Wounded Chicken

[PeterB94]

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.

Thanks for sharing your personal story.

I began debriding last night however couldn't take a picture as I was again on my own doing it and she didn't like me doing it very much.

I removed the large piece that @SmiYa0126 referenced. Where it began to snag a little on the skin however I left it. Is this correct procedure?

There was no bleeding and the skin looked good underneath, nice and pink.

Is there anything other than Epsom salts I should put in to further help soften the tissue for debriding ?

 

[SmiYa0126]

I would use dawn dish soap, if you have the clear kind so it doesn't have all the dyes. A nice long bath, you may need to change the water so it stays warm.

 

[azygous]

@SmiYa0126 is right, Dawn is the best thing to add to a soak since it is high in surfactants and helps soften tissue.

 

[PeterB94]

Ok great thank you.

Quick google search tells me Fairy washing up liquid as we call it in the UK is the same as Dawn so I'll put some in later when I bathe her.

I'll put some pictures in tonight hopefully if I can get some help again.

 

[SmiYa0126]

How did the debridement go? @PeterB94

 

[PeterB94]

Hi.

Just wanted to share an update picture. Now 12 days since I began wound treatment.

I used Fairy (Dawn) last night and debrided further and as you'll see in the picture the large piece at the bottom is now gone. As I worked around the edge it did start to snag and I could the skin underneath was still raw and not pink and healed like under the initial part I've removed so I stopped at that point.

I have now built the partition today and I can get her back in the run under supervision (as I work all week). Provided that works out ok while I'm there this weekend, I can go down every morning before work and put her in and go down just before dusk and place her back in her isolation pen.

I've read @azygous article on introducing new hens/bully hens and it was very helpful.

 

[PeterB94]

*photos

 

[PeterB94]

Hi everyone.

Now she's in the isolation pen within the run, she's very nervous trying to find an escape. Only one of the chickens ( the one who I found pecking her furiously) is really bothered with her. The others come and go but Bluey is patrolling the perimeter between the two sections.

Is this normal for them to be really uneasy? She has a moderate amount of room to herself but isn't interested in anything other than looking for an escape and is even flying up and bouncing off the wire.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Yes, it's normal. Redoing the pecking order, ugh, I hate this part!

 

[PeterB94]

As you can see my blue orpy still has a lot of intereste and Elsa seems to want to get into the main section as is a bit like a zoo animal the way she's pacing around.

Shes healing really well. I'll post an update picture in the next few days when I have someone to take the picture again.