air bubble under skin

[tonini3059]

I have a chick that is about 2 months old. A week ago I was in the coupe feeding the chickens and I went to move and he ran under my foot just as I stepped down. It was unintentional, and I feel really bad about it. I thought he was going to be fine until yesterday. I was looking at him and noticed that he was more corpulent than usual. I picked him up and he had a big air bubble under his skin, on top of his thigh and rib cage. It seemed to cause him some discomfort so I pierced it and let out the air. The air did not have a foul smell and I was able to get it all out. However later that day he was swelled up again so I repeated the procedure. Then today he was once again inflated, however it appears as though some of the lower intestines are moving under the skin where the bubble is. I am not sure if this is due to displacement by the air or for some other reason. He is eating fine and running around as usual, but this situation is bothering me. I thought about just dispatching him, however he is the first and only chick that we had hatch so he has a little more emotion attached to him. I am not sure what to do, should I just let things go and see what happens, put him down, or attempt to preform surgery and try to put the intestines back in place. Sorry for being so loquacious, I just wanted to make sure I gave an accurate picture of the situation at hand.

 

[kinnip]

I don't know what you've got going on there. Maybe someone else does. It sounds like some kind of hernia. I'll do a little poking around in the chicken library and see what looks reasonable. If the intestines are traveling, I doubt you'll be able to do anything about it. Even if you reseat them, how will you keep them there? I wouldn't begin to know enough about chicken anatomy to just go in and stitch up gaps safely.

 

[tonini3059]

Thanks for the try, I agree with you about putting them back in place, plus I do not know enough about chicken anatomy to make sure everything went back in its rightful place. Anyway it is a moot point, I just went down to add some bedding to the nest boxes and I found it dead outside. I am glad in a way, at least I know it is no longer suffering, but I liked that little bugger.

 

[Attack Chicken]

So Sorry for your loss *hugs* We get attached to them more than we think until their gone.

 

[kinnip]

I'm sorry. There's only one cure for that kind of heartbreak-- hatch more!
BTW, sweet vocab!

 

[tonini3059]

Thanks, it is funny you said that though. My husband and I have a little joke going on, that whenever something dies we get to have five more in its place. We also just got our first incubator so I am sure we are going to go way over our limit of just five. Thanks for all the help and sympathy.

 

[crtrlovr]

sorry for the loss of your little one; take comfort in knowing that it was loved & cared for.

 

[tonini3059]

Yeah I know actually my husband stepped on it not me so he feels terrible about it., I keep telling him it is ok it was an accident and stuff happens but he is still upset.

 

[crazy hen quartet]

It actually sounds to me like maybe a lung was somehow punctured (perhaps a broken rib) and air was slowly leaking out into places it wasn't meant to be. His discomfort was probably the pressure of the air in his chest and abdominal cavity making it hard to breathe.

poor fella.

But accidents happen, little critters tend to get underfoot.. that doesn't make it any easier to feel less guilty. I hope your hubby feels better about it soon, and even tho the little guys life was short at least the little one got to really enjoy the time it had!!

 

[dlhunicorn]

read about this here:
http://dlhunicorn.conforums.com/index.cgi?board=emergencies&action=display&num=1165115215