Puppy injured a hen and plucked out feathers on her back

[slu7597]

My six month old puppy got one of the hens who escaped the coop. He plucked out lot of the feathers on her back. Along with some flesh. It’s been a week, and she was isolated in a dog crate inside because it was snowing out. During that time, she actually laid an egg. Because her back was scabbed over I put her back in the coop, and the other chickens appeared to not mess with her but when I checked later in the day, her entire back was bloody. One of the chickens was pecking at her. I put her back in the dog crate inside last night and now it looks like this. Any suggestions? So far I’ve been rinsing it with saline and putting triple antibacterial ointment on it.

 

[slu7597]

Quick update - she’s healing up! Her skin is growing back and I can see feathers starting to grow back too. She definitely loves her social time outside with the flock. Still going to keep her in the makeshift dog crate chicken hospital until she’s 100%

 

[Rose the Legbar]

It sounds like you are doing good. I would suggest keeping her away from the flock until the injury has healed almost fully. Keep doing what you are doing for her and she should heal up nicely!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My six month old puppy got one of the hens who escaped the coop. He plucked out lot of the feathers on her back. Along with some flesh. It’s been a week, and she was isolated in a dog crate inside because it was snowing out. During that time, she actually laid an egg. Because her back was scabbed over I put her back in the coop, and the other chickens appeared to not mess with her but when I checked later in the day, her entire back was bloody. One of the chickens was pecking at her. I put her back in the dog crate inside last night and now it looks like this. Any suggestions? So far I’ve been rinsing it with saline and putting triple antibacterial ointment on it.

I'd clean her wounds with Chlorhexidine, trim the feathers away from her wounds so it stays cleaner.
Apply a thin layer of triple antibiotic ointment to the wound to keep it moist.

It takes time for wounds to heal. So she needs to be healed over completely before putting her back, otherwise the flock will pick at wounds.

 

[Certified Chicken Lover]

I would recommend using vetrycine on it. She NEEDS to be isolated till she recovers. This is a great article on caring for open wounds:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/how-to-care-for-injured-chicken-and/

How's her apatite? It sounds like you are doing a great job already! keep us updated

 

[StinkyAcres]

That's wonderful to hear and great job taking care of her. Chickens are surprisingly resilient and can recover from pretty nasty looking injuries, as your hen has shown. I had one hen who was roughed up by a raccoon and later bitten by a dog. She recovered, though not back to 100%, but the wounds healed and she was still able to be a chicken after both attacks.

 

[slu7597]

Oh good to know! I’ll look into that if needed.

I looked into the chicken saddle and bought a couple - her wound is healing nicely and is no longer black so I thought I’d try it today - the white chicken (nurse ratchet - she picks on all the chickens) followed her around and tries to pick at her but the guard worked and she stopped trying so far. I’m going to keep a close eye on them today, but so far so good! Thank you so much for the suggestion I would’ve never known.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I looked into the chicken saddle and bought a couple - her wound is healing nicely and is no longer black so I thought I’d try it today - the white chicken (nurse ratchet - she picks on all the chickens) followed her around and tries to pick at her but the guard worked and she stopped trying so far. I’m going to keep a close eye on them today, but so far so good! Thank you so much for the suggestion I would’ve never known.

She's so stylish! I love the blue color.
LOL Nurse Ratchet is not going to be able to pick through that.
I'm so glad she's healing up, the wound looks good, just check it daily as usual.

Thanks for the update and photos!

 

[Tonyroo]

It takes a month for injuries that severe to heal correctly.

 

[slu7597]

I would recommend using vetrycine on it. She NEEDS to be isolated till she recovers. This is a great article on caring for open wounds:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/how-to-care-for-injured-chicken-and/

How's her apatite? It sounds like you are doing a great job already! keep us updated

Thanks for the article! She’s eating and drinking. I may need to get a bigger dog crate to isolate her - the one she’s in she can move around but it’s not much space. I used it when my puppy was very young and only 10 lbs.