What to do for large wound after other chickens kept attacking it??

[Crazychickensinsummit]

2/17/21

We have a "Leg Horn" white chicken we just found today to have a gaping wound with muscle tissue missing & major nerve damage!!?
There were no signs of injuries yesterday but today I'm surprised its still alive & acts like nothing is wrong?
It doesn't act any different or like its in pain?? But clearly it has a large & deep wound with blood every where!
We do not have the right emergency care aide at home right now & will pick some up at the store tomorrow.
For now we have bandaged it up with a large sterile gauze pad & vet wrap. We will be picking up saline solution & more gauze pads & vet wrap
& vetramicin spray for later on if it heals better. We are very concerned with the size & deep muscle tissue that's missing, as to how this poor
chicken will really be able to heal up properly & safely!?? Is this something that should have more care for it than what we can give really!!?
I'm thinking that it may need some sort of surgery or skin grafting for it to really heal right? Thing's I don't think we can afford right now?
Has anyone ever had a chicken who's had a large wound that it was able to heal completely from over time & with the right cobstant care?
We only know about basic acre needs of basic wounds, this wound is scary to look at! Our chicken also keeps trying to pull the vet wrap off of
itself shortly after we've put it on? We have a hard time getting it to be left alone so it'll heal properly?
And we do have it separated from the rest of the flock in its own large kennel with bedding & food & water with elecrolites.
What can we do? Our chicken's are a little over 2 yrs. old & still laying egg's & I do not want to put this poor chicken out of its missery if it can be saved!?
We have an image of the wound to give an idea of the scope of damage done.
Our Vet doesn't know anything about chickens & I'm not sure if they can help us?
Please give us any & all good advice we can use right now!!!
Desperately,
Bobbi & Daniel

 

[azygous]

Have you heard about the percent rule with human burn victims? When over 30% of the body has lost its skin, survival is almost never possible. This chicken comes close to that with such a large area of her back side missing.

This not only sets her up for bacterial infection, but she will be losing precious fluids through the wound. This upsets her electrolyte balance, and she will probably be going into shock if she hasn't already. This will affect her heart and lungs and all of her other organs.

Make no mistake, she is suffering even though she isn't screaming in pain. That's not how chickens roll. They don't make a big fuss when they are injured.

Just as a human victim of such horrific wounds would require intensive medical care over several months with skin grafts and continual intravenous antibiotics and fluids, so would this chicken. It simply is not practical to expect to be able to treat her and expect her to survive. I recommend you euthanize her right now and save her further suffering. She will be dead in a day or two whatever you try to do for her.

 

[Aapomp831]

Omg, she needs to be put down. As terrible as it is, she is in pain. I’m sorry this has happened.

 

[Crazychickensinsummit]

Have you heard about the percent rule with human burn victims? When over 30% of the body has lost its skin, survival is almost never possible. This chicken comes close to that with such a large area of her back side missing.

This not only sets her up for bacterial infection, but she will be losing precious fluids through the wound. This upsets her electrolyte balance, and she will probably be going into shock if she hasn't already. This will affect her heart and lungs and all of her other organs.

Make no mistake, she is suffering even though she isn't screaming in pain. That's not how chickens roll. They don't make a big fuss when they are injured.

Just as a human victim of such horrific wounds would require intensive medical care over several months with skin grafts and continual intravenous antibiotics and fluids, so would this chicken. It simply is not practical to expect to be able to treat her and expect her to survive. I recommend you euthanize her right now and save her further suffering. She will be dead in a day or two whatever you try to do for her.

2/18/21
Thank You for your guidance and explanation on the levels this injury will for go.
You are completely right on how this will play out I am sure.
I do wonder though if until I can get the chicken to a Vet who can better help it, can I give this chicken a crushed & dilluted Asperine or something in the mean time for its pain to help it some?
I would still like to plan on getting it to a Vet ASAP tomorrow!?
We cleaned its wound gently with an eye dropper filled with luke warm water over the entire wound & dressed it with a fresh large pad with vet wrap.
I'm hoping to get it better care tomorrow? But can I give it something for pain for now?
Like dilluted Asperine?

 

[Crazychickensinsummit]

Omg, she needs to be put down. As terrible as it is, she is in pain. I’m sorry this has happened.

2/18/21
Thank You for your consolation! And you are probably right in that she should be put down with this sort of injury. But how exactly do you put a chicken down with out too much mess?
I don't know for sure if we should yet? I'm going to try bringing it to my Vet if they can see her? This will be my last resort before putting her down & make sure we have done everything first. She is such a sweet chicken!
I will keep this thought in mind if there really is nothing more to be done.
-Bobbi

 

[micstrachan]

Hi Bobbi,
I am so sorry about your hen. Is that wound on her BACK or around her VENT? Is that hole the vent? If so, I tend to agree there is not a good chance for recovery. If it is on her back, I think she stands a decent chance.

Can you answer the wound location question?

 

[micstrachan]

I have given half a low-dose (80mg tablet?) aspirin to a hen for pain and inflammation.

 

[Crazychickensinsummit]

Hi Bobbi,
I am so sorry about your hen. Is that wound on her BACK or around her VENT? Is that hole the vent? If so, I tend to agree there is not a good chance for recovery. If it is on her back, I think she stands a decent chance.

Can you answer the wound location question?

2/18/21
Hello micstrachan,
Yes the large wound you see just taken earlier yesterday at around 5:30pm is on mostly her back area & her left side area. She is still showing interest in eating & drinking her water mixed with electrolites. She shows effection & love when I hold her & comfort her but clearly shows pain when we try cleaning her wound with luke warm water.
She handled it pretty well really & cooperated mostly as long as my husband held her still & kept her wings out of the way for me while I treated her.
Poor thing!! I don't want her to go into shock or be suffering in pain during the night!?
Can a chicken be given a crushed Asperine dilluted in water to drink & help with her pain at all?? I want to give her something until I can get her to a Vet tomorrow if possable.
Do you feel based upon the location of the wound that she may be able to slowly heal from this?
-Bobbi

 

[micstrachan]

Yes, I personally feel she has a chance. Can you see into her body cavity? If so, she may need an antibiotic. If you are bringing her to a vet, they will let you know if that is needed.

Yes, I believe crushed aspirin in water works, but I'm not sure of the dosing at the moment. Is there a treat she finds irresistible? Do you have low-dose aspirin you could cut in half and hide in a little piece of cheese, bread or something?

Do you have antiobiotic ointment you could put on the wound? If you read through the forums here, you will see we have seen many tissue wounds recover with proper care. Protein treats (like meat, liver, egg, etc.) can help with tissue repair. Also, are you keeping he in a nice, warm area?

 

[Crazychickensinsummit]

I have given half a low-dose (80mg tablet?) aspirin to a hen for pain and inflammation.

2/18/21
How did you give your hen the Asperine of about 40mg? Was it crushed & dilluted in water for it to drink? And how often did you give her the Asperine? Every 4 hrs. etc.?
-Bobbi