Chick attacked by dog and now has air bubble below wing.

[TimBaumann]

One of the chicks which I'm raising in my room was mildly attacked by my dog. I left the door open and he sneaked in and one of the chicks jumped out of the cage and my dog sort of scratched a small patch of skin on its back. There is pretty much no blood but the chick is limping and there is a air bubble below its wing above the limping leg. I've read that it is caused due to trauma which causes some membrane to rip and lets air under the skin. Some people just leave it and maybe it heals but other poke a small hole into bubble with a sterile needle and let the air out. What should I do? I gave the chick some sugar water and is very alert. It's tired but if I make some sort of noise it opens its eyes and looks around. It seems ok except for the bubble and the limp. Has anyone had any experience with this?

 

[GranmaEm]

I would tend to leave it as is if the chick is breathing normally and not panting or struggling to breathe.

 

[TimBaumann]

Thanks. I found a great article describing what causes it and what to do. Looks like you are right and the best thing would be to just leave it. I'll put the link here in case anyone else needs help and stumbles on this thread. I hope my chick doesn't have some internal injuries other than the ruptured air sack membrane.
Thanks again

Here's the link: http://dlhunicorn.conforums.com/index.cgi?board=emergencies&action=display&num=1161887881

 

[Eggcessive]

Thanks for posting your link. I have read about quite a few cases of subcutaneous emphysema here on BYC, and it's actually a problem that humans also get (but is a big emergency.) Air sac leakage under the skin of chickens can happen with minor injuries. Some believe in deflating them with an 18-21 gauge needle and syringe, and some just leave them alone to be re-absorbed by the body. The problem arises if too much air collects because it can put pressure on organs. One lady on a thread I follow had a cockerel that literally blew up all over, and she had to put him down. Most times there are happy endings.

 

[buckaroogirl]

We see a lot of subQ emphysema at wildlife rehab, from animals with trauma ( mostly caught by cats). If its pretty bad and immobilizing a limb then we poke it with a 25g needle and try to let the air escape. But not severe ones we just leave them and it goes away.

 

[GranmaEm]

It always makes sense to not make an open wound of a closed one unless breathing or circulation is threatened. The risk of causing a serious infection almost always outweighs the benefits.

Even with humans, we drain pneumothoraces (air in the chest cavity outside of the lungs) only when it's pretty large or causes pressure on the heart.

 

[TimBaumann]

Wow thanks for all the replies.

While the chick was sleeping in my hand I looked at the bubble. The bubble isn't too large I think. It is mainly under the wing of the chick and decreases down to the leg. It feels very soft and does't feel like it has a lot of pressure (but for such a small chick it probably is more pressure than I'd think). The chick is limping but still pretty active so the bubble doesn't really immobilize any limb. When I do a peeping sound it jumps up and quickly walks into my directions. It eats and drinks regularly and moves around. Things seem quite good up until now. How long would you estimate will it take to heal?

 

[GranmaEm]

I'd estimate a week to ten days to resorb.