Severely injured vent- recovery possible?

[Bootsintheboot]

Hello! My sweetest chicken, a docile Houdan, was attacked (“defeathered”?) by some of her flock mates 10 days ago. Her butt was brutally injured- all feathers gone and vent severely pecked. She didn’t poop for about 5-6 days… a huge scab finally came off and she’s able to poop - sort of, her butt still seems pretty bad. The poop isn’t really coming out at once (as it usually would) but instead I think her sphincter is not doing its job.. it’s slowly coming out and just sits there until gravity finishes the job. I don’t want to put her outside yet -She’s in isolation- because the flies here are bad right now and I don’t want her to get infected and she seems way too vulnerable - her back feathers are only just peeking through.
I’m soaking her in water, using an animal goo and vetericyn daily… any other advice? Also wondering when to put her back with her flock… thanks

 

[Bootsintheboot]

 

[Tonyroo]

Apply neosporin in the damaged area and on her anus daily. If you let her back in the flock it's going to happen again. So you might want to restratigise where she can be while keeping her protected.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Did you ever see maggots on the wound?

Looks like she may have been prolapsed at one time, but hard to know.

If the vent was severely damaged from picking, then it may not ever function like it should, but time will tell.

Try adding Chlorhexidine or Betadine to your soaking water. Pat dry, then use an ointment like triple antibiotic ointment on the wound.

I think at this point you may be doing all you can. Once the scabbing starts to slough off, you will be able to tell how well it's healing.

I agree, keeping her inside away from flies is a very good idea.

 

[Bootsintheboot]

Apply neosporin in the damaged area and on her anus daily. If you let her back in the flock it's going to happen again. So you might want to restratigise where she can be while keeping her protected.

Do you mean even after she’s all healed up?

 

[Tonyroo]

If she's healed up you don't need it.

 

[Bootsintheboot]

Did you ever see maggots on the wound?

Looks like she may have been prolapsed at one time, but hard to know.

If the vent was severely damaged from picking, then it may not ever function like it should, but time will tell.

Try adding Chlorhexidine or Betadine to your soaking water. Pat dry, then use an ointment like triple antibiotic ointment on the wound.

I think at this point you may be doing all you can. Once the scabbing starts to slough off, you will be able to tell how well it's healing.

I agree, keeping her inside away from flies is a very good idea.

I have thankfully NOT seen any signs of maggots, but I feel like it’s kind of a race against time (the flies so bad here right now!) where would I get those ingredients?

would you suggest an oral antibiotic and if so, is there anywhere to get that OTC for animals?

finally if the vent never fully recovers, would this be a reason to cull? Or is this something she could live with? She’s not started laying eggs yet - she’s about 6 months old.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You can find Chlorhexidine (Hibiclens), Betadine (Povidone Iodine) and triple antibiotic ointment (like Neosporin) at stores like Walmart, CVS, etc.

Is she eating/drinking and acting relatively normal? If she is, then likely she doesn't need an oral antibiotic, but it would be good to have one on hand for future use (or is she starts to decline).
Amoxicillin (Fish Mox) would be something good to have. It can be used for wounds and infections. You can order it online.

She's young, so she may heal ok - hard to know at this point - she's got a ways to go. The leaking of the poop is a concern, but that may resolve once the skin under all those scabs heal and the scabs fall away.

It's a tough choice on the culling. A lot depends on how well she heals. She may leak poop all her life or she may not. If there's too much damage, she may not be able to lay eggs - it's one of those wait and see things.
I do understand your concerns - I had a pullet a couple of years ago that prolapsed and the tissue was beyond repair, so sadly, I did end up culling her.

 

[Bootsintheboot]

she is starting to decline a bit from a few days ago. However she is still chowing down on scrambled eggs. a large scab came off, but her vent seems to not be healing as well as the areas around it (by a landslide) in fact there's a little blood now.. not sure if a scan ripped too soon or what. I will continue to treat her until she stops eating, add in neosporin and the above things to her soak.
If im concerned about infection should i flush her with rubbing alcohoL? i did this at the very beginning.. but not recently


Would Mela-fix be good to add to her soaking tub? or should i just order the fish/aquamox and is that an oral or topical treatment?

Sorry for all the questions, but this is helping so much. thanks!

 

[Eggcessive]

The chlorhexidene or betadine would be much better to use than alcohol which burns really bad. Mela fix seems to be a natural ingredient for use in fish. The AquaMox is amoxicillin for fish that is given orally to a chicken 125-250 mg given orally twice a day. Are you giving the warm soaks each day to her vent area? Just a shallow soak for 15 minutes is needed. Gentle rubbing with a cloth may help to debride it or get the scabs off, exposing healthy skin.