Wow! What an amazing job
Crop Surgery Performed - More pics & How To Steps posted - Pg 10
- Thread starter ruth
- Start date
Wow, that is impressive! I hope she heals well and quickly!
- Thread starter
- #13
Quote:
No, I didn't drug her first. I had read on here of someone else that had performed the surgery and I also have sewn up more hens than I care to count from roosters ripping them open. I've discovered there is very little blood and a high threshold for pain. Most never move if I lay them on their side and cover their head with a towel. I've sewn up some that took five sets of needle/sutures and looked like Frankenstein when I finished and everyone has healed beautifully with no follow up treatment.
They are truly amazing creatures. I had Boaz help hold because I was sure she would scream or jump or something - but nothing.
Here's a for example of some of the many hens I've had to sew up. Not nearly as bad as most. I'm posting these pics so others will take the plunge and try and heal a chicken instead of thinking the only recourse is to put them down.
Ripped open from too much roo:
Crudly stitched together. This was one of my first before I perfected my stitching skills and acquired pre-threaded sutures with cutting needle from my vet. I have to say the pre-threaded, dissolvable sutures with the cutting needle make a world of difference. They stitch beautifully. I was using regular needle and thread and it was very difficult to get the needle through their thick skin. My vet took pity on me, and says she's in awe of me (since she won't touch a chicken) and gave me an entire box of the needles/sutures. I only have one left now and need to get more. I've used all 39 which tells you how often I'm sewing up hens around here. Yes, we've been working on the roo issues but every new hatch has lots more roos that are fine till juvenile stage hits and they gang up on anything that moves.
I always apply Neosporin in the incision and then spray with antibacterial Furall which helps the wound dry and prevents flies.
Getting a shredded cheese treat on my kitchen floor immediately after surgery.
A couple of weeks later - all healed and new feather growth.
No, I didn't drug her first. I had read on here of someone else that had performed the surgery and I also have sewn up more hens than I care to count from roosters ripping them open. I've discovered there is very little blood and a high threshold for pain. Most never move if I lay them on their side and cover their head with a towel. I've sewn up some that took five sets of needle/sutures and looked like Frankenstein when I finished and everyone has healed beautifully with no follow up treatment.
They are truly amazing creatures. I had Boaz help hold because I was sure she would scream or jump or something - but nothing.
Here's a for example of some of the many hens I've had to sew up. Not nearly as bad as most. I'm posting these pics so others will take the plunge and try and heal a chicken instead of thinking the only recourse is to put them down.
Ripped open from too much roo:
Crudly stitched together. This was one of my first before I perfected my stitching skills and acquired pre-threaded sutures with cutting needle from my vet. I have to say the pre-threaded, dissolvable sutures with the cutting needle make a world of difference. They stitch beautifully. I was using regular needle and thread and it was very difficult to get the needle through their thick skin. My vet took pity on me, and says she's in awe of me (since she won't touch a chicken) and gave me an entire box of the needles/sutures. I only have one left now and need to get more. I've used all 39 which tells you how often I'm sewing up hens around here. Yes, we've been working on the roo issues but every new hatch has lots more roos that are fine till juvenile stage hits and they gang up on anything that moves.
I always apply Neosporin in the incision and then spray with antibacterial Furall which helps the wound dry and prevents flies.
Getting a shredded cheese treat on my kitchen floor immediately after surgery.
A couple of weeks later - all healed and new feather growth.
Last edited:
Well Monique, I'm glad to know you're only like 6 hours away from me if I ever need your services LOL!!!! That is the one thing I have NOT had to work with around here yet, crop ops. Thanks for the info and pics.
Wow.. I am so impressed, and I commend you for taking your chicken's welfare in your own hands. My vet won't even see chickens, so I know if I encounter a similar situation in my own flock, I will remember this thread.
Thank you for sharing, both the information and the pics!
Thank you for sharing, both the information and the pics!
ATTAGIRL! Do your best... hope for the best.... but be prepared for the worst.... You did everything you could..... My prayers are with you both.
- Thread starter
- #17
Thank you all for your well wishes. I always do my best and believe for the best. If it doesn't work out that way, I can at least say "I tried". That's pretty much my motto for everything in life.
Ruth this is the link to mine:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=21291
It used to be stickied at the top of the emergencies, but I guess it isn't any more. Chloe is doing great. Hope yours does as well.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=21291
It used to be stickied at the top of the emergencies, but I guess it isn't any more. Chloe is doing great. Hope yours does as well.
- Thread starter
- #19
Quote:
Thanks. Yours was the post from 2007 that I remember reading way back then. I just now reread it. Did you say you did not stitch the crop? I stitched it twice. First the meaty tissue as close and tightly as possible using lots of small, close, tight stitches - then the paper thin "skin" of the crop using just a few stitches since it was like wet tissue paper. I didn't want the crop to have any leaks.
Then I stitched the outer skin - piece of cake compared to stitching the crop which was slippery and kept pulling back inside of her. Was like trying to stitch a wiggling piece of liver.
I do hope, whatever the outcome, that others will realize that when drastic measures are needed, they can do what it takes to save their chickens. We only have one part time vet in this one-stop sign town and she admits she knows nothing about chickens - and there aren't any others within a 100 miles that will treat a chicken.
Thanks. Yours was the post from 2007 that I remember reading way back then. I just now reread it. Did you say you did not stitch the crop? I stitched it twice. First the meaty tissue as close and tightly as possible using lots of small, close, tight stitches - then the paper thin "skin" of the crop using just a few stitches since it was like wet tissue paper. I didn't want the crop to have any leaks.
Then I stitched the outer skin - piece of cake compared to stitching the crop which was slippery and kept pulling back inside of her. Was like trying to stitch a wiggling piece of liver.
I do hope, whatever the outcome, that others will realize that when drastic measures are needed, they can do what it takes to save their chickens. We only have one part time vet in this one-stop sign town and she admits she knows nothing about chickens - and there aren't any others within a 100 miles that will treat a chicken.
- Thread starter
- #20
Our patient is feeling good this morning. She drank her water and she walked around our house for a bit checking everything out.
I've given her some scrambled egg so we'll see how she does once she starts eating.
I've given her some scrambled egg so we'll see how she does once she starts eating.
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