treating an injured hen

[kfhmomma]

Hi all,

So, long story short, on Tuesday my aussie shepherd pup got out of his enclosure and tried to herd my hens. It all happened very fast. Fortunately all my hens survived but one has some superficial injuries. He didn't bite the hen (truly!) but did pick her up by her tail feathers and swing her around a bit. She got loose before I could get my hands on the dog, and she lost most of her tail feathers. There was a very small amount of blood from the feathers being torn out and some weeping of clearish fluid from the effected area but no lacerations or bite marks etc. Just very raw looking chicken bum! She's eating drinking and acting totally normal. This happened late in the day, nearly dark, and I couldn't get to TSC to get a spray to assist with healing the area that night so she went to roost with the other hens. The next morning she was fine except that the clear fluid that was weeping from the area had frozen over night into an icicle hanging off her rear end! She seemed totally fine about it and went about her regular chicken business while I went to TSC to get a medicated spray for treating her bum area, hoping that by the time I got home she would have warmed up and the icicle would have melted. When I got home the icicle was indeed gone, but she had rolled her bum in the dust bath! So now her raw bum area is covered in the dirt/dust and DE that was in the dust bath (and I can only assume there is chicken poop in the mix too). The raw area is totally covered by the dirt/dust (like, imagine you skinned your knee and then rubbed it in the dirt...that's what it looks like...it is caked on there, totally covering the area).

So here is my question: NOW WHAT? She's now almost 48 hours since the injury and she is totally fine, eating drinking doing regular chicken stuff. The other hens are not pecking at her bum. Should I try to wash the dirt off and spray her with the medical spray I bought at TSC? Or just leave her be and assume she knows what she is doing by rolling the injured area in her dust bath? My only hesitation with washing her is that it is freezing out here (Pennsylvania) and I don't want to make her cold and wet. I enjoy and take good care of my hens but they are not pets for us, they are livestock, and while I don't want her to suffer and I want to do right by her, I'm not bringing her into my house to wash and stay until she's healed, so that's not an option.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

 

[Hardknockshomestead]

A photo or two of your hen's backside would help, but based on what you described already about the injury, it sounds to me like she is fine for now.
I have a spray can of that Blu Kote that I apply to all injuries my chooks get. Chickens will peck at blood because of the red color, but the Blu Kote reduces or eliminates the pecking so the injury isn't made worse.
Even if your hen's injury isn't bleeding, the Blu Kote will still help because it is a germicide and fungicide.
Maybe it will even help your chicken's injured pride!

 

[kfhmomma]

A photo or two of your hen's backside would help, but based on what you described already about the injury, it sounds to me like she is fine for now.
I have a spray can of that Blu Kote that I apply to all injuries my chooks get. Chickens will peck at blood because of the red color, but the Blu Kote reduces or eliminates the pecking so the injury isn't made worse.
Even if your hen's injury isn't bleeding, the Blu Kote will still help because it is a germicide and fungicide.
Maybe it will even help your chicken's injured pride!
View attachment 1620832

Thanks! Yes, I have some blue kote to spray on her, but still not sure what I should do about the fact that the injured area is covered in dirt. Should I wash her off given that it is freezing outside?

 

[Hardknockshomestead]

What I would do is just wipe any excess dirt/sand/poo gently with maybe damp paper toweling, just removing the dirt that would be in the way of the Blu Kote, so I could then get the treatment on the area.
I myself wouldn't bother with too much washing or cleaning, other than clearing the area for the treatment to be applied. She will get dirty again soon, anyway.
Again, a pic would be a good idea if you want to give folks a better idea of how the injury looks.
If you keep doing what you are already doing by observing her behavior and watch for infection, then the Blu Kote should keep the other chickens from pecking her and making it worse.

 

[casportpony]

@staceyj , can you comment on wound care?

 

[staceyj]

@staceyj , can you comment on wound care?

Oh lordie. I was galavanting today. Let me read up and see if I have anything to contribute.

 

[casportpony]

Oh lordie. I was galavanting today. Let me read up and see if I have anything to contribute.

I was hoping you could comment on debridement and cleansing.

 

[staceyj]

Ok without a photo and knowing that this poster doesn’t want the chicken indoors, I have to say there’s a lot to be said for a warm soapy washcloth, dry towel and an hour in the garage to dry off (or even a big carbord box full of towels on the porch, up against the back door.)

My HOPE is that the dried weeping fluids sealed the feather follicles shut and possibly kept *some germs from invading the skin BEFORE the dirt got caked on, but the reality is it’s more likely that you’ll wind up with an infection if it is a LOT of feathers yanked out.

Personally, I would scrub and spray, because livestock or not, I’d hate for a bird to wind up getting infected and having to be culled for something I could have easily avoided with just a few minutes of my time.

 

[MissChick@dee]

 

[scrambled please]

I’m interested to see how this turns out. I personally think with the cold, I’d watch and do as little as possible and as much as necessary. BTW, I have a border collie.