Rooster gashed my hen.

[BigBlueHen53]

Can you post pics? What do you mean by weird patches in her feathers?

 

[haychick23]

Adding saline to what? Saline solution is a quart of water with 2 tsp. table salt and a pinch of baking soda. Boil the water first and let it cool. Use it in a spray bottle to flush the wound, just spray the wound several times to cleanse it. Don't mix it with anything. Blot dry with a clean towel.

Then cover the wound with Neosporin.

Then, if you have it, spray with Veterycin spray gel.

Then leave her alone.

Do this twice a day.

Give her her regular food and fresh clean water to drink, and a little dish of grit.

That's it.

here’s another picture. her skin is definitely pulled apart, i know that will heal. but under the flap of skin is either a mess of feathers or dead skin i have no idea what i am looking at. i used the spray solution but im not sure if i should try to get that out or what. i dont want to cause her anymore discomfort.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I don't know either.
@azygous @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive, any idea what we're looking at here?

 

[Chickenkeeper23]

Sorry about your hen! If its feathers you’ll need to pull them out because they will only cause problems as the wound tries to heal.

We had a brahma that was attacked by an owl ( puncture wound on her neck) and we were pulling feathers out.

A good thing to try if she isn’t wanting to eat is egg yolk and honey. It may give her a little boost

 

[haychick23]

Sorry about your hen! If its feathers you’ll need to pull them out because they will only cause problems as the wound tries to heal.

We had a brahma that was attacked by an owl ( puncture wound on her neck) and we were pulling feathers out.

A good thing to try if she isn’t wanting to eat is egg yolk and honey. It may give her a little boost

funny enough, the only thing she’s really ate today has been eggs lol.
were you able to tell what was feathers and what wasn’t skin? i just can’t really tell what i’m looking at. it definitely is feathery but u think it’s the ointment making it look strange.

 

[Chickenkeeper23]

I can’t really tell from the photo. If it is skin you’ll want to keep an eye on it in case the tissue dies, you can try smelling her wound and if it starts to smell bad its probably getting infected,
With our girl it took us a day to realise what was feathers and what wasn’t. It can definitely be hard to tell!

 

[Chickenkeeper23]

Is the stuff your talking about the black/ grey stuff? That looks like feathers to me. But again hard to tell from the photo. I hope your girl heals fast

 

[Debbie292d]

here’s another picture. her skin is definitely pulled apart, i know that will heal. but under the flap of skin is either a mess of feathers or dead skin i have no idea what i am looking at. i used the spray solution but im not sure if i should try to get that out or what. i dont want to cause her anymore discomfort.

I would just keep rinsing like @BigBlueHen53 suggested, and keep going until you can see what's what. You could use a soft rag soaked with warm saline solution to try softly brush the dirt/blood off so you can see better. If it's skin, and you got it pretty clean, just put neosporin on it and put it back where it belongs the best you can. It's preferred not to even try to bandage it because it needs air to heal and bandaging a chicken is pretty difficult anyway.

If it hasn't been mentioned, electrolytes can help her un-stress.

Electrolytes recipe if you have none around:

1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons honey OR molasses OR granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda OR 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

 

[Eggcessive]

Are the second pictures of a different area? Can you identify where they are? Those look much worse. I think you may need to mix a lot of warm saline, and you can mix it right in your tub or sink. 2 tsp salt to every quart 32 ounces of water. An old turkey baster or large syringe can be good to irrigate the wound twice a day. Trim feathers away from getting into the wound. Plain Neosporin or a similar antibiotic ointment should be applied twice a day. Hopefully, it will heal with good nursing care. If it seems infected, I would get some Hibiclens (chlorhexidiene) at Walmart and at pharmacies, mix it with water and irrigate the wound for a day or two, then switch back to the saline. Betadine would work in place of the Hibiclens/chlorhexidene. Rinse either of those with water or saline. This will take a few weeks of nursing care to heal. Make sure that she is eating and drinking, and can walk around a bit. Keep her away from flies, and separated.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Are the second pictures of a different area? Can you identify where they are? Those look much worse. I think you may need to mix a lot of warm saline, and you can mix it right in your tub or sink. 2 tsp salt to every quart 32 ounces of water. An old turkey baster or large syringe can be good to irrigate the wound twice a day. Trim feathers away from getting into the wound. Plain Neosporin or a similar antibiotic ointment should be applied twice a day. Hopefully, it will heal with good nursing care. If it seems infected, I would get some Hibiclens (chlorhexidiene) at Walmart and at pharmacies, mix it with water and irrigate the wound for a day or two, then switch back to the saline. Betadine would work in place of the Hibiclens/chlorhexidene. Rinse either of those with water or saline. This will take a few weeks of nursing care to heal. Make sure that she is eating and drinking, and can walk around a bit. Keep her away from flies, and separated.

Agreed.