and in the garage where it's warmer. Do you have any suggestions on what to flush with... I'm trying to find some chlorhexiderm but it's on backorder and I don't think it will get here in time... She's eating and drinking just fine... not choosing to move much... might have a broken wing but I can't confirm yet. What type of Antibiotics would you recommend? Thank you again so much in advance!

 

[ten chicks]

You can purchase hibiclens(chlorhexidine) at Walmart or any pharmacy. Dilute hibiclens,2 Tablespoons in 1 cup of water. You can use a diluted peroixde solution 2 Tablespoons in 1 cup of water(stronger if wound appears infected,smells)until you get something else.

Procaine penicillin G is probably all that is available at feed store/livestock store. It is an injectable and will say to inject in breast muscle,but b/c of wound to breast,inject in thigh. See what they have available,repost and someone will answer questions regarding medications.

If she is pecking at wound,i agree leave covered,use gauze(sterile,breathable).

 

[MrsBachbach]

I would give her penicillin injections for the next 3 to 5 days. You can pick up some up in the refrigerated section of most feed stores or Tractor Supply. I think it is called penicillin G or PenG. I was told by a vet once to give a tenth of one cc for each injection. Inject in the muscle. The stuff is kind of thick so about a 20 gauge needle would be as small as I would go and you would need a one ml syringe, also available where vaccines and such are sold.
That skin looks like you can sew it up as the other poster said. I wouldn't sew up any inside cuts, just the outer skin. Hopefully her crop is not involved. Its a very thick muscle and not too easy to even cut through, so unless its leaking food and contents, I'd leave it alone. After you stitch the skin, make sure you move it around very gently every so often in a little circle for the first few days so it doesn't adhere to the muscle. Two or three times a day. I wouldn't wait longer than 7 days to take the stitches out. If the skin grows around it too much, it makes it difficult to get them out. I've read some people use super glue to glue the skin together instead of using stitches, but I have never tried it, so I'm not sure how you would go about doing that but it does sound like it would be easier than stitches.