Dog bite at crop **Graphic Pictures** Update and Question

[socalchicks]

So, I was trimming the feathers back around her crop, but I had a hard time. I had a towel over her head so she was calm, but it was obviously painful for her so I didn't do too much. I know you can't give chickens any pain killers that end in "caine", but is there anything else I can give her? There is some loose skin around her neck and throat that I can pull over and glue back if I can keep her still.

 

[eastbaychicks]

Way to go... that must be so hard to pin her down when she is in so much pain. Ah, it pains me to think about the whole process. GOOD JOB.

Off subject....when my dog had a really bad dog bite (she wound up with like 25 stitches) that is what they did is just pull her excess skin in from the area. Over time it healed perfectly. If you can get the superglue to work I would sooooo do that... and if you have the stomach for it. Pulling skin in would really help the process move faster and aid in protecting her from infection. I am just really worried that an infection will set in. Wound care is going to take you a long way.

Is there some way to tranquilize the bird while you do the superglue thing? I wonder. That would be the best and easiest.

Ah... I'm just so sad for your birdie. My DH saw the pic and he was amazed she was still alive. Must be a real fighter! I hope she at least got a few good pecks in for that doggie. He/she deserved it.

Dare I ask what happened to the dog? I mean once they get a taste of chicken sushi, what then. I only pose the question because I have a dog and am curious what happens after that.

Keep up the good and painful work. I hope for a happy ending on this!!!! Hang in there.

 

[CTChickenMom]

If you can start glueing some, you could probably keep glueing a little bit more over time, stretching the skin gently. My kid has had his head glued 3x now, I wouldn't worry about sedation but I would definitely have someone hold her snugly while you do it.

 

[wood&feathers]

What about inversion? I saw on here somewhere that folks who caponize roosters sometimes use a cone to hold the bird for the procedure. It sure seems to bliss them out before freezer camp. I don't know if it affects their pain perception though. I sure wouldn't want to hurt your sweet girl any more than she already has been hurt.

 

[NeeleysAVLChicks]

I don't have any extra info for you, but you must keep it clean and watch for any unusually bad smells, that can alert you to infection before you will see it.

Mostly just wanted to give you some moral support, my dog got ahold of one of my girls months back and she had a really nasty wound (just as bad, if not worse than your girl's) around her crop and under her wing and she healed perfectly, it truly was a shock how fast she grew back the skin and feathers. I didn't close the wound or cover with a bandage, just kept her indoors, well nourished, vitamins/electrolytes and a broad based water-soluble antibiotic. To be honest, she didn't really want to go back outside after she healed, I think she would of been happy to live out the rest of her life being doted upon.

 

[Imp]

Quote:
You can give aspirin. 1 baby (81mg) aspirin in a quart of water. I'll attach some info:

ASPIRIN SOLUTION

Used as a general treatment for reducing distress conditions of birds (fever or listlessness) that accompanies many diseases.

Dissolve five (5 grain) aspirin tablets in one gallon of water.

Offer this solution free-choice to the birds for the duration of an illness. The solution aspirin equivalent to 25 grains/gallon or 324 mg/gallon of drinking water. The dosage rate is about 25 mg/lb body weight per day.


Imp- Good luck

 

[socalchicks]

I just wanted to thank everyone for the help. I was just really concerned about her crop being exposed. I also didn't have anyone to help me work on her so I couldn't do much. When I did start cutting back the feathers, I saw that there was some skin that I could pull over but I couldn't get anyone to help me soon enough. I decided that I either needed to get her to a vet or let her die. I wasn't ready to let her go, she's such a sweet girl! I actually found a good avian vet that is fairly close to me and much cheaper than the other one I knew of! So I took her in this morning.

He confirmed what I thought - the crop was not punctured and there was no lacerations in the muscles at all. It was just a hell of a lot of skin missing. He called it de-gloved and said that when a huge chunk of skin is ripped off, the surrounding skin will just curl up and roll back so there is no edge to glue back together. If it were some other part of her body I would have done it anyway and just glued what I could. I was just so afraid I would injur her crop and make it worse.

