HELP- i think my chicken's back was ripped off

[khemo]

yesterday when it was time to put the girls in, i couldn't find them at first (i only have 2- they are around 3-4 years old). then i saw all these feathers all along the wall of the barn. i moved the cart and saw my ISA, Consuela, jammed into the corner, like she was trying to get underground.
at first i thought she was dead, and a dog had run her into the wall under the cart, but then i saw her move. so i shifted her a little and saw her back was tore up. she made some noises and was wobbly and loose- i thought broken wing, leg- the worst which was actually not even the worst.
i found my other chicken unharmed and she's safe in her coop.

when i moved the cart to pick Consuela up, she jumped up and ran back under the cart. i left her with my dog and looked for the other chicken again for a minute, then i came back and she had left the safety of the cart and was trying to climb the split wood pile along the wall.
i put her in a box and brought her in the house, and put that box inside a guinea pig cage we have. then i looked up wound care because it was christmas eve eve, and we have NO vets that treat chickens.

what i did so far is: i cleaned the wound with warm water, peroxide and paper towels. i picked away some of the feathers to try to assess the damage. i honestly don't even know what i'm looking at.

i had a tiny bit of knock-off neosporin, so what i had i put on a gauze pad and put it on her back.
i saw neosporin can be used as long as it's the normal kind, not the pain relief. my sister brought me the pain relief kind- she took it back and brought me some regular.
while waiting for the regular stuff, i cleaned the wound a little more- pulling all the broken, stuck feathers off. that's when i kind of figured maybe her skin is gone. it looks like - i don't even know. one feather i tugged at seemed to pull back a whole flap of skin. i'm not going to lie, it's freaking me out.
my sister came back and i cleaned off her wound one more time with with just water (chickens are dusty), then applied a gob of neosporin to coat the gauzes and placed them on her back.
my sister thinks her skin is gone too.

her wings are held in the normal position so i don't think they're broken after all, and she did drink some water with poultry electrolytes. and she's pooped (i have horses and it's always important with them).
i left her a millet sprig and some thawed corn/peas (she loves that stuff). she's in a box with 3 flaps closed in the cage in a quiet darkened room.
what can else can i use on her wound? i have horses so i have that blue wonderdust and scarlex spray by farnam- can i use that on her? i've found limited info online.

the wound is basically her whole back to the wings, neck to tail. this pic is from the initial cleaning, so the wound is a little wider from wing to wing.

 

[Hivoltage]

Get some Blue-Kote with the dauber and coat that wound daily. We had a hen that looked like that and she is all healed up. Kept her in a tub in my office the past month. Her tail feathers were ripped out but they are growing back in. There is hope !!!!

 

[sylviethecochin]

X2

Blu-Kote is basically sticky rubbing alcohol, so it should ward off infection, but I'd also look and see if I could find some antibiotics (penicillin and some others are sold at Tractor Supply and probably also at Rural King). They're overused, yes, but that back could turn into nasty case very quickly. Dose for penicillin is 0.25 cc (cubic centimeters) once a day for four days in succession.

 

[Altfrizzle]

Blu-kote HURTS! Don't put that on.

They do have a neosporin without pain relief that comes in a spray thing.
I actually have a spray solution that is mostly water, but it's baby toy cleaner, kills germs but baby mouthing safe, that I use on chicken wounds.

 

[Altfrizzle]

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/st...oFuTGSXWt7hgapUzhdeAsnGgQi5ihyQxoCaMsQAvD_BwE

 

[khemo]

i don't use antibiotics in general, so overuse is not a problem. thanks for the dosage.

X2

Blu-Kote is basically sticky rubbing alcohol, so it should ward off infection, but I'd also look and see if I could find some antibiotics (penicillin and some others are sold at Tractor Supply and probably also at Rural King). They're overused, yes, but that back could turn into nasty case very quickly. Dose for penicillin is 0.25 cc (cubic centimeters) once a day for four days in succession.

 

[khemo]

what did you use for pain then? another poster says it hurts. how different is blue kote from scarlex? well, i'm going to try to look it up, but if you have any easier to understand info, that'd be great too.

Get some Blue-Kote with the dauber and coat that wound daily. We had a hen that looked like that and she is all healed up. Kept her in a tub in my office the past month. Her tail feathers were ripped out but they are growing back in. There is hope !!!!

 

[khemo]

she's up and eating! yay. she's one tough broad! so mostly i want to keep her from getting an infection. should i keep the gauze on her for a bit, or just try to leave it open?

mostly i don't know what to do daily. do i use an antiseptic on it twice a day and ointment? just blue-kote? do i get some vetricyn? can i initially use scarlex?

i'm going to go out anyway and get some puppy pads because i saw that and it's genius in keeping her box clean. so what's the best thing to pick up? should i invest in more neosporin?

 

[khemo]

also, as i'm researching everything i can do, should i be "irrigating" the wound daily? and if so, with what?
i know peroxide slows healing.

i have no idea if she has punctures- i'm having a hard time looking at it. and when i compartmentalize it so i can, i still have no idea what i'm even really looking at. is that her vertebrae? what is this piece over here? is that a puncture by her tail or just just pooled blood that i can't seem to touch? is this feather actually connected or just still matted?
I don't even know what attacked her- she was just inside the barn door about a half hour before sunset. but who know when she was actually attacked.
thank you in advance and for the advice so far.

 

[sylviethecochin]

should i be "irrigating" the wound daily? and if so, with what?
Saline solution would probably be best. Not sure of the exact concentration, but a tsp. of salt per pint of water should be good. Basically, it's a rinse to keep the wound hydrated instead of drying out and also to get rid of blood and grime, etc. I'm not sure how that would interact with blu-kote though, as the blu-kote's just that--a coating.

mostly i don't know what to do daily. do i use an antiseptic on it twice a day and ointment?
Penicillin is an injectable. You can go under the skin (subcutaneous, sq) for a slower distribution or into the muscle (intramuscular) for a more painful, but quicker distribution. Ointment would probably be very good initially, but again, I think it would just top the wound once you put blu-kote on it.

just blue-kote? do i get some vetricyn? can i initially use scarlex?
I have no experience with anything but blu-kote for wound care. It's sort of the traditional remedy--my dad used it, so I use it. Also, it tends to be more readily available and it's highly effective. Veterycin is a wash, more of, and the active ingredient is hypochlorous acid. From experience, I will say the product takes a long time to work on pink-eye (cattle disease--luckily, we caught it early) It's not painful, but it's not a sealing coating like blu-kote and I don't think it's as effective. Yes, you probably could initially use scarlex, but I have no experience with the product.

First, I would completely rinse everything with a saline rinse and cut away any feathers that are dragging in the wound. They're just asking for contamination. Some gentle probing to get rid of any dirt and blood would not be amiss. Don't be too harsh, but don't worry about some blood flow--bleeding is good, it washes away micro-contaminants. Rinse again until everything's clean, (you may have to gently pat dry after this) then coat with triple-antibiotic ointment (it acts as a bit of a buffer against the sting, and it helps keep stuff a little hydrated down there), then spray with whatever you're using as a coating. Don't use bandages, because they stick. Blu-kote is better. Again you could use scarlex, but I have npe.