Meat Bird Injury - gash on rear - what to do?

[FunClucks]

My cornish cross is 5 weeks old, and has a gash on her rear. She was injured 2-3 weeks ago, and originally it was 1/16" wide gash, 2" long, and had started healing before I noticed it - the cut had scabbed over and the skin around it was a normal pink. She is the runt, and I was using a round feeder, and I think the chickens were climbing on top of each other to get to the food - a number of them have slight gashes on their rumps in the same place, besides their tails. I think another chicken sliced her open with their toenail. I'm new to raising meat chickens, and it took me a while to figure out what was going on and to get them a different feeder and a larger area. They are now out in the open air coop/run and have plenty of space to eat at their gutter feeder.

Neosporin (without pain relief) seemed to help the gash, but she may have gotten re-injured recently - the scab was disturbed yesterday, it started to leak fluid (puss?), and the skin around the gash is starting to turn yellow. The gash has also gotten wider - it's now at least a quarter inch wide, and the scab is thicker. I thought she was healing, but now I'm thinking it's going the other way.

The flock shows no interest in pecking each other or pecking any injuries, I think she may have gotten stepped on again.

I put Neosporin on the gash again last night, and it looked better this morning (dried up, and calmed a little), but is there anything else I can do for her? She is 4-6 weeks from processing (she's half the size of the others), and is showing no signs of pain or injury - she's walking around and feeding and drinking normally.

Can I give her amoxicillin? I could probably find Aqua-mox or Erithromyacin. If I do this, would she be safe to eat in 4-6 weeks? I want her to heal and not be in pain for the remainder of her (admittedly short) life.

I'm worried that if I put her in an isolation cage she won't get enough exercise and will develop leg or heart issues. I could put her in the other large pen with my twelve 5-week-old cockerels, who would be smaller than her but more mobile - she would have plenty of space and food/water access, but I'm worried they'd pick at her. My cockerels and meat birds currently share a chicken wire run wall, and like to sleep next to each other.

Edited to add picture of the gash.

What would you guys recommend?

 

[ChickenHeartedHen]

cant say much without a photo. good luck, though

 

[FunClucks]

cant say much without a photo. good luck, though

Edited original post to include photo.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would disinfect the wound with chlorhexidene or use Hibiclens with water 1:1. Then reapply the Neosporin, and repeat that twice a day. It will take at least a couple of weeks for that to heal. It may heal fine without antibiotics. If you use amoxicillin there is a 7 day egg withdrawal time, and I would add another week for meat. So, if you treated for 1 week, then wait 2 more weeks to but her.

Have you checked to see if toenails should be trimmed?

 

[FunClucks]

I would disinfect the wound with chlorhexidene or use Hibiclens with water 1:1. Then reapply the Neosporin, and repeat that twice a day. It will take at least a couple of weeks for that to heal. It may heal fine without antibiotics. If you use amoxicillin there is a 7 day egg withdrawal time, and I would add another week for meat. So, if you treated for 1 week, then wait 2 more weeks to but her.

Have you checked to see if toenails should be trimmed?

Thank you! I can do that.

The toenails probably should be trimmed, it may take a bit for me to have the time to do that. I trimmed my egger chick toenails two weeks ago, but it didn't occur to me to trim the meat birds too.