Wounded Chicken

[PeterB94]

Is that bulge that @Wyorp Rock encircled in red above or below the vent? That could be an old wound that has been trying to heal without proper wound care. It may have infection under it. Look for redness and swelling.

Yes, the feathers should grow back. The only place where they wouldn't would be where the tissue has been excised, removing feather follicles with it.

A reminder to supply her with grit in her confinement or you'll be facing a crop issue when she can't digest her food.

She would do much better in a normal setting with a barrier to protect her. Isolation, especially being kept in the dark, is not conducive to general health and well being. Can your run accommodate a small, sectioned off portion where she could remain protected while still being kept with her friends?

Hi. Thanks for your comment

The wound is below the vent. Iv attached a picture from today of the progress. I also noticed a small scab on the other side of bone running along the middle of her body. I hadn't seen this yet as I was holding her a certain way to treat that wound, i feel a bit hopeless having not yet seen it.

I can definately section off part of the run, it's 16 foot x 6 foot. I have been thinking about how awful it must be for her on her own. I just took decisive action based of some of the threads iv seen.

I also didn't want to expose her to flys being outside?

The point about grit is an absolutely brilliant point and one I had not thought of. I'd given her oyster shell but not grit. Thank you for this.

So shall i try her outside on her own first or construct the division in the main run do you think?

 

[azygous]

Get some Swat fly repellent ointment and use it on the wound to keep the flies away. Feed stores should carry it or order it online.

But you need to treat that wound every day and keep it moist with an triple antibiotic ointment under the Swat ointment. That black stuff should be debrided. It will help the wound to avoid bacteria and heal faster.

Use a washcloth and warm soapy water to scrub the black scabby tissue away. This may seem counter productive, but unlike a tiny wound, large wounds should not develop scabs as it interferes with new tissue growth.

 

[PeterB94]

Get some Swat fly repellent ointment and use it on the wound to keep the flies away. Feed stores should carry it or order it online.

But you need to treat that wound every day and keep it moist with an triple antibiotic ointment under the Swat ointment. That black stuff should be debrided. It will help the wound to avoid bacteria and heal faster.

Use a washcloth and warm soapy water to scrub the black scabby tissue away. This may seem counter productive, but unlike a tiny wound, large wounds should not develop scabs as it interferes with new tissue growth.

I can't seem to find any of the fly repellant ointment here in the UK & I'm also struggling to find any triple antibiotic ointment. We mainly use Sudocream, Germaline and Savlon but those are namely an antiseptic - could I use these do you know?

*Edit* I did manage to find the following fly ointment which looks pretty much the same thing.
https://www.viovet.co.uk/Battles-Summer-Fly-Cream/c9273/

When I'm debriding the black skin should there be any bleeding? I'll attempt this tonight but didn't want to be surprised by anything that might happen.

 

[azygous]

If the active ingredient is citronella, it's safe to use on chickens.

 

[SmiYa0126]

@PeterB94 How did the debridement go? They look pretty hard.

@azygous my chick had a large wound on his head and neck. The scab was from behind his comb to the bottom of his neck. The scab lifted and fell away as the wound healed. From the picture Peter posted it looks like the scab is pulling away on the lower left side. Is this a sign of healing? I also found that when I kept the wound moist my chick was developing white skin on the margins, it was as white as a sheet of paper, kind of reminded me when we sit in the tub too long and our skin becomes lighter colored. Once I stopped keeping the scab moist the skin returned to normal pink color (the cream was sleeping off the scab and to the skin around it when the chick was moving around. I just don't want the same thing to happen to Peter's girl. Always learning, looking forward to your reply!

 

[PeterB94]

@PeterB94 How did the debridement go? They look pretty hard.

@azygous my chick had a large wound on his head and neck. The scab was from behind his comb to the bottom of his neck. The scab lifted and fell away as the wound healed. From the picture Peter posted it looks like the scab is pulling away on the lower left side. Is this a sign of healing? I also found that when I kept the wound moist my chick was developing white skin on the margins, it was as white as a sheet of paper, kind of reminded me when we sit in the tub too long and our skin becomes lighter colored. Once I stopped keeping the scab moist the skin returned to normal pink color (the cream was sleeping off the scab and to the skin around it when the chick was moving around. I just don't want the same thing to happen to Peter's girl. Always learning, looking forward to your reply!

Hi.

I didn't attempt last night as I had to bathe her on my own so just did the normal however I have help today so will attempt debriding, I'm just really worried I'll make things worse if I don't do it right.

Did your hen heal better when you stopped applying the cream then?

