Raccoon attack **warning pictures on page 4**

[dlhunicorn]

an initial rinse with peroxide (so one or two times max) may be tolerated but no more as it causes tissue injury (perhaps that might play a role in the smell and die off?)
please do not use the peroxide any more. Do you have anything else ??? I assume you are making the sterile saline yourself (boiling 1/4 tsp salt in a pint of water) > double the amount of salt > you will need to remove manually each and every one of the maggots > tweezers are usually needed as some may be quite small.

 

[AHappychick]

with if the bone is broken or there are no veins to bring blood to the foot then I would let her go. If not I would get rid of all maggots and smother it in bacitacin and wrap it in gauze and make a sling for her. each day unwrap let it dry out a bit and smother it again with ointment and wrap. I do think that putting her down is your best option though.

so sorry

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
i used the diluted peroxide initially only.

i made my saline with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp baking soda to a pint of water.

and i'm really worried about the broken bone sticking out like that. can it heal without surgery?

 

[Brown Eggs]

This dont sound like a coon attack the injury is in only 1 area this sounds like she may have been getting pecked at by your other birds i had one that got its leg caught in some wire and had a small cut the next day half the flesh was gone on leg from my others pecking. a coon would kill the chicken n carry off not naw on just the leg. I would bath the bird in a warm and put some calamine duluted with water over exposed flesh and keep her out of the feild a few days Good luck

 

[dlhunicorn]

no, it will not "heal by itself" (the broken bone) > any broken bone will need to be placed in the correct position and dealt with in such a way that it doesnt get jostled (so it can have a chance to heal back together)...

 

[critterluv]

Just thought i would add Garlic 'soft gels'is great when used as a natural antibiotic.
Just cut or pinprick a small hole in the softgel and squeeze,where you need it.
Good Luck with your chickie

 

[Judy]

Saline is 1 tsp. salt to one quart of water, no soda.

I'm very sorry to say that I really don't think she will survive unless the leg is amputated. The maggots, odor, and blackened tissue indicate dead tissue with a lot of infection. Since vet care is not an option, perhaps you have a friend who is a nurse or has other experience in the medical field who could help you.

I know you want her to survive and are doing the best you can. And I wish you both the best of luck.

 

[toredano]

Looking at the pictures .. without surgery to either remove the bone and amputating the leg completly, you are fighting a lost battle here.
If it was just a flesh wound, and no bones broken.. you might be ok with all the help here but it involves bones and they will not heal themselfs. a closed fracture without all the trauma to the flesh and skin..more than likely yes.. but this is a really nasty wound.


You tried more than alot of other poeople would do..including me.
Its a shame but soemtimes you have to look behond what you see. Wounds liek taht in a small bird with alot less resourses to heal etc.. I doubt she would would pull thru.

Put her to rest and dont let her suffer anymore.I can imagine how painful this is for her.
She lived a good life and comfort her as much as you can until the end.


I am sorry this happend.. I just lost a BO hen myself..Its hard and it sucks big time.. At least take comfort she wont suffer anymore.


Petra

 

[threehorses]

I'm sorry, but maggots DON'T just eat rotting flesh. They also tend to have a habit of crawling into body spaces and eating living flesh. This is such a dreadful misconception. Doctors using maggots do so in such a controlled environment that they can pull them when the debriding via maggot is done. And they're clean maggots. These are out-and-about maggots which are known carriers of bacteria and botulism.

Maggots are NOT the layperson's friend!

And I wouldn't dress this wound with honey. There's a stentch, the stench is a serious bacteria, and this bird really needs antibiotics from the inside out. There is necrosis, it needs to be debrided off. The leg issue really needs to be addressed by a vet or the bird euthanized. UNLESS you can find someone who is skilled at doing pinion surgeries who isn't a vet. But at this point, the area is infected and there's yet another risk of infecting by cutting into that.

The most important part right now is to get rid of the maggots. They'll be stuck in any crevice there is. You'll have to smother them out. It'll take a good sit down doing it. I used hyrogen peroxide and water to do it when I had something similar happen. (And remember, it only takes one fly to have this happen.) Some people use honey; it'll work, and you don't have to worry about getting it all out - though I wouldn't use it as the dressing alone necessarily.

I'm with ddawn on this. And I'm just heartbroken to see such a lovely little hen (and her good human) in such a desperate situation.

And by the way, at this point (forgive me for being blunt) screw natural antibiotics. lol

OK my summary is that I'd clean her up the best you can right now to get rid of maggots, redo the area with the iodine etc, and find a vet and/or someone who can amputate that leg (find someone who does pinion surgeries). Or consider putting her to sleep kindly. She's living on your love at the moment, but it's going to go down bad and quick if the leg doesn't come off to make the area clean again so that you have a chance to save her.

Lots of hugs. I'd tell you pretty things that sound more hopeful, but I'd expect the above advice instead from a friend - so that's what i offer.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Thank you all very much for your support and advice.

While some of you were still writing, i let my chick, Hawkeye (i know, weird name for a chicken) go, as it were.

I thought that i would tell you that this is very bitter sweet for me. This is the first time i have ever owned chickens, and none of them have ever really trusted me. I didn't handle them when they were little, etc., etc.

Hawkeye trusted me so much, after going through this with her, that she would struggle up on her one leg to try to scoot nearer to me. And even so much more, that when i (i'm assuming that anyone who's squeamish about these things has already evacuated this thread) first tried and failed (horror of horrors) to administer the cervical dislocation method, Hawkeye stayed peacefully in my arms and waited, completely content, while i summoned the courage to do it again.

Thanks again, for all your support. I made some good cyber friends this week. And i learned a lot of stuff that i will be sure to keep on tap if ever i - and i hope i don't - need to know it again.