Severely Cut Neck- Put her down?

[ArdentAshley]

Something attacked our hens last night. One is missing with tons of feathers left behind and this one, Ella, has a pretty bad cut on her neck. The cut is long, but doesn't seem to be terribly deep. One thing that is very worrying is the clear sack (what is that?) that is sticking out at the top of the cut. She is a naked neck, almost 2 years old. She still ate a lot when fed today- hence the giant crop, and she seems to be acting fairly normal, but how do I know whether she is in terrible pain? Also, with this much skin torn off/ cut open, is it a wound that has a chance of healing? I really need some advice. I would be glad to treat the wound if that's the best thing to do, but if she's in agony and/or not going to heal I would rather put her down humanely than let her suffer. What do you think?

 

[realsis]

You can try putting super glue on the area and closing the wound that way. Then perhaps give a general anti infective antibotic to prevent infection. I've seen chickens with worse survive and heal normally. If she were mine id try to close the wound like I described and give her a Chance to heal. Keep her inside so she does not get a fly strike on that area. Id give her a chance that's just my opinion. Best wishes to you.

 

[buffyfluffy]

Poor thing! I'm so sorry. It would be a good idea to take your chicken to a veterinarian where they can probably stitch it up!

 

[Eggcessive]

The clear thing under the skin is probably a leaking air sac. I would try to do general first aid to save her life if she is alert, eating, and drinking. Clean the wound with weak betadine or soap and water, dry it, and apply an antibiotic ointment such as plain neosporin. The wound shuld start to close if no infection gets in. If you have a local vet, they might be able to close the wound a bit since the air sac is pretty close. The air should absorb on its own. Hope she does okay.

 

[ArdentAshley]

Well so far, so good. She's still in good spirits and eating and drinking normally. We've cleaned out the wound and applied antibacterial ointment every day since it happened, and there doesn't seem to be any infection. I'm thinking of super gluing the skin closed in a day or two, now that I'm sure I won't be trapping in any bad infection- is that a good idea? The skin is still wide open but since it wasn't very deep, it's not too bad.

 

[realsis]

Many folks use super glue for cuts wounds and even crop surgery. Once the area is well cleaned you can give it a try and possibly give a general anti infective antibotic to prevent infection. Many here on this forum have used the super glue method with great success. I keep it in my emergency kit for wounds. Make sure the area is clean then you can give it a try.Like I said many folks use it. Just be certain she is on a anti infective to prevent infection. If she were my own bird that's what I would do. Prayers are coming your way and I do hope she heals nicely.

 

[Kyzmette]

Check the photos under my bio to see the damage that was done to a couple of my chickens by the neighbor's demon dachsund. One is fully recovered and the other is on the road to recovery... and you could see everything in the throat and breast area on her. Poultry is amazingly resilient.

 

[Eggcessive]

Personally I would not close up the wound, but let it heal and scab over on it's own. There is always bacteria on the skin surface (staph, strep, ect.) and this will be closed up into a wound creating an airless environment. It has only been several days, and it will probably take two weeks or longer for this to heal. Keep applying Neosporin to it daily.