 

[azygous]

@PeterB94 How did the debridement go? They look pretty hard.

@azygous my chick had a large wound on his head and neck. The scab was from behind his comb to the bottom of his neck. The scab lifted and fell away as the wound healed. From the picture Peter posted it looks like the scab is pulling away on the lower left side. Is this a sign of healing? I also found that when I kept the wound moist my chick was developing white skin on the margins, it was as white as a sheet of paper, kind of reminded me when we sit in the tub too long and our skin becomes lighter colored. Once I stopped keeping the scab moist the skin returned to normal pink color (the cream was sleeping off the scab and to the skin around it when the chick was moving around. I just don't want the same thing to happen to Peter's girl. Always learning, looking forward to your reply!

I can't respond to your experience since I don't know what all was involved, the type of cream your were using, the condition and stage of the wound itself, contributing environmental conditions, type and quality of wound care, etc.

What I can respond to with direct experience is wound care which includes debriding. Many here know I was badly burned many years ago and had to debride my burns daily, removing all scabby and pussy tissue. While it did seem counterproductive to scrub my skin back to a seemingly raw state each day, my burns seemed to suddenly heal overnight at around the one month period, and all new skin appeared.

Since, I've treated some very serious wounds in my own flock. I learned by trial and error. The first case I ever treated was a small chick that had been scalped. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/healing-a-severely-injured-baby-chick.71976/ At one point, halfway through healing, I got lax in my daily care and let the wound dry out and scab. Almost all progress in healing halted.

There is a phenomenon called granulation where the new tissue forms a sort of rim at the outer edges of the wound. You can watch the progress of the skin cells reproducing and moving in toward the center of the wound. The tissue is raised and appears abnormal to the uneducated eye, but it flattens out as the cells make progress toward the center of the wound, which is the last part that heals.

Debriding has been discussed in veterinary literature and is concluded to be very beneficial in the treatment of wounds in animals. I urge you to read it. https://www.merckvetmanual.com/emer...anagement/initial-wound-management-in-animals Lots of lit on this topic out there.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Hi.

I didn't attempt last night as I had to bathe her on my own so just did the normal however I have help today so will attempt debriding, I'm just really worried I'll make things worse if I don't do it right.

Did your hen heal better when you stopped applying the cream then?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/panicking-scalped-chick.1543233/page-3

Here's the thread and pictures of my injured cockerel. He had a flap on one side and I could see his tendons as he was eating on the other side. I stopped all cream on second week. I also had him on antibiotics for three days as he developed an infection on the flap side near his cheek. His scab is very small now, it's only in the part where only his bare skull remained .

 

[SmiYa0126]

I can't respond to your experience since I don't know what all was involved, the type of cream your were using, the condition and stage of the wound itself, contributing environmental conditions, type and quality of wound care, etc.

What I can respond to with direct experience is wound care which includes debriding. Many here know I was badly burned many years ago and had to debride my burns daily, removing all scabby and pussy tissue. While it did seem counterproductive to scrub my skin back to a seemingly raw state each day, my burns seemed to suddenly heal overnight at around the one month period, and all new skin appeared.

Since, I've treated some very serious wounds in my own flock. I learned by trial and error. The first case I ever treated was a small chick that had been scalped. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/healing-a-severely-injured-baby-chick.71976/ At one point, halfway through healing, I got lax in my daily care and let the wound dry out and scab. Almost all progress in healing halted.

There is a phenomenon called granulation where the new tissue forms a sort of rim at the outer edges of the wound. You can watch the progress of the skin cells reproducing and moving in toward the center of the wound. The tissue is raised and appears abnormal to the uneducated eye, but it flattens out as the cells make progress toward the center of the wound, which is the last part that heals.

Debriding has been discussed in veterinary literature and is concluded to be very beneficial in the treatment of wounds in animals. I urge you to read it. https://www.merckvetmanual.com/emer...anagement/initial-wound-management-in-animals Lots of lit on this topic out there.

Oh wow! I wish I had found that article when my chick was scalped.

Would it be better to soak Peter's girl first in warm soapy water and then scrub the scab? That's my first instinct since it's so dry.... It does feel like one of those things that you have to be brave and do it. Is there a limit to how much scrubbing to do?

 

[azygous]

Yes, soaking first to soften the dead and crusty tissue makes it much easier to debride. It only seems as though you are removing healthy tissue, but you aren't. You're only removing dead tissue and pus. Healthy tissue will survive debriding and not be harmed. Rule of thumb is to remove anything blackened until you see only pink.