Crop surgery

[aeverkaik]

Help! My husband and I performed emergency crop surgery on our EE pullet on Sunday night and now it is wide open and smells horrible. She is walking around and acting normal but I afraid she is going to die of sepsis. Any suggestions

 

[Eggcessive]

Did the stitches come open? Does the area look infected? I would clean it up with betadine weakened with water. I would think you are going to have to try to close the crop back up. I know very little about this, but I do know you have to close up the inside of the crop and then the outside. Hopefully someone who has done crop surgery will chime in, but it is something not many of us has done. Here are 2 links to crop surgery experiences--look at post 54 in the first one, and the second one is different experiences: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...pacted-crop-surgery-update-post-54-caution/50

http://www.the-coop.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=88741

 

[ten chicks]

Help! My husband and I performed emergency crop surgery on our EE pullet on Sunday night and now it is wide open and smells horrible. She is walking around and acting normal but I afraid she is going to die of sepsis. Any suggestions

Explain wide open,do you mean the incision has come apart? Get her on some antibiotics ASAP,clean and flush out wound,this has to be cleaned very well before you restitch it up. How did you close wound,glue or sutures? Keep her on soft foods as you do not want any stress on incision in crop. Smell could be infection or could be coming from contents in crop,i am going with infection that is why she needs antibiotics.

 

[aeverkaik]

I used glue because of the many surgery videos I saw, glue seemed to be the popular choice. The incision came open and now she is picking at it. Every vet I have called said they will not give me antibiotics unless they see the "patient", and they will not see chickens. Any feed store close to me only sells antibiotics that you put in water for disease, not wounds. I read that I MUST use the one for wounds. I don't know what to do for her besides clean it up and try to close it again

 

[ten chicks]

I used glue because of the many surgery videos I saw, glue seemed to be the popular choice. The incision came open and now she is picking at it. Every vet I have called said they will not give me antibiotics unless they see the "patient", and they will not see chickens. Any feed store close to me only sells antibiotics that you put in water for disease, not wounds. I read that I MUST use the one for wounds. I don't know what to do for her besides clean it up and try to close it again

The internal incision in crop was glued also? Ok,flush out incision,i would stitch internal crop incision so that it does not open again(or re-glue if that is your preference)if you want to suture and you cannot find any suturing thread then i would suggest either silk or cotton thread. Sterilize needle till red hot,sterilize thread with rubbing alcohol,you probably only need 2-3 stitches,tie off each stitch separately.My concern for external incision is that it has been open for a while(after 6+ hours) there is concern about stitching it and bacteria being trapped inside,i am almost thinking leave this wound open and keep covered,let it heal on its own and drain(is incision small)but if you feel it needs to be closed,re-glue or if you prefer to put a couple of stitches in,remove stitches in 7 days. Infection is now the biggest concern. I understand what you are saying about antibiotics and vets not willing to give any,in this case keep wound clean and disinfect daily. I would use a diluted solution of peroxide,i realize that it "kills" healthy tissue,but you need something strong to kill bacteria and i have used peroxide on serious wounds and it has worked,i am sure others will chime in and suggest something else,this is always my first choice,next apply an antibiotic ointment(nothing ending in "caine/cane"toxic to chickens) and cover external incision. Keep her on soft foods for a couple of days,give internal incision time to heal,i would limit her food intact for the next couple of hours after you repair wounds.

If she continues to pick at wound,you may need to place a collar on her(like they do on cats/dogs)otherwise she will pick her insides out literally.

 

[Eggcessive]

Most feed stores have a refrigerated medicine case in which antibiotics like procaine penicillin G (and others) are sold. These are injectable and you would need 1 cc syringes and 22-25 gauge needles to give injections in the breast.

 

[ten chicks]

Most feed stores have a refrigerated medicine case in which antibiotics like procaine penicillin G (and others) are sold. These are injectable and you would need 1 cc syringes and 22-25 gauge needles to give injections in the breast.

You are lucky if you are able to get penicillin,i have to purchase all my medications through a vet,no feed stores here carry any drugs.

 

[aeverkaik]

Already checked all feed stores around. None of them carry any antibiotics in the refrigerated section, just the stuff in a packet you mix in water.

Just finished cleaning her up. I did my best with what I had to work with. My husband is at work until tomorrow and I have two small boys. I cleaned up and flushed out the incision using sterile saline and LOTS of q-tips. I could tell it hurt her more this time so I took my time. Once it was cleaned out I used a q-tip and applied a small amount of hydrogen peroxide to the edges of the incision. Surprisingly it didn't really do anything. I then used unwaxed, unflavored dental floss (read this was stronger, more stable, and easier to remove) that I soaked in alcohol to sterilize along with a sterilized needle. I then packed it with antibiotic ointment.

I then attempted to stitch up the skin and that did not go so well. Even if it didn't bother her I don't think the skin will even take to the stitches. It is caked in glue, which I do not recommend. She is resting in her hospital box in the garage with her own, very low, roosting bar. She is enjoying that.

When my husband comes home tomorrow he is going to bring some gauze and wrap from work (he is a fire fighter) and hopefully that will protect it from her picking.

Anybody have any other suggestions?

 

[PAchickenlover]

Where are you located? Maybe there is someone that is close to you that has some pennacillin. I know i have some..

 

[ten chicks]

Already checked all feed stores around. None of them carry any antibiotics in the refrigerated section, just the stuff in a packet you mix in water.

Just finished cleaning her up. I did my best with what I had to work with. My husband is at work until tomorrow and I have two small boys. I cleaned up and flushed out the incision using sterile saline and LOTS of q-tips. I could tell it hurt her more this time so I took my time. Once it was cleaned out I used a q-tip and applied a small amount of hydrogen peroxide to the edges of the incision. Surprisingly it didn't really do anything. I then used unwaxed, unflavored dental floss (read this was stronger, more stable, and easier to remove) that I soaked in alcohol to sterilize along with a sterilized needle. I then packed it with antibiotic ointment.

I then attempted to stitch up the skin and that did not go so well. Even if it didn't bother her I don't think the skin will even take to the stitches. It is caked in glue, which I do not recommend. She is resting in her hospital box in the garage with her own, very low, roosting bar. She is enjoying that.

When my husband comes home tomorrow he is going to bring some gauze and wrap from work (he is a fire fighter) and hopefully that will protect it from her picking.

Anybody have any other suggestions?

No suggestions,you did great. Curious did the internal incision in crop come open or just the external incision? I would just leave external incision open,let it drain and keep cleaning it. Unfortunately the glue can become caked on,my preference is stitching even if it is only one or two stitches,that way i know it will not split open or irritate skin.