When do I give up?

[Blingchix6]

Using sugar causes a shift in osmotic pressure, which can decrease edema(swelling). Honey can be used on wound dressings but only under very specific circumstances. I would probably irrigate the wound with warm water twice a day and skip the honey. If there are any maggots left in there I would not want to put honey on the wound. As always, a vet that is familiar with poultry is always going to be your best bet. Wishing you and your chicken well. They are amazingly tough.

 

[alang]

Thank you for all who have chimed in. Wound has been maggot free. During her visiting hours at the coop I shoo all flies and overly doting hens away. I haven't tried dressing the wound yet. She seems bored of scrambled eggs today but she might be eating on her own. I was at work and she was alone for 12 hours. I found her sitting near her water with her chest damp like she'd been trying to drink. She can't get her head all the way down so I think she was getting low to access the water. When she visited friends tonight, she was scratching and then dropping her body down to peck the ground. She was also eating the tops off all the tall grass.
I've been putting triple antibiotic ointment on the wound twice daily and then leaving it open. Should I stop ointment? I have not been flushing since maggots stopped- should I still flush for any reason? Still on TMS 2 ml twice daily with syringe directly into mouth.

Her spirits seem greatly improved but I can't imagine how a wound this size will ever heal! The pictures don't show the deep pocket that wraps under to her windpipe because I can't hold the flap of skin up and hold her and the camera. Trust me, its deep. Any ideas what animal could have done this? My husband thinks hawk.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for all who have chimed in. Wound has been maggot free. During her visiting hours at the coop I shoo all flies and overly doting hens away. I haven't tried dressing the wound yet. She seems bored of scrambled eggs today but she might be eating on her own. I was at work and she was alone for 12 hours. I found her sitting near her water with her chest damp like she'd been trying to drink. She can't get her head all the way down so I think she was getting low to access the water. When she visited friends tonight, she was scratching and then dropping her body down to peck the ground. She was also eating the tops off all the tall grass.
I've been putting triple antibiotic ointment on the wound twice daily and then leaving it open. Should I stop ointment? I have not been flushing since maggots stopped- should I still flush for any reason? Still on TMS 2 ml twice daily with syringe directly into mouth.
Her spirits seem greatly improved but I can't imagine how a wound this size will ever heal! The pictures don't show the deep pocket that wraps under to her windpipe because I can't hold the flap of skin up and hold her and the camera. Trust me, its deep. Any ideas what animal could have done this? My husband thinks hawk.

Glad you got all those out! Good job!

I wouldn't flush it anymore. You can still apply the ointment to help keep it moist. So hopefully it will "flex" a bit for her.

The wound looks good. No odors?

I'm sure it may be painful to dip that neck to get water/food. It sounds like she may have figured a way to get her water, but it may be helpful to raise the waterer up. Can you put a wood block under it - just a thought.

As far as food. Egg is always good, but if she if bored with it, you can try mixing her normal feed with a little water and adding the egg, some tuna, meat, etc. Chickens seem to love wet food, so you can get creative with what you mix in.

Thank you for the update.
Please keep us posted on her progress.

 

[twinsmom6]

she is getting good care and sounds like she is better. The TA ointment is good to keep the wound from drying out to much and will keep it relatively bacteria free. I would use that until the wound starts to close up on its own.. Air is actually great for the wound and helps to heal it. If the other chicks are leaving it alone that is great! Make sure she is getting enough water.. if she can't put her head down to get it maybe some syringes with water as she will accept them.. Dehydration can result from those big wounds. She is a lucky girl.. I can not imagine what got her.. That wound will close just give it time.. they are pretty remarkable birds.. I cant imagine making eggs every day with beautiful shells.. miracles they are

 

[alang]

She's stronger every day. Today she dug up and ate a grub and enjoyed a dust bath with her sister and cousin. Wound got flushed because of dust but no maggots and no odor. She won't eat or drink from me now so I think she's using her regular bowls. All on the up as far as I can tell. Thank you for all the support and suggestions. I have to leave her with a pet sitter next week. Hoping my biggest issue when I get home is reintroduction into the group. One hen is attacking her past 2 days but everyone else is happy to see her during her visits. I'm going to keep her separated for the week though so there's no risk of assault- she's still weak and slow. Will have sitter do antibiotics and ointment and watch for flies on her screened porch.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She's stronger every day. Today she dug up and ate a grub and enjoyed a dust bath with her sister and cousin. Wound got flushed because of dust but no maggots and no odor. She won't eat or drink from me now so I think she's using her regular bowls. All on the up as far as I can tell. Thank you for all the support and suggestions. I have to leave her with a pet sitter next week. Hoping my biggest issue when I get home is reintroduction into the group. One hen is attacking her past 2 days but everyone else is happy to see her during her visits. I'm going to keep her separated for the week though so there's no risk of assault- she's still weak and slow. Will have sitter do antibiotics and ointment and watch for flies on her screened porch.

You have done very well!
Glad to hear she is improving. Taking a dust bath and eating/drinking on her own is promising.

There are quite a few threads on reintroducing a sick/injured chicken so you may want to search around for some BYC creative ideas.

 

[jennyf]

How's your hen doing?

 

[alang]

We were on vacation for a week and just got back. She is doing great. I want to reintroduce her but she has a large 2" by 1" scab over the wound. I put her in an adjacent enclosure to be near her friends yesterday. I think maggots are unlikely with the scab but I am worried her friends are going to pick the scab right off if I put her back in the run. Should I wait for it to heal completely? May be a month or more but I don't want to risk a set back.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

We were on vacation for a week and just got back. She is doing great. I want to reintroduce her but she has a large 2" by 1" scab over the wound. I put her in an adjacent enclosure to be near her friends yesterday. I think maggots are unlikely with the scab but I am worried her friends are going to pick the scab right off if I put her back in the run. Should I wait for it to heal completely? May be a month or more but I don't want to risk a set back.

Glad to hear she is doing great!
Putting her in an enclosure near her friends was a good move. That will help with reintegrating when it's time.
You may want to wait until the scab is healed really well before you let her back in with the others, even though she used to be part of the flock, they can view her as an intruder and do some pecking, etc. So if the scab happens to get picked off, then they will have a go at her.

As far as keeping the flies away you may want to look into using some Swat, you can find this at the feed store, it's a fly repellent ointment you can put around the wound.

 

[Blingchix6]

So glad to hear that she is doing so well. BYC is a wonderful place for support and suggestions. My Clementine recovered from a huge wound and went on to be a happy normal chicken, and the BYC community was helpful with getting her better. Have you ever tried to use the poultry nipples for water? They are the only thing I use. They can be placed in a way that the chickens need to reach for them instead of them bowing their heads down to drink from a waterer. The nipples also prevent spillage, keeping your floors dry, and you don't have to constantly clean out water dishes. The BriteWater taps are nice because they can be used with an insulated spigot type cooler.
Best of luck!!