Chick with open neck wound

[Louiegirl]

I've got a few chicks that were recently left orphaned due to some sort of animal attack. They were fine with the rest of the flock (4 hens and a rooster) for about 2 days and then the other hens became very violent with the chicks at night when they'd coop together. The chicks were immediately separated, however, one of the chicks was picked on severely and has significant open wounds on her neck, down the side and on her leg. She has been separated from the other chicks, brought in the house and the wounds have been cleaned out and left open to drain/scab. Unfortunately I noticed when she was eating this morning everything she consumed was washed out of the side of her chest when she drank water.
I'm feeling like she's probably going to need to be euthanized but was hoping to try here first to see if anyone has had similar experiences or has any advice. I will post photos, it's a pretty nasty wound.
TIA

 

[Louiegirl]

These are the same two photos but in the first I have circled where the food and water have been leaking out.

 

[coach723]

If food is leaking out then the crop has been damaged. It will need to be repaired or the bird will slowly starve, or it will get infected. You will need to flush out the wound really well, and then suture the crop closed, then suture the skin closed. Two separate layers. I would probably try to leave a drain in the skin when you suture it. There are many threads on crop surgery, for injuries and removing impactions, so you can search for those. The only difference is that your birds crop may be torn unevenly, rather than a smooth cut from a scalpel in a impaction surgery.
Here is a thread with a crop surgery on an impacted crop, may help. The thread also has some discussion on suture types (some people use super glue). You just need to make sure that both layers are closed separately. Video is in post #4, here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-suture-type-for-crop-surgery.1384783/#post-22744354
An antibiotic might be a good idea also.
You can get amoxicillin as Fish Mox online, or some tractor supply stores carry it (no RX needed, it's given orally).

 

[Louiegirl]

If food is leaking out then the crop has been damaged. It will need to be repaired or the bird will slowly starve, or it will get infected. You will need to flush out the wound really well, and then suture the crop closed, then suture the skin closed. Two separate layers. I would probably try to leave a drain in the skin when you suture it. There are many threads on crop surgery, for injuries and removing impactions, so you can search for those. The only difference is that your birds crop may be torn unevenly, rather than a smooth cut from a scalpel in a impaction surgery.
Here is a thread with a crop surgery on an impacted crop, may help. The thread also has some discussion on suture types (some people use super glue). You just need to make sure that both layers are closed separately. Video is in post #4, here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-suture-type-for-crop-surgery.1384783/#post-22744354
An antibiotic might be a good idea also.
You can get amoxicillin as Fish Mox online, or some tractor supply stores carry it (no RX needed, it's given orally).

Thanks for the info!

 

[RosemaryDuck]

Those wounds are really severe. I would fill up the tub or sink (just enough to cover her, don't make her swim!) and gently try to clean her off so you can see what's going on. You can very gently blow dry her with a hair dryer to dry her feathers. Once she's clean and you've dried her off (don't let her get cold!), flush the wounds and apply neosporin (no pain killer). She's going to need antibiotics as @coach723 mentioned.

If the crop is damaged, that needs to be taken care of ASAP. She will not be able to eat with it torn. If you do decide to super glue it, it must be /completely/ clean of any debris, dirt/etc or you will only trap infection and pus inside.

I will tell you now she may not survive. Crop injuries are pretty serious. I'll tag some others here to help you too.

@azygous
@Eggcessive

 

[Eggcessive]

I am not much help. Coach gave good advice above. The chick probably needs a vet who can care for a chick with a crop injury. You can sew the crop and skin or use superglue, but if the wounds are severe and jagged, she may need to be put down. Sorry that this happened.

 

[Louiegirl]

Thanks again for the advice, all! I live in a small town where vet access is extremely limited but I was able to get my hands on some liquid EMT and bandages. She's been cleaned up, bandaged and given fish mox that I happened to have on hand but I think the combination of not being able to digest anything and the severity of her wounds is going to catch up to her tonight and I predict she'll most likely not make it through the night.

 

[sassychickens76]

Did she die? If not how is she doing?

 

[Louiegirl]

Did she die? If not how is she doing?

Yeah, she died that night as I expected she would. It was a major injury for a little chick to endure and on top of that she wasn't able to keep food or water down to give her the energy to heal properly. I still have her last three siblings though and they're doing fantastic

 

[sassychickens76]

I'm sorry, but I'm glad her siblings are alive and doing well!