Posted: 3/8/2009 12:32:18 PM EDT
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I have a question for the hive mind. How long should I keep the chicken inside and keep up the treatment?
Background We recently acquired another dog (medium sized puppy). This dog likes to "play" with the chickens. She dug her way into the coup. Last Sunday I lost 3 (that I thought I could not help)and had 1 injured. Lots of missing flesh on the back (around and between the shoulder blades) and a serious 3 inch gash on the back of the neck. The gash was mid neck running diagonally. She also had a rather deep puncture wound mid back. I did not abrade any of the wounds. I cleaned them up with hydrogen peroxide. I then sewed up the puncture wound and the gash on the neck. I have been coating the wounds with triple antibiotic twice a day since Sunday. I was concerned about infection in the puncture wound. I did not feel I could get it adequately clean. I have had her on a broad spectrum antibiotic that is added to her water. None of the wounds are puffy, red, or off color. She seems like her old self. No apparent signs of infection externally. She is eating and drinking well (and the other end too!). She is about 5 or 6 years old. Last of the original bunch. When should I return her to the coup? Possible issues with the other chickens? When should I stop the topical antibiotic? When/should I remove the stitches? When should I discontinue the waterborne antibiotic? Perhaps this is alot of fuss over a chicken. She is not a layer and I will be getting more this year anyway. I saw this as a training exercise. A chance to exercise something that I don't practice. It also alerted me to issues with chicken coop security. Any input would be appreciated. Sauramen |
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Quoted:
I then sewed up the puncture wound and the gash on the neck. I have been coating the wounds with triple antibiotic twice a day since Sunday. I was concerned about infection in the puncture wound. I did not feel I could get it adequately clean. I have had her on a broad spectrum antibiotic that is added to her water. None of the wounds are puffy, red, or off color. She seems like her old self. No apparent signs of infection externally. She is eating and drinking well (and the other end too!). She is about 5 or 6 years old. Last of the original bunch. When should I return her to the coup? Possible issues with the other chickens? When should I stop the topical antibiotic? When/should I remove the stitches? When should I discontinue the waterborne antibiotic? I wouldn't sew a puncture wound. As others have said, don't return her to the coop while she has an obvious wound. I'd continue the topical antobiotic, mostly as a wound dressing, for a week since the injury. Sutures should come out (might want to look into dissolvable sutures  ) in 7-10 days.
A week of systemic antibiotic should be plenty in the absence of an obviously infected wound. Good luck with her. |
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Quoted:
I have a question for the hive mind. How long should I keep the chicken inside and keep up the treatment? Background We recently acquired another dog (medium sized puppy). This dog likes to "play" with the chickens. She dug her way into the coup. Last Sunday I lost 3 (that I thought I could not help)and had 1 injured. Lots of missing flesh on the back (around and between the shoulder blades) and a serious 3 inch gash on the back of the neck. The gash was mid neck running diagonally. She also had a rather deep puncture wound mid back. I did not abrade any of the wounds. I cleaned them up with hydrogen peroxide. I then sewed up the puncture wound and the gash on the neck. I have been coating the wounds with triple antibiotic twice a day since Sunday. I was concerned about infection in the puncture wound. I did not feel I could get it adequately clean. I have had her on a broad spectrum antibiotic that is added to her water. None of the wounds are puffy, red, or off color. She seems like her old self. No apparent signs of infection externally. She is eating and drinking well (and the other end too!). She is about 5 or 6 years old. Last of the original bunch. When should I return her to the coup? Possible issues with the other chickens? When should I stop the topical antibiotic? When/should I remove the stitches? When should I discontinue the waterborne antibiotic? Perhaps this is alot of fuss over a chicken. She is not a layer and I will be getting more this year anyway. I saw this as a training exercise. A chance to exercise something that I don't practice. It also alerted me to issues with chicken coop security. Any input would be appreciated. Sauramen You did the correct things re: the chicken, IMHO. You learned a great deal about caring for the animal and that's probably going to be important down the road. Ref the dog next time he does this, feed him to the chickens. 
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