EMERGENCY! Open crop- possum attack!

[fanynany]

I do not have any antibiotics, i’ve examined her and it looks like the crop is a puncture but is the size of a quarter and the other one looks like a tear, i plan on taking her to the vet tomorrow morning hopefully she makes it through the night and doesn’t develop an infection.

 

[fanynany]

Vet appointment felt somewhat pointless and a waste of money but i did act out of panic instead of assessing the situation first, but anyways, $160 later, she poked at it and gave me a little bottle of cleansing solution and some soaked gauze, wound care would’ve been $230. She said to treat it as an open wound since chicken skin is too delicate, but after i’ve cleaned it, it seems far way too big and deep for it just to heal on its own? you can see her food?
it’s about an inch long.
@azygous @Wyorp Rock

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Here’s the advice I got for a pigeon with a crop wound: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/pigeon-with-hole-in-its-crop.1520912/. I also successfully treated a second bird who had a bigger wound than the one in the thread. However, their wounds were smaller than your hen, so you probably shouldn’t use superglue as I did.

I would feed her food that is chunky and has a lot of water in it. I was told on another site to feed mine lettuce, peas, or bread soaked in water. (I ended up not needing to do that as the crop wounds were small enough for the food to stay in.)

You may want to put a covering of some sort over the wound to try to keep food in.

 

[fanynany]

another pic!

 

[fanynany]

However, their wounds were smaller than your hen, so you probably shouldn’t use superglue as I did

I would feed her food that is chunky and has a lot of water in it.

You may want to put a covering of some sort over the wound to try to keep food in.

I thought about it but i’m afraid it might get infected and i won’t be able to intervene with what’s going on inside since it’s glued shut, i’ve been feeding her eggs and rice and she’s been able to poop it out but is hesitant to drink water so i will try lettuce and peas but unfortunately she’s never liked them before.

 

[fanynany]

Would anyone recommend applying butterfly bandaids? or just leave it be and clean it out twice a day as i was told?

Just super anxious and would like pepper to live.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I thought about it but i’m afraid it might get infected and i won’t be able to intervene with what’s going on inside since it’s glued shut, i’ve been feeding her eggs and rice and she’s been able to poop it out but is hesitant to drink water so i will try lettuce and peas but unfortunately she’s never liked them before.

You probably shouldn’t use glue with how big it is. Though if you use a wrap of some kind, you can replace it daily or every other day.

 

[fanynany]

food and water leaks out of the wound when she drinks and eats but has been drinking for while now.

Im thinking i could possibly place a butterfly stitch for now on the bottom of wound to make it easier to stay in.

 

[fanynany]

Updates:
- Food manages to stay in the crop and she poops around 4-8 times a day, water leaks out but i’ve been holding her at an angle while she drinks to avoid that and atleast get her to pass water through her mouth and throat.
-I have been cleaning the wound as directed, i tried applying butterfly closures but since the area is covered in cut feathers it won’t stick, i also don’t want to pluck them out as i don’t want to hurt her or the wound, it seems as if it’s healing but i’m concerned as to how it’s gonna close up if the tissue is healing and her inner crop is still exposed.
- she pecks around and is EAGER to go outside, she’ll stand by the windows and doors and yell at me, she’ll walk around and is pretty active but naps around as well.

Questions/concerns:
Should i try using liquid bandage to try and seal the wound to avoid her water coming out?
While it seems too late to stitch or anything like that, is there anything i could do to close the hole?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I think at this point it's best you follow the advice of the vet.