Chick with ruptured air sac

[Magpie2]

I have a solo chick with a broody hen. The chick has a ruptured air sac. I took her to the vet and I’ve been trying to treat it but it just keeps inflating.
She’s two weeks old, still has plenty of energy and acting normal but it’s concerning.
Does anyone know what I can do?

The vet said it should heal even if it’s inflated but it re-inflates so quickly and I’ve seen some people online say that there needs to be contact between the skin and body for it to heal.

 

[Brahmachicken240]

@Eggcessive might be able to help!

 

[Eggcessive]

The only time I treated a leaking air sac, I withdrew air through a 22 gauge syringe (I didn’t have an 18 or 20,) several times and pressed on the tissue with only the needle in place. It finally stopped accumulating. The 2 week old chick acted like it was dying and was limp afterward, but it soon recovered and lived. It did not come back.

 

[Magpie2]

The only time I treated a leaking air sac, I withdrew air through a 22 gauge syringe (I didn’t have an 18 or 20,) several times and pressed on the tissue with only the needle in place. It finally stopped accumulating. The 2 week old chick acted like it was dying and was limp afterward, but it soon recovered and lived. It did not come back.

How much air did you have to get out? I can get a lot out but not enough for the skin to be touching the inside again. The needle hole closes up so quickly and I don’t want to leave it in while I’m trying to get the last of the air out in case it pokes something important. I’d be more comfortable pulling out more with a syringe but I don’t have one big enough for all the air.

She doesn’t seem to care much when I do it. She complains a bit when I first put rubbing alcohol on the spot for the needle but after that she’s pretty still and goes right back to her active self once she’s with mom again.

I’ve considered using some vet wrap to try and hold some of the skin against the inside before it swells again in hopes that it might reattach or something but I haven’t seen anyone else do something like that so I’m scared that it could do more bad than good.

 

[amberNtheis]

How much air did you have to get out? I can get a lot out but not enough for the skin to be touching the inside again. The needle hole closes up so quickly and I don’t want to leave it in while I’m trying to get the last of the air out in case it pokes something important. I’d be more comfortable pulling out more with a syringe but I don’t have one big enough for all the air.

She doesn’t seem to care much when I do it. She complains a bit when I first put rubbing alcohol on the spot for the needle but after that she’s pretty still and goes right back to her active self once she’s with mom again.

I’ve considered using some vet wrap to try and hold some of the skin against the inside before it swells again in hopes that it might reattach or something but I haven’t seen anyone else do something like that so I’m scared that it could do more bad than good.

I'm having this same issue with a month old bantam chic.... already been to the vet and same story but baby is getting bigger and in a lot of pain. Did your baby make it?! Did you do the vet wrap thing?!

 

[FunClucks]

There is an old post on here I read where the OP used vet wrap to keep the air out. Took a few months for it to fully heal, but the chick lived and did fine. Sorry I can't find the link. You might if you look around and search on here.

 

[Isabella6Storm4]

I had this same thing happen like 2 weeks ago and after releasing the air with a needle, the chicken was fine and it healed up pretty fast. idk about it reinflating though

 

[Magpie2]

I'm having this same issue with a month old bantam chic.... already been to the vet and same story but baby is getting bigger and in a lot of pain. Did your baby make it?! Did you do the vet wrap thing?!

I forgot to update, sorry! She ended up needing a half body and leg wrap as well as the air drained frequently

She’s made a full recovery from the ruptured air sac but it looks like it caused a hernia so she’ll probably get surgery soon. We have an excellent avian vet who deals with exotic birds (which are closer to her size) all the time, he says that it should be a very easy surgery.
It’s not life threatening even without the surgery but she would likely die if it was ever to be punctured so she couldn’t live with other chickens, even her mom potentially.