chicken was attacked, ripped most of her wing off

[ashleydkm0]

last night something got into my chicken coop and bit a chunk off one of my chickens wings. my dad patched up all of the holes in the coop after another one of my chickens disappeared last week so i don’t know how it could’ve gotten in. when i found her all of the blood was dried up and there was some exposed bone but ive been too scared to properly treat or wrap it up. its been 8 hours since i found her and shes been drinking little water and refuses to eat her chicken feed but is eating the plain scrambled egg ive been feeding her. i don’t know how to treat it or what to do. my dad said we cant take her to the vet because the bill will be too expensive and i cant pay for it myself. she doesnt seem to be in much pain but she hasnt pooped since i found her. i put her in a warm bowl of water with some epsom salt and dish soap which helped get some blood off but it didnt help with the pooping problem. she also has an extremely swollen eye thats closed up and leaking and has been this way since i found her. after i found her i put her in a box with a heater nearby but shes prone to overheating so its only on ever other 30 mins. shes just been sleeping most of the time, but sometimes she gets up and starts walking around. i really dont want to lose another chicken and dont wanna have to put her down. what should i do?

 

[21hens-incharge]

Can you get pictures of the injury so folks can better advise on care?

 

[21hens-incharge]

That is certainly a bad injury. I can see the bone in the first 2 pictures and that eye looks super sore.

Is she missing the end section of the wing or the end section and middle?

I will tag a few who are much more knowledgeable than myself in wound care.

@Eggcessive, @azygous can either of you help here or maybe know who can?

 

[azygous]

You need to overcome being afraid to treat your hen's injuries. She isn't going to get better without you. Here's what to do.


1. Treat for shock as the number one step. Give warm Gatoraid or mix a half teaspoon of sugar into a fourth of a cup of warm water with a pinch of salt and baking soda. Have the patient drink it all or syringe it into the beak.

2. Flush the wound well with saline. This is better than soap and water as it maintains the ph of the tissues. But warm soap and water will do. You need to wash away the bacteria from the wound.

3. Inspect the wound carefully. If it has a skin flap dangling, keep that. Do not cut it off. Look for bite, tear or puncture marks indicating a puncture wound. If you see this, the patient will need an oral antibiotic such as amoxicillin. Bacteria from the predator’s mouth can be injected deep into tissue and can kill in as little as 24 to 48 hours. You may want to try to obtain some amoxicillin from your vet to treat the bacteria that may have been left behind in the puncture wound.

4. Spray with Vetericyn wound treatment and let dry. Use a topical antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin or a generic without pain killer in it to coat the wound. If there's a skin flap, lay it across the wound that has just been coated with the ointment. Then smooth on a generous amount over the top of the skin flap to hold it in place.

5. It's useless to try to stitch a wound on a chicken. Don't even try. It's also useless to try to bandage a wound other than on the feet. The chicken will not tolerate it. It will be pulled off faster than you can blink an eye.

6. Clean the wound every day following the above steps. Keep the wound covered with the ointment. Never allow the wound to get dried out or it will not heal.

 

[ashleydkm0]

You need to overcome being afraid to treat your hen's injuries. She isn't going to get better without you. Here's what to do.


1. Treat for shock as the number one step. Give warm Gatoraid or mix a half teaspoon of sugar into a fourth of a cup of warm water with a pinch of salt and baking soda. Have the patient drink it all or syringe it into the beak.

2. Flush the wound well with saline. This is better than soap and water as it maintains the ph of the tissues. But warm soap and water will do. You need to wash away the bacteria from the wound.

3. Inspect the wound carefully. If it has a skin flap dangling, keep that. Do not cut it off. Look for bite, tear or puncture marks indicating a puncture wound. If you see this, the patient will need an oral antibiotic such as amoxicillin. Bacteria from the predator’s mouth can be injected deep into tissue and can kill in as little as 24 to 48 hours. You may want to try to obtain some amoxicillin from your vet to treat the bacteria that may have been left behind in the puncture wound.

4. Spray with Vetericyn wound treatment and let dry. Use a topical antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin or a generic without pain killer in it to coat the wound. If there's a skin flap, lay it across the wound that has just been coated with the ointment. Then smooth on a generous amount over the top of the skin flap to hold it in place.

5. It's useless to try to stitch a wound on a chicken. Don't even try. It's also useless to try to bandage a wound other than on the feet. The chicken will not tolerate it. It will be pulled off faster than you can blink an eye.

6. Clean the wound every day following the above steps. Keep the wound covered with the ointment. Never allow the wound to get dried out or it will not heal.

i cant get the vetericyn or amoxicillin right now but i did all the other steps. should i just skip over those until i get some tomorrow or is there an alternative? also should i do anything about her eye?

 

[azygous]

Flush the eye with saline. Use a dab of Neosporin in the eye. Do it twice a day.

She's in shock. Keep giving her the sugar water.

 

[ashleydkm0]

Flush the eye with saline. Use a dab of Neosporin in the eye. Do it twice a day.

She's in shock. Keep giving her the sugar water.

thank you so much for the help!! shes been doing much better. after a closer look i saw there was a gash in her side, which i treated accordingly. is it ok to trim her feathers to get a closer look and some better pictures of her wing itself?

 

[Barnette]

thank you so much for the help!! shes been doing much better. after a closer look i saw there was a gash in her side, which i treated accordingly. is it ok to trim her feathers to get a closer look and some better pictures of her wing itself?

Yes, trimming the feathers is fine, but be careful not to hurt her further. You're doing a great job!