It is also partly our fault, as we are in the process of putting up a wire fence around one side of the "farm," and our yard is clearly not dog-proof yet. We recently sold our rooster, Rooster Cogburn, to a farm with a breeding program, and I regret his sale, as he would have attacked the dog and maybe our best laying hen would not have been damaged. Perhaps I need a new rooster for when our hens are free-ranging.
Rooster Cogburn, buff brahma. Now part of a buff orpington-buff brahma cross program on a local farm. He was an outstanding rooster.
However, the dog must have worked pretty hard at getting into our yard without owner doing anything about it, as our hedge-row fence is pretty massive this year and tangled with branches. We have been waiting for freezing temperatures and the hedge-row flowers would die before putting up a better wire fence on this side. That a way the bees would have a source of food into fall before hibernation at our farm. Our hedge-row is grown from Viburnum bushes that produce beautiful pink and white flowers in the spring that smell so strong! It is also made from Butterfly Bushes, in yellow, white, orange/purple, and purple varieties of blooms. One side is also Flotinia, which has white flowers in the spring as well, and new growth is reddish.
So back to the chicken. I got a little off-topic there. Apologies. Our chicken Fluffy Muffy was attacked by a dog. She lost a large number of feathers, and the dog was shaking her back and forth in its mouth before my husband beat it off with a log, which I hope hurt quite a lot. Not too proud to say that. I was at a 4-H rabbit meeting at the time this happened. Our neighbor came over to help find our other chickens, which had scattered to the bushes and trees, one in a neighbors yard across the fence. She found poor Fluffy Muffy behind a chair in the backyard. She was in shock. We put her into the coop and run with the other chickens to let them all calm down.
When I got her out to inspect her later that night, she was still in shock I think. I washed her wounds with chlorahexadine, and flushed the punctures as best I could. I did not want to do too much to her, as the shock was more likely to kill her than anything that night.
In the morning I reexamined her, and found puncture wounds and a large tear down into the muscle. I debated long and hard about stitching the wound closed, but it was not bleeding. I don't really have the skills yet to sew wounds closed. Therefore, I got some antibiotics at the feed store, and syringes, as well as Redmond Clay bandage, and a disinfecting wash that was safe to lick (safe for bunnies too), as well as some Blue-Kote for when I would add her back into the flock.
I gave her shots in her thigh for six days. She lived in our upstairs shower. She ate and drank, and although in pain, was not suffering too badly. I washed the wound, and dressed with the clay bandage. The clay bandage hardened and sucked all the nasty pus out when it leaked, as well as protected the wound from further contamination. I washed it off every two days.
At one point I thought she had gangrene due to discolored skin, and I almost culled her. But instead, I got on the Backyard Chickens forum and uploaded pictures. Readers said they thought that it was just bruising, despite green color. And that gangrene didn't mean green skin, just discolored dead tissue in living skin. It would also smell really bad and be very pussy. Her wounds just smelled like raw chicken. Dinner anyone?
The wound, looking really green and bruised. Wetness is due to the disinfectant spray I put on her.
About 6 days after I convalesced her in our shower, I turned her out into the BACKyard to be with the flock. She seemed depressed and stopped eating in the shower. She was lonely I think. She did good in the yard, but was tired. I took her in for the night. The next day I repeated the process, but left her with the flock when they put themselves to bed at night. My thinking was, that although she might not be ready, and was going to get cold, that she wouldn't live alone in the shower by herself anymore. She was sad. Plus, I had read that the quickest way to regrow feathers is for the bird to BE cold.
So....here are her new feathers! They are just growing out, and has been about a week since I left her outside in the coop. Her wound that I was not sure would even heal is scabbed over really well, and looks like it grew new skin over the top. The blueish color is due to the Blue-Kote, which I use so that the birds do not peck at the red color of the scabs, which they will do if allowed. Blue-Kote also helps protect and disinfect. A bonus! I think she is going to make it. Surprise, surprise!
No comments:
Post a Comment