Healing Chicken Wounds!

[mamachula]

Hello good chicken people!

So one of our gals got her leg swiped at by some critter (probably a raccoon? but it was in the middle of the day?) almost 2 weeks ago. Tore off a chunk of skin, but didn't seem to get any leg meat, she got away and ended up back in the coop, not much blood, but clearly hurt. She seemed ok, and we cleaned her up good, iodine, neosporin (non-pain reliever), all that. I got some some of that Vetericyn spray and have been spraying daily and adding neosporin a couple of times since. We let her out a couple of times to walk around a bit and see the other chickens. At first, she was almost walking normally after about a week and the wound looks pretty good. No clear signs of infection (I have some 1st aid training and I can't see anything that looks bad in the wound - seems to be healing normally).

But 2-3 days ago she sort of just stopped even trying to walk and really doesn't want to eat or drink much. When we prompt her to move or stand she really gimps and can't really put weight on it. But I'm sure her legs just really hurts. What worries me the most is she really doesn't seem to want to eat much. What are infection possibilities/signs this late after a wound and what can one do? Antibiotics? I've read about penicillin and such for birds. Any suggestions? Major symptom warning signs: lethargy, lack of appetite.

Thanks!

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

Even cleaning if you cleaned a wound it can still get an infection. Look for redness and swelling at the site and you can give Bacitracin or penicillin g to the bird. Any pics would be welcome. We would then be able to see if anything is wrong.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Do you have a picture of your chickens wounds? It would help.......

 

[mamachula]

To give a general idea of the wound, this was a few days later (we're still wondering what it was because we didn't hear anything but she was right outside the living room window when it happened! Raccoon?)

I don't see any swelling or redness as of yesterday... no obvious sign of infection in the wound itself.

 

[coach723]

It looks like a substantial wound, I personally would start an antibiotic. Penicillin G procaine injectable is available at many feed stores or tractor supply (where are you located generally?- it helps in recommending things). You can also use amoxicillin orally, available as "fish mox". I'm away from home and my references so am going to tag some others that can help with dosing recommendations. @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive

 

[mamachula]

We're in rural CA, and my understanding is that you can't get antibiotics without a vet's prescription. No vets nearby here! I'm not sure how to get any internal antibiotic with the new federal laws... advice?

 

[coach723]

You can still get fish antibiotics I think, that's the fish mox, pretty sure those are available everywhere. Just search for fish mox and you will find sources to compare prices. I will tag a CA member to see if they can help. @casportpony

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC! It's true, those of us in California can't any type of livestock antibiotic, but some feed stores sell fish antibiotics, so call your stores and ask.

If you can't find any locally, you can order them. What part of California are you in? For a wound like that I might try to get some cephalexin for fish, amoxicillin for fish, or maybe even some Baytril.

As for the wound, does it smell? I think if she were mine I would flush the wound with some sterile saline (google recipe) and chlorhexidine or sterile saline and betadine and I would pay special attention to these areas:

 

[mamachula]

Thanks very much! I will try to find the fish stuff in Sierraville. We flushed it pretty good initially and have applied Vetericyn and Neosporin pretty consistently since it happened. It didn't smell other than like a fresh chicken leg you're about to grill! I haven't noticed any swelling or redness or pus. I'll check again today. She just doesn't wana put any weight on it and is real finicky eating. I just put one of her sisters in to keep her company and maybe inspire her to eat. Yogurt seemed to help!

Here's a more recent photo, from 2 days ago, I believe.

 

[mamachula]

There is a little flap of dead skin that I would think will just come off at some point...