13 Week EE Injured (17 wks now) ~Vet Update Not Good~ *Graphic Pics *

[Lorimary]

Well, I looked up my own question and the chicken ear is similar to the human ear, regulating balance. (The inner ear also comprises the semicircular canals, which regulate balance and orientation, as they do in humans. The canals are fluid-filled and have specialised sensory cells that convert movements of the head, for example, to nerve impulses that the brain can interpret as a position.)
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[Lolliegee]

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Thanks for looking that up. I've been wondering about that, but haven't taken the time to look it up myself. Her balance is definitely improving. She's still pretty unstable, but she can manage to stay upright to scratch her head. (It may take a couple of tries, but she does get it.

I've got a quick update: When I came out this morning, I noticed she was much more active. She was actually preening herself under her wings. Up til now, she's only done a very tiny bit of preening on her chest.

Also, her one eye that she's been opening, is open a little bit more and she's keeping it open. I haven't seen her eat or drink on her own yet, but I'm hopeful that's soon to come.

I'll definitely be putting her outside again. Maybe that was more helpful that I realized.

 

[sangel4you]

I hate to be a naysayer...esp since Im rooting for her as much as everyone else...but something concerns me. The wound in HER left eye(the really swollen one) actually looks worse than it did a few days back when you found it. Not the who pocket of pus really, but the wound itself. Generally black around a wound is not a good sign. Its usually a sign of tissue death. Just something to keep an eye on. If anyone disagrees with me, please feel free to let me know!

 

[Lolliegee]

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I actually don't think it is black. I had used Gentian Violet on it originally and I think it's stained a really dark purple. I don't know for sure though. I can't seem to get any more of pus out of it, even though I keep massaging the area. But the ironic thing is that this is the eye that she is opening now. I would have thought for sure she'd open the other eye with less swelling first.

If it is black or dying tissue, what could I do about? Is there anything?

 

[threehorses]

I see what sangel4you is talking about - the opening to the puncture wound there on that side, the very rim of it. It can look a bit necrotic in the picture, doesn't it? I can see the venetian's dye there. Had you been putting the die into the hole? Is the tissue there black or died?

What you would have to do would be remove the dying tissue if there is any. Any chance of a new picture, closer? In the mean time, I'd use a drop of iodine there instead for a day or two. If you put a drop of hydrogen peroxide just there, does it bubble?

I wondered about the pea-shaped lump there, too. Is it hard? Or soft?

I think the good comparison is the two puncture wounds - one looks a little more like it did in earlier pictures, pinker.

This isn't anything to get terribly nervous about but probably something to investigate further and work on.

 

[Lolliegee]

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Yes, originally, when I found the puncture mark after I took the pictures, I put a good bit of Gentian Violet in there. I have since been washing with the betodine flush.

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I don't have any iodine on hand, but I do have some hydrogen peroxide. I'll try that next time I clean her. What would I want to see?

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It is pretty hard. I have been using a q-tip to massage it, which seemed to work before, but now I haven't noticed any change in a couple of days. Any ideas on how I can break it up?

I just love BYC and all of you guys and how helpful you all are!!!

 

[threehorses]

Oh the iodine can cause a black staining, too hmm. It might not be something you can break up if it's hardened. If it's hardened like a pea, I would worry less about it than if it's moveable like pus.

On the peroxide, I'd just put a dot there and see if it bubbles. Those things tend to bubble more on necrotic and foreign material than they do on regular living flesh. Just have water available to splash the area should it get near her eye. The more it bubbles, the more likely there's some stuff in there. So hopefully it won't.

Can you at all put a (needle-less) syringe tip up in there and rinse with saline? Just a thought for future treatment.

So how'd she do last night?

I so love this girl.

 

[Lolliegee]

So, this is ironic that the whole hardened pus/pea size swelling came up today. When I was cleaning her tonight, that whole section that was kinda black looking, started coming off...like a big scab. Can you say ewwwwwww! The hardened pus underneath was so smelly.

I bet you all really wanted to know that, right? So, I got to have fun tonight and clean that out. I cleaned out as much as I could, little bit by little bit with a toothpick and q-tips. She was pretty patient with me, although definitely didn't like it much. I had her wrapped pretty tightly in the puppy pad and that seemed to help keep her calm. Oh and I don't know if it matters anymore, but the hydrogen peroxide didn't bubble, before or after I finished the cleaning.

As I was working on her, the skin that had seemed like it was going to be a gaping hole on her face, started shrinking and closing in on itself, becoming harder to see what I was doing. I'm pretty encouraged, as all that skin was nice and pink. When I was all done, I put some Neosporin on it, thinking that it would be best to keep it moist so that skin could grow back together. If that's not the right thing to do, let me know.

I put her outside again today and although she still didn't really seem to react at all to it, the fresh air has got to be doing her some good. Also, although I didn't see her do it, I really do think she drank a little on her own. The water level in her bowl was definitely a little lower than when I had put her out and it really didn't seem to have been spilled.

She sure is putting up a fuss when I'm feeding her now. If only she'd get a clue that I'd stop doing that if she'd start eating on her own.

Here's a silly thing to note...I officially went through a whole box of 500 q-tips. I used the last one from that box tonight (I had bought a new box right after she was hurt, since my existing box was almost empty. (okay, I know I'm spelling it with a lower-case "q", that's because they aren't really Q-tips, they're the Wal-mart brand cotton swabs. But doesn't everyone call them q-tips anyway?

)

Slow and steady progress is definitely better than no progress. Course, I wouldn't mind seeing a little fast and steady!

ETA:
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You must have missed my update last night...It's post #109. I'd re-update you, but since all of my posts end up being novels, that's just too much typing.

 

[~*B*~]

I have been silently cheering you/her on
watching and reading for a few days now.
I am so happy things are improving for her.
you such a good chicken mamma.

 

[farrier!]

Good! Everything sounds normal for her type of injury.
On the punctures you must keep them open and do not let them close over. They need to heal from the inside out and need to drain.
Irrigating 2-4 times a day with a syringe and saline solution will do this.

Irrigating will also get rid of any other dead cells.

Soulds like she is doing very well.