Apparent Breeding Inury

[HaplessRunner]

I found one of my best ameraucana pullets injured this afternoon. On her left side, it appeared as though the rooster slipped while he was mounted. The skin on her left side was ripped away in a 1.5 inch by 2 inch "L" shaped laceration.

I carried her into the kitchen and cleaned the dried and wet gunk from the wound. I also plucked a lot of feathers from around the wound. I scrubbed the wound as best I could and applied a huge amount of triple antibiotic ointment into the wound and pulled it closed as best I could. While she certainly could benefit from stitches, I am concerned that closure would encase the obvious contamination.

I really would not like to lose this friendly lady But I am very concerned for her. She was RV at the Virginia Poultry Breeders Association show last November and is just a beautiful bird.

Any further recommendations?

 

[Duckopolis]

It should be fine and heal up. One of my ducks got bitten by a fox with feathers ripped out. He healed up and is better. Good luck! If it gets any worse take her to the vet.

 

[CMV]

Years ago I got a very large and absolutely hideous piece of fleece for $1. It was so cheap I am sure because it was so ugly. I have had that piece of fleece for about 4 years now. Best dollar I ever spent. I have made probably 20 saddles and have enough fleece to do 50 more if need be. I have made saddles, slings, crop bras, and hoods for various injuries and ailments over the years. I can't tell you how convenient that ugly piece of fabric has been.

I use a piece of that fleece to make a saddle over these injuries. It does a nice job of covering the wound and acts like a large bandage, keeping the wound free of debris. It can be cut small so it is quite tight and formfitting to the wound. It also keeps the wound hidden so nobody gets any ideas about picking at it. When the fleece gets dirty, I toss it in the wash and throw on a new saddle.

Good luck with her.

 

[HaplessRunner]

Years ago I got a very large and absolutely hideous piece of fleece for $1. It was so cheap I am sure because it was so ugly. I have had that piece of fleece for about 4 years now. Best dollar I ever spent. I have made probably 20 saddles and have enough fleece to do 50 more if need be. I have made saddles, slings, crop bras, and hoods for various injuries and ailments over the years. I can't tell you how convenient that ugly piece of fabric has been.

I use a piece of that fleece to make a saddle over these injuries. It does a nice job of covering the wound and acts like a large bandage, keeping the wound free of debris. It can be cut small so it is quite tight and formfitting to the wound. It also keeps the wound hidden so nobody gets any ideas about picking at it. When the fleece gets dirty, I toss it in the wash and throw on a new saddle.

Good luck with her.

Thanks you for the good idea. The saddles that I have seen appear to fit over the wings and lie over the back with some amount of overhang on the sides, Would you have any guidance on how to measure and make these saddles?

I have in a hospital coop separated from the flock for now.

 

[CMV]

Cut a rectangle out of your fleece. It needs to be as long as the chicken and as wide as you want it to hang down on the sides. In the past I have actually made it wider so I have enough extra to make ties so I can secure the saddle under the bird. That's not necessary, though. Measure the space between the bird's wings. Whatever you measure take off an inch, and that's how far apart you want your wing holes. You can either cut holes or just slits for the wings to go through. Once you have the wing holes, I like to taper my rectangle into a V shape. Your tail slit is going to go down at the bottom of the V and your wing holes at the top of the V. Measure the bird from the wings down to the base of the tail (don't measure the feathers because they are just going to stick out through the slit; you want the saddle to secure around the bird's actual tail bone). Whatever you get for a measurement, take off an inch and that is the distance from the wing holes to the tail slit. Cut the slit just big enough so the bird's tail fits through. It should fit securely around the bird's body with no gapping or sagging, and the fabric should be just above the vent if it is fitted properly. You can either let the sides hang down or sew some straps on to secure the saddle under the body, but that is not really necessary. It may take a few times to get the fit just right. And you can alter the shape as needed/desired. I have gotten pretty good at making these things quickly, and my biggest recommendation is that you always take an inch off your cutting measurements because that is where you are most likely going to go awry. Birds are pretty petite and all my first saddles were too gappy and loose.

I hope this helps.