Very bad wound on hen!!! UPDATED with photo!! **warning graphic***

Carter Critters

In the Brooder
5 Years
Dec 1, 2014
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Sweet Home Alabama
From what I can tell it is from my rooster. She is new to the flock I didn't notice this at first because she was pretty plucked anyway.. but now it is black.. She is eating ok .. I did a saline wash on it and then a peroxide and water wash.. I am buying inject-able antibotics. It doesn't smell rotten but it sure looks it.. I have her in a carrier with hay in my laundry room..I boiled eggs for her ..Is there more I can do...I am very new
 
Welcome to BYC. A picture of the wound would help a lot. You may need to have 10 or so posts first in order to add a picture, though. Just post to introduce yourself and keep posting until your picture comes through. Peroxide can be used a couple of times full strength, but then I would switch to betadine or Hibiclens (chlorhexadine) to cleanse the wound. Antibiotic ointment such as plain Neosporin, Triple Antibiotic, Bacitracin, or a product such as Vetericyn Wound Spray would be good. Black skin sounds like it may be necrotic or dead, and that may need to be debrided or trimmed away. The hen needs to be kept inside away from flies, or the wound may get maggots. Bad wounds can heal and close with treatment as long as the chicken is alert, eating, and infection is kept down.
 
A vet would be great if possible. It may have been a vent prolapse which can happen by itself, or sometimes along with having a stuck egg. Vent pecking could also have been an issue. Do you see signs of maggots, since they can be common inside wounds such as these? She needs to be soaked (just the vent area) in warm epsom salts water each day, and you will need to scrub off the black tissue after it softens over 15 minutes. If you can't get epsom salts you can use the betadine or chlorhexadrene, but epsom salts can really help. If any maggots come out, there can be an infection inside, and they will need to be removed. Then slather on an antibiotic ointment such as plain Neosporin or Vetericyn wound spray. Is she passing droppings normally? Is she eating and drinking, and alert and active? To keep her from laying eggs, she needs to be in the dark for 16 hours a day. This is going to be a challenge to get her better with the dead skin around her vent, and it may never get back to normal, but with careful cleaning and debridement of the dead tissue, she may have a chance. Poke a finger inside her vent 1 inch to make sure she can poop, and is not egg bound. The vent area will need to be kept clean, and the antibiotic ointment applied. Honey or Preparation H is normally used to reduce swelling in a prolapse, but since I'm not sure if it was a prolapse or vent pecking injury, I would use the antibiotic ointment. Here is a link about what a prolapse normally looks like: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/prolapse-vent-causes-treatment-graphic.html
 
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