Her crop was starting to dry up and by the time I got her to the vet, it was a little leathery in some places. The vet was really nice and took the time to show me exactly what he was going to do - which is basically the same thing that everyone on here told me to do! Except that he cut back a little more skin so there was a clean edge and he sewed it instead of gluing. He said that skin would not grow back on an injury that large (although I'm not completely convinced of that. I got a couple responses from people who's actual experience shows that it does.) But, he did also have to remove some necrotic tissue from her crop. So, leaving it open and exposed would have definitely been a bad way to go.

Anyway, so far she seems to be recovering well. And, hopefully, something like this won't happen again. But, if it does I feel confident that I will be able to take care of it myself.

Most importantly, from now on everybody's wings will be clipped and the fence around the chicken yard will be a foot or two higher. I don't want any of my girls to have to go through this again.

Thanks again for all the great advice!

 

[socalchicks]

Quote:
This is actually the second time he's gone after the chickens. The first time he was too slow and just barely got the back of one of my silkies. That's when I decided to fence in a little yard around the coop so I could let the girls out without worrying about the dogs getting them. I have a picket fence around a corner of the yard. My EE is the only one who's ever tried to fly over it so I clipped her wings, but no one else's. That was my mistake, I should have known better. So, when I had company over they were all at the fence talking to the chickens and this one flew up to say hi. Poor girl didn't realize a dog was right there waiting for her. My dad was standing right there and was able to get the dog off her quickly, but not before he did major damage. I do agree with you, he is a lot more interested in the girls since the first time he got a taste. I thought I had it covered, but apparently not.

It was a really hard lesson for me (and my chicken!) to learn. But I am definitely keeping everybody's wings clipped and I will add a couple of feet onto that fence for good measure. I can't get rid of the dog, he's my baby too! He's really very sweet, unless of course you're a chicken! But, he has no remorse whatsoever! So I really need to make sure that from now on there is no way he could possibly get to the girls.

Thanks for all your support, I really appreciate it!

 

[socalchicks]

Ginny is doing great. She got stitched up and was on antibiotics for a week. I'm amazed at how fast she is recovering! She still has her stitches in, but that's healing well. Some feathers have started to grow back also. I couldn't believe that she was eating, drinking, pooping and acting like a normal chicken throughout this whole thing! She's a tough girl!

I do have one question, though. She is scheduled to get her stitches out on Monday. I still have her inside, but she is dying to go back out with her sisters. I'm ready for her to go back out too! Is it ok for her to go back outside while she still have stitches? Her neck feathers cover most of the exposed skin around the injury. I brought one of the other girls in a few times for company and she never tried to peck the area or even notice that there was something different.

The vet just said to keep her isolated from the flock for 5-7 days. Tomorrow will be two weeks. I can give him a call also, he's just pretty busy so I didn't want to bug him. I should have asked him more specifically when I was talking to him. His tech said it was a good idea to keep her inside until her stitches are out, but she is driving me crazy!! I let her wander around the room a little bit every day for exercise and she jumps up on a chair and stares out the window at the coop squawking! I've learned to keep the blinds closed. But I am really tired of all the chicken poop in my office/garage!

BTW - if anyone needs a good avian vet in inland southern california, I highly recommend him - PM me and I'll send you his info. He takes all small animals, but is an avian specialist and is very knowledgeable. He took a lot of time with me and Ginny, gave me some good lessons and asked that I call in daily with progress reports for the first week. If I didn't call in by 11 am, they called me. He also called me earlier this week and asked me to bring her in so he could check her over again and make sure she was healing properly. I'm not sure about other places, but that's unusual here!

Thanks again for all the advice. I don't want to do anything to impede her healing, but I am soo ready for her to be back outside!

Kendall

 

[kentuckyblue]

you can get a sav at feed store called nitrofurazone or nfz it is slime green and it is the best thing to keep the infection out i use it on all my stock and myself some time and it is cold when you put it on so it numbs the cut a lil