Stray dog problems

[Lady of the Woods]

I have an injured chicken due to a dog. Her wound is under her wing, open sore, feathers missing. Can I use epsome salt bath to soak, and clean the wound? Would something be better? I've used peroxide, I can't get the neosporin to stick and coat the wound keeping it from drying out. There are broken feathers, so I thing a bandage would only irritate it more. She is away from the other girls for safety. Any suggestions?

 

[Avian Allie]

If you have blue-kote I would spray her with that, if not triple antibiotic ointment might sooth her a little bit. If you haven’t already, I would suggest gently flushing her wounds with either salt water, iodine or peroxide. You can also clip the feathers and then next molt she’ll drop the stubs and get her normal feathers back, be cautious about plucking feathers though, that can be painful and tear the wound worse.

 

[coach723]

I would not use peroxide again, it can damage healthy tissue and inhibit healing. Sterile saline or chlorhexdine (hibiclens) would be better. You can also use veterycin spray, available at most pet/feed stores, it's good for all species. Blue kote is OK for superficial wounds, if it's deeper I would stick with antibiotic ointment and/or veterycin. The veterycin comes in a hydro gel form that sprays on and covers well, you will need to reapply as needed, probably several times a day either way. I would trim back any feathers getting in the way to help keep it clean. Just use some small scissors. It's usually better to leave it uncovered whenever possible, so that the wound can breathe and you don't close bacteria in. Can you post some pictures of the wound, might help?

 

[Lady of the Woods]

She enjoyed her bath. I trimmed the feathers, and sprayed the wound with vetercyin. It looks much worse than I thought. The area was too wet for antibiotic ointment to stick so far. I have a flip phone. I'll see if my husband can do a photo shoot when he comes home. Thank you for the suggestions. They are greatly appreciated.

 

[Lady of the Woods]

Whoa time flies! Luckie Strike is doing great, I forgot about getting pictures. It's been 10 days since the dog attack. Still getting a bath, veticyn spray, and Manuka honey to the wound. It's healing very well. She is perky and trying to dust in the wood chips in the dog cage. Is there a clue as to how long I keep her locked up in the basement to keep the flies off? I read some comments about blue cote. Would that keep off the flies if I put her back in the coop? Or at least outside?