Dog Attacked Chicken

[alissa060982]

Help please. Our dog just grabbed one of our chicken by the neck. She has a huge open wound on her neck where the skin is pulled away from the bone. All of her feathers are still intact mostly. I have a variety of medicines in the cabinet, but I need help please. No small animal vets nearby.

She’s not bleeding.
She’s alert & acting normal.
I’ve washed it out with saline.
We sprayed with vetericyn spray.
We also have silver honey.

We’ve got her in a small dog cage to keep her in inside, but worried about keeping her separate for too long.

I can wrap it with gauze and tape if that’s something I should do, but there’s no way I can see to stitch it.

I’ve seen that you both are helpful with advice on care for injured chickens. @Wyorp Rock and @Eggcessive

 

[GodLovesU]

Poor girl.Its good that she’s active.I would try to cut off some of the feathers around the wound.Also thank you for making such an easy to understand post with all the information about the hen.

 

[ChicNmom]

Since you've cleaned it well I would pack it with the silver honey. You could try butterfly closures to pull the skin together. That could keep it clean and keep it from drying out.

You can also buy Vetbond surgical glue on Amazon if you think you need to close it but it might be fine. I had a friend use the vetbond when bob cat ripped a chunk of skin off one of his girls.

 

[alissa060982]

Since you've cleaned it well I would pack it with the silver honey. You could try butterfly closures to pull the skin together. That could keep it clean and keep it from drying out.

You can also buy Vetbond surgical glue on Amazon if you think you need to close it but it might be fine. I had a friend use the vetbond when bob cat ripped a chunk of skin off one of his girls.

Thank you very much!!

 

[alissa060982]

Since you've cleaned it well I would pack it with the silver honey. You could try butterfly closures to pull the skin together. That could keep it clean and keep it from drying out.

You can also buy Vetbond surgical glue on Amazon if you think you need to close it but it might be fine. I had a friend use the vetbond when bob cat ripped a chunk of skin off one of his girls.

Poor girl.Its good that she’s active.I would try to cut off some of the feathers around the wound.Also thank you for making such an easy to understand post with all the information about the hen.

Thank you. I appreciate the help!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

No, don't wrap it. Washing it with the Veterycin or saline is good, then gob it good with triple antibiotic ointment to keep it moist. It should not have pain reliever in it. Do this twice a day. Don't use hydrogen peroxide. If necessary, keep her in a crate so other chickens can't peck the wound and make sure flies can't get to it. Feed her her normal diet and don't forget to provide grit. She may need electrolytes or sugar water initially for shock. Keep her hydrated and warm. Keep us posted how she does.

 

[alissa060982]

No, don't wrap it. Washing it with the Veterycin or saline is good, then gob it good with triple antibiotic ointment to keep it moist. It should not have pain reliever in it. Do this twice a day. Don't use hydrogen peroxide. If necessary, keep her in a crate so other chickens can't peck the wound and make sure flies can't get to it. Feed her her normal diet and don't forget to provide grit. She may need electrolytes or sugar water initially for shock. Keep her hydrated and warm. Keep us posted how she does.

Thank you! She’s inside and crated for the night. I’ve put Silver Honey wound cream on her tonight as best as I could after spraying the wound out again. I ordered Silver Honey spray and more ointment (w/o pain reliever). A friend suggested letting the wound scab over before taking her outside with the flock (keeping her separated still though). Going to get electrolytes tomorrow for her. She still chirps when I run my hand down her back or under her wings. All she wants to do is curl up in my lap. Our poor HeyHey.

 

[alissa060982]

Thank you! She’s inside and crated for the night. I’ve put Silver Honey wound cream on her tonight as best as I could after spraying the wound out again. I ordered Silver Honey spray and more ointment (w/o pain reliever). A friend suggested letting the wound scab over before taking her outside with the flock (keeping her separated still though). Going to get electrolytes tomorrow for her. She still chirps when I run my hand down her back or under her wings. All she wants to do is curl up in my lap. Our poor HeyHey.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

No, don't let it scab. Infection can set in under the scab. Just keep flushing it good twice a day and keeping it moist with the neosporin. It should heal.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I'm not an Educator, but I can tag one or more to support what I'm telling you if it would make you feel better. I had a hen get a really severe bite by a dog on her back, so large and deep I thought we should put her down. It made me sick to look at, honestly. But following instructions from the Educators here we cared for her as I'm describing to you and in three weeks she was healed up about as good as new. I couldn't believe it. The Educators who advised us were
@Eggcessive
@azygous and
@Wyorp Rock.