Injured Chicken will not eat

[Kelbug]

First I want to say HI! I lurk here a lot and have learned so much from this community. Thank you so much! I hope to keep learning.

Secondly, my favorite hen that was attacked by probably a cat. It tore her neck open pretty good. We didn't realize this until my husband picked her up and smelt the wound that was crawling with maggots. Thanks to the posts on here I got the maggots cleaned out (screw worm spray from Rural King) then coated it in Blu-Kote. She wasn't not very lively and my husband though she had died while we were cleaning out the maggots. It seemed to me like she was in a trance, maybe shock? I gave her Penicillin G Procaine into her breast muscle for 4 days. She is acting a little better, but still not active. We have her in our spare bathroom in the walk in shower. She mostly just sits in one spot and does not touch her food or water. I have been feeding her electrolytes/ vitamin water for chickens (Rural King) and forcing her to eat meal worms ( 6 or 7) , scrambled eggs (tiny amount maybe 2 bites ) and soggy cat food ( 5 or 6 pieces) twice a day with some sand on it( I am gone all day to work) . She protest at eating and threw it up on me this morning.

I think I choked her with water.
I can hear gurgling down in her neck (crop?) when she eats. I have not done anything to the wound because it didn't look infected and it was dried out looking. I put some Neosporine ( not the pain kind) on the other day because it felt really hard and I didn't think that was good for healing. Is there something I can do to soften it up? And Should I ?
It has been 8 days since we discovered the wound. Shouldn't she be eating by now???
I have read stories on here about chickens with their whole sides tore open and wings ripped off and they still eat. Why won't she eat? Does she still feel bad and need more antibiotics? Does she not want to stretch her neck out to eat? She will peck at a meal worm once or twice but not pick it up. Should I put her out with the other chicken so she can feel normal? I am sorry this is so long, but I don't know what to do now.

Kelbug

 

[RoosterAddict99]

Don't put her in with the other chickens when she is this sick! They'll pick on her and will probably kill her if you leave her alone with them! She is not eating because of her sore neck. At this point you are doing all you can. You could try to entice her to eat by offering treats. I have never used any kind of medicine on my chickens so I can't be very helpful in that department. You can also take her to a vet if worse comes to worst. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Kelbug]

Don't put her in with the other chickens when she is this sick! They'll pick on her and will probably kill her if you leave her alone with them! She is not eating because of her sore neck. At this point you are doing all you can. You could try to entice her to eat by offering treats. I have never used any kind of medicine on my chickens so I can't be very helpful in that department. You can also take her to a vet if worse comes to worst. Good luck and keep us posted!

Thank you for your reply, What sort of treats do you recommend? I thought the meal worms and scrambled eggs would perk her up but they haven't.

 

[Dixichicks]

Hi I have read your thread on here and am wondering if your chicken got better. I have a chicken that was also injured in the lower neck area and I cannot for the life of me get her to eat or drink. It's been 5 days now and I'm getting even more worried about her. She's walking around some but mostly just sleeping. I thought about breaking an egg and seeing if I could get her eat that cause it's protein in liquid form. Any suggestions or could you tell what happened with your chicken?

 

[Kelbug]

My chicken did get better! Her name is now "Maggie" because of all the maggots she had in her neck. Gross I know, sorry
Are you given her any antibiotic? if she was attacked by something, that is the most important thing that you can do.
I soaked cat food in water mixed with ground up live meal worms, sometimes with scrambled eggs and forced her to eat it with tweezers several times a day. She lived in my downstairs shower for a couple weeks before she started eating on her own. Now she is doing great!

 

[Dixichicks]

Lol that's good name! Good to hear she's back to herself again. I can't get her to eat anything solid right now.. she acts interested in dried meal worms and scratch but doesn't actually eat it. She also is swollen on her neck, her left side. She can't move it hardly. I felt it and its hard like bone.. I don't know if its possible for something to get dislocated or anything or the crop get pushed over...? I don't want to have to take her to the vet, but I just might.

 

[Dixichicks]

I haven't given her any antibiotics either. The wound is not red at all... do you think I should give her some? I have put neosporine on her wound. Its hard to see it clearly with all her feathers. I will post a pick

 

[Dixichicks]

 

[Dixichicks]

Here's another. Right under her left eye

 

[Kelbug]

I'm sorry I didn't reply yesterday. my notification go to my work e-mail and I had gone home for the day.
Does she have an open wound that you can see? Since she is swollen, it's most likely an infection of some sort. I don't know what could be dislocated? Maggie would peck a little at the meal worms too, but wouldn't eat them. She looks awful fluffy in the breast area. Is she broody? I can't see the area you are talking about sorry
You are going to have to take her in a towel under your arm, gently squeeze the sides of her beak and put the food in her mouth. She has to eat and drink or she will die. Can you keep her inside for a few days? I would get the antibiotic and give it to her. It is not going to hurt her if she doesn't have an infection somewhere. I'm sure she is isn't laying, so you don't have to worry about eating the eggs while she is on meds. Pro Pen G is what I bought from Rural King. It is in their medication refrigerator here. You can do a search on here to get the instructions. I know you need 2 different needle sizes. One to draw it up and the other for injection. You can get those at RK too. Keep the medicine on your fridge. It last a long time, so it is good to have on hand.