Wound care

rabbitpatch · #1 05/20/11, 12:56 PM

Someone on an email group I'm on posted a question about wound care for a hen that had been pecked pretty badly, right behind her comb. She said it definitely broke the skin and possibly the skull too but she wasn't sure.

My suggestion was flush the wound to be sure it is clean, trim the feathers back with scissors if necessary, pack the hole full of neosporin, and keep the hen isolated from the others until it is completely healed. I also recommended b complex either orally or in the water depending on whether the hen was eating/drinking much on her own and I told her that penn given orally might not hurt either but I wasn't sure on the correct dose for a chicken.

Would ya'll suggest anything different? What would the penn dose be if she should choose to give that?

fishhead · #2 05/20/11, 01:05 PM

I'd cover the wound with raw honey until it heals.

rabbitpatch · #3 05/20/11, 01:14 PM

Is raw honey an antibiotic? I was thinking I read that somewhere. What keeps the honey in place rather than just dripping down the birds neck (since the wound is on her head)?

mommathea · #4 05/20/11, 02:14 PM

I usually just spray the area with blue kote. They blue/purple color will keep other birds from picking the spot.

GrannyCarol · #5 05/20/11, 03:23 PM

If you have a problem with maggots in a wound a drop of the cattle injectable ivermectin (1%) on the back of the chicken or duck will take care of that problem.... found out with poor Silver who has gotten wounded twice on her side and still no idea how or why. At least she is tough and heals up well. I cut back her feathers and put neosporin on it.

fishhead · #6 05/20/11, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rabbitpatch

Is raw honey an antibiotic? I was thinking I read that somewhere. What keeps the honey in place rather than just dripping down the birds neck (since the wound is on her head)?

Yes honey gives off mild hydrogen perioxide when it gets wet. It's also supposed to have beneficial enzymes.

I once had a muscovy hen that had 1/4 of her scalp removed right down to the skull. I did nothing but put honey on her skull for 10 weeks and she healed completely. It dripped a little bit but wasn't too bad. You want raw honey instead of honey that has been heated.