Televets

• Home
• »
• Questions Archive
• »
• Birds
• »
• View Question

Now what do i do?

• 
  None

  I suppose this is pretty odd. My 5 month old lab got into the chicken pen two days ago. He killed 3 chickens and hurt two others. Of those, one had a puncture wound on its neck and was exhibiting signs of shock. After wound cleaning I applied Neosporin, caged her seperate from other hens in quiet warm place and hoped for the best. So far she is doing well and eating drinking etc. She is getting antibiotics through her water.
  
  The other chicken, well I guess this is weird. She had a gaping 2 inch long wound in the back of her neck fully exposing her neck muscles. Despite the significant damage, she was remarkable alert and responsive. I made the choice that I could not justify the expense of a vet bill for a chicken nor could I justify putting her down when she was doing so well. I figured if I do nothing, she will die…so I might as well try something.
  
  Sooooo…my daughter held her while I cleaned her wound (it was very clean actually) I then sterialized a u shaped needle and ran a strand of normal cotton thread through alchol and proceeded to stitch the wound closed. It took about 10 or 12 stitches (I think, I lost count) to close the wound. At only one brief point while entering the needle for the third to last stitch did the hen fuss or show discomfort.
  
  Once completed, I applied neosporian to the wound and segragatated her like the last one. She immediatly began to eat and drink and I happy to report is doing very well with no signs of infection (she is also drinking antibiotic laced water).
  
  This isn’t the first time we have done this. 2 months ago we had a hen who cut her leg. We did not notice it until it had closed, got infected and the infection caused swelling sufficent to split the initial wound all the way around her leg causeing her to not be able to use the leg.
  
  Once discovered, we made a simular dicission as explained above and treated this ourselves.
  
  I began by taking a scapel and made a incission above and below the wound to remove the dead infected flesh. Wen then used warmed sterile saline solution on a sterile 4×4 to draw out the infection, rinsed with hydrogen peroxide, applied a triple antibiotic cream and wrapped in a preasure bandage.
  
  After a month recovering/healing segregated this hen was returned to the flock of 34 birds (31 now, dang dog) and again I am happy to report she was the very first hen to lay an egg and has done so every day since. She is funny because when I go in to their pen, she runs out to greet me and want to be held. She does not do this with anyone else…just me.
  
  So the question. Going back to the recent injuries...how long would you think it would be until we are out of the woods? If infection is going to set in, when would you expect it. What if anything else would you suggest I do. What if anything would you suggest I do differently if this were to happen again?

  Symptoms: wounds
• 

  Veteran Advisor David says:

  Hi there, whilst I would always recommend seeking the help of a professional it does sound like you have done a great job. If you thoroughly cleaned the wound then I would expect stitching it will be enough to ensure it heals well enough. If infection is present you would expect the area to be very hot, painful to the touch, swollen and reddened. You would probably also see some discharge from the wound. This can happen as soon as 12 - 24 hrs so if all is clear now I would say you have done a great job. the stitches can come out after 10 days. It may be worth bathing the area with salt water every day to ensure it is clean. Hope that helps and well done! David

  Current Rating:

  Rate This Answer:

  Rate
  Every Pet Should Have Pet Insurance

  Every day I see pets come into my clinic injured and unwell. Its always so upsetting knowing that treatment could be taken a lot further only if the owner had taken out pet insurance. You have health insurance, so should your pet... Dr Brooks