Roo has ripped open a hen - large wound, need advice

[drowningcreek]

Hey,

DH took hen to bed her down before I thought to get a picture, but the gist of it is that the roos have been rough with her and she has a gaping wound under her left wing. It wasn't really bloody and it didn't look infected so I cleaned it as best as I could and drenched it with PoultryAid

.

Here's the clincher: As happens per every emergency on the farm, we're scheduled to leave for a week Saturday morning. I've got the FIL taking care of feeding and watering and general maintenance, but I'm hesitant to ask him to do daily wound cleaning/dressing. Is there any way to dress a wound like this anyway? We'll be adding antibiotics to her water tomorrow and she is in the med pen, so she won't be bothered but is still close to the flock.

Is there anything else i can do? Does a wound like this take a long time to heal? Should I even attempt using butterfly closures to try and close the wound or is it better healing on its own?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Judy

 

[PixieChixie]

If you really need to, you may be able to find a kindhearted local BYC member to care for her while you are gone.

 

[BamaSilkies]

I would skip the antibiotics unless it shows signs of infection. You might be creating a bigger problem down the road by making more resistant strains of bacteria. I would use an antibiotic cream until you get ready to leave and then give it a good coat of Blukote and maybe the person can give it another coat if needed while your gone if it starts to wear off.

 

[Eggcessive]

I agree on no antibiotics, using Blu-Kote which should last for a few days, and I would put the neosporin ointment over the Blu-Kote. The Blu-kote will keep the others from pecking a red wound making it bleed. If desperate, use some blue food coloring until you get the Blu-kote or Wound Kote.

 

[kla37]

I had a hen attacked by a possum, and after I cleaned her wounds, I used something called AluShield, which is an aerosol spray-on bandage. It's actually aluminum powder, and it's supposed to be great for poultry since it's so hard to get anything to adhere to their powdery skin. My feed store guy recommended it. I had only used Blu-Kote in the past. It's been a few days since I applied it and it's still there, it hasn't worn off yet, so maybe you could try to find it where you are. I got it at Tractor Supply near me.

Picture of what it looks like:

 

[trailchick]

drowningcreek
A picture would really help to evaluate the wound.
kla37's wound doesnt look to be very severe...

Wow, I have never hear of that spray on aluminum,
but we are 200 miles away from Tractor supply....
I need to look for that.

If the wound is severe, I would start antibiotics as soon
as infection, or puss starts.

Chickens are the most adaptable of avian species, so unless
there are bones or organs exposed, a triple antibiotic ointment
or blue lotain should work on it, like the others have said.

 

[kla37]

The wound wasn't that bad, and she has a matching set, a few like this on each side of her back. I'm surprised that silvery stuff is staying on so well! This is what it looks like under the spray:

 

[erinszoo]

We had a chicken with a tear on her head that was bleeding and nasty. We put her in the med pen, cleaned the wound, and sprayed it with blue kote. About three days later we sprayed it again with more blue kote and put her back in with the flock and her head is now completely healed. It was bad enough that we were scared she was going to lose her ear and have a major infection but after spraying it with the blue kote it cleared right up. It's been about three or four weeks now and there are still a few traces of the blue kote on her head but otherwise nothing noticeable.

 

[drowningcreek]

Quote:
Ha, anyone near Commerce, GA? That would be a loving spoonful!

I was having a hard time seeing exactly how bad the would was... darn these over 40 eyes! It's at least a 4" rip in the skin and I do think I saw a small bone. I will get to her first thing in the morning and check it better, redrench with the PoultryAid, antibiotic cream and Blu Kote. Luckily I have all here. When we got the chickens, I found threads with recommendations on what to have on hand, so I have most everything in my Chicken First Aid kit. I'll also take pictures and post them.

I have a chicken apron for her, but I think the wound needs to heal before putting that on. She is separated from everyone else, so no worries about pecking or picking. We're going to go get another kennel enclosure tomorrow and just take all of the roos in the common yard and put them in there for the time we'll be gone. That way, no one else will get injured.

On a side note, I made the DH take me out for dinner so I could have a margarita and decompress and the loudest, most annoying bunch of stupid people and their uncontrolled children made us stress even more. I'm going to go finish packing my suitcase and go to bed. Today has been screwed.

Thanks for all the advice. It's very much appreciated.