Skunk attack wounds - please help! **GRAPHIC PHOTOS**

[hensonmain]

Hello everyone!
Saturday night my husband and I were enjoying the last light with the girls out and saw a skunk skulk behind one of our sheds. We quickly put the girls away and shut the coop. The next night (Sunday) we went out a little late to shut their door and the skunk had obviously gotten into the run and bit one of my adolescent chicks, Martha. At first, we thought the skunk beheaded her, but I saw her breathing! My husband thought this was just a reflex and went to scoop her body up and she walked!!! Obviously she was still alive, barely. Her neck is in tact (I believe), but her head is in horrible shape. Unfortunately, some very tiny maggots have gotten into some parts of the wound. It looks like there are some puncture holes around her ears/base of head. Her right eye is probably very damaged as well. I would love to be able to nurse her back to health, but I am not sure if she'll even be able to recover. I'm sure she's in incredible amounts of pain, and I want to do what's right for her.

This morning I cleaned the wound more and used a syringe with isopropyl alcohol to clean out the puncture wounds with the tiny maggots. I came back from work in the evening and some of the maggots have already returned.

Please help! I'm not sure what I should keep doing if I am going to nurse her back to health or if I should humanely put her down? Any advice would be greatly welcome <3

I will put the photos below **WARNING** they are VERY graphic!!!

 

[hensonmain]

The first picture is the top of her head. The second picture is her right side where more of her eye was injured. The third picture is her left side.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

The maggots are not returning, they are hatching. You've got to get the eggs out of there. This is called flystrike and it can kill her. Can you get Clorhexadine or Hibiclens and get her thoroughly clean? You can also spray her thoroughly with Veterycin, then blot her dry and coat the wound with triple antibiotic ointment that does NOT contain pain reliever, as that's toxic to chickens. Repeat twice daily. Keep the wound moist, don't let it dry out, and keep watching for maggots.

Feed her her regular feed. If she won't take it, moisten it into a gruel. If she's not eating, treat her for shock by giving her sugar water - 1 tsp sugar, a pinch of salt and a pinch of baking soda to 1 c warm water. Hold it up to her beak to get her to drink. A dehydrated chicken won't eat. Let us know if she won't drink. Keep her warm and in a dark place for a while.

 

[hensonmain]

I will go to the store first thing in the morning to look for clorhexadine or hibiclens. I'll also check with my feed store to see if they have veterycin. I also have BluKote - would that be helpful in that situation at all?

I don't think she has been eating, but she may have had some water. My husband kept an eye on her today while I was at work and she had moved next to the water.

She's currently in our basement in a box. Do you think she needs a heatlamp? The temperature is 77. We are currently having a heatwave and don't have AC in the basement.

Edited to-- thank you so much for replying!!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I would not put BluKote on her, it will probably sting and I don't think it promotes healing. If you are going to separate her it's not necessary. It only covers up red to keep other chickens from pecking.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

No she does not need a heat lamp.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

If you do not have triple antibiotic now, just go ahead and goop her up good with Vaseline. Just don't let the wound dry out, or the edges of the wound.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Use tweezers if necessary to remove maggots. You can put them in a dish of salt until you're done, then flush them.

 

[hensonmain]

The edges of the wound seem to becoming dry, and I don't have antibiotic cream, so I'll goop vaseline around. I'm not sure how I can properly clean the wound to remove all the crusted blood without being too rough for her.

I flushed saline solution around some of the punctures, but the maggots are still there. I'm going to get some throw away tweezers in the morning along with the chlorhexadine.

I also gave her some of the sugar solution. She wasn't actively drinking, but she was moving her beak a little. She did seem a little perkier afterwards and made a couple squawks which was new from this morning. This morning she did not even flinch at cleaning the wound or make a sound. Does that seem like a good sign?

What do you think her odds of surviving are?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Chickens are amazing and can survive some pretty horrendous wounds. I think her chances are fair to good, but the maggots are her worst enemy.

Use a q-tip or syringe to put a drop of the sugar water at the crease of her beak. Let her sip it down. Continue till she refuses by shaking her head or turning away. Don't get any in her nostrils.

Don't worry too much about cleaning the wound of blood, just keep it moist. You're doing fine.