What to put on open wound. Warning graphic pic

[wren]

Hi first some background info. I have a rooster that’s two years old almost. He was attacked 8 days ago. His comb was bitten off, the ends of his wattles bitten and the worst wound is a hole on his upper back/lower neck that’s around 1 inch wide and almost two inches long. His skin is lose around the wound and cannot be closed. Not enough skin left. I gave him pain med, oral antibiotics, flushed the wound with novalsan everyday and kept it covered with gauze. He is off all meds now. He is bright, alert, roosting, good poo and is fighting me when I try to treat him. The wound doesn’t smell bad, No pus, it is getting a dark black/red crusty thin scab maybe in spots. I didn’t flush it for the last two days and that’s when it got crusty. Maybe that was a mistake. The wound looks terrible to me. Especially the area with no arrows. (See below) The dark brown area. There’s no loose material. Maybe I need to probe more. I don’t know.
Here’s my two questions. 1 Getting the wound to granulate has been very difficult. What can I treat it with to promote faster granulation? There is very little to no muscle there. The wound is a pocket that doesn’t drain well. I feel that it either needs a drain put in (and I can’t obtain a drain tube) or I need to stop flushing it because it was too wet all the time. Which leads to question 2 What do I do? Please advise. Thanks in advance!

 

[PirateGirl]

Don't panic and keep an open mind. Long story short, my dog almost lost her leg to infection following surgery. She lost skin down to the bone. She lost all her pads and you could see ligaments etc. inside. It was as bad as it gets. I was seeing 2 vets for bandage changes (depending on day of week and clinic etc.) and they had different ways of dealing with the same issue, including some new fancy types of dressing for open wounds. What worked the best as a dressing was honey. Any honey will do, but raw, unfiltered, organic honey would be best. (you can read up online, often used for burn patients and the types of injuries/skin loss that cannot just be stitched back together) I'm not 100% sure how it works, I do know that it changes the PH in the wound environment. I do know that it has properties that prevent bad bacteria growth and promote growth of good new healthy tissue. It also keeps things from drying out too much. Honey on a nonstick gauze pad, enough to cover the whole area, change pad daily (as it heals more, bandage changes can be less often, but still no less than every 3 days). Some dead tissue will come away with bandage changes, but if tissue left behind has pink/red edges it still is health and has blood supply. Good luck.

 

[Eggcessive]

Not Blukote, since it is for shallow scrapes and scratches. Use some saline, Betadine, Hibiclens (chlorhexidene,) or Vetericyn Wound Spray— probably the easiest to use twice a day. Those are better for deep wounds. Honey is also good. To coat the wound after cleansing, I would use plain Neosporin or Trip,e Antibiotic Ointment, if not using honey.

 

[PlymouthRockBBredSebright]

Buy some Blu-kote and put a coat of it on all wounds and he will be just fine

 

[Sublight]

I am not sure but I think it was a raccoon. I feel that his wattles and comb were bitten bc my rooster tried to fight the raccoon. But this is a pure guess.

Take good care of that rooster then. He probably saved your girls. He is a hero (in the chicken world at least).

 

[casportpony]

I’m thinking I’m going to have to debride it a little. The brownish area. Any other thing to use to pack it besides honey? Then cover with gauze.

I also think you need to debride it. That black stuff looks like maybe it should be removed.

 

[Silkies rule Forever]

Not Blukote, since it is for shallow scrapes and scratches. Use some saline, Betadine, Hibiclens (chlorhexidene,) or Vetericyn Wound Spray— probably the easiest to use twice a day. Those are better for deep wounds. Honey is also good. To coat the wound after cleansing, I would use plain Neosporin or Trip,e Antibiotic Ointment, if not using honey.

I agree, i had a hen that got attacked by a rooster and he ripped off her comb and the whole entire back of her neck i put honey on her and it healed then i put her back and he attacked her again he did it so bad that he killed her. But honey is great!

 

[PlymouthRockBBredSebright]

definitely put on blu-kote

 

[PirateGirl]

Hopefully you get some good responses, there are lots of seasoned animal keepers on here! The wound is going to take quite some time to heal, so you have the option of trying something for 2 days and then trying something else for 2 days. You should see some signs of healing with every bandage change. Good luck. Keep an eye out for any infection that could require antibiotic as well.

 

[wren]

Blue-kote would be easier. I put it on his comb and wattles after I cleaned them up. But I seriously it is not recommended for deep wounds. Don’t believe me look it up!