Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[bgmathteach]

Oh and that reminds me - Kris is exactly right - sometimes you want to get the skin edges closer but not closed. The body is amazing and can close a small gap, but you can't expect the skin to regrow and meet up over a massive area. So sometimes you are just trying to get the edges in the same general vicinity.
And of course all of this is 100x more difficult in chickens!

Boy, don't I know. You should see me stitching a chicken by myself. While 'gently pinching' skin so not flat against body with one hand, holding chicken with combo of lap, wrap and elbows., Stick needle into flesh on one side of wound with 2nd hand, immediately let go so when chicken shakes/move, it doesn't pull the needle out. grasp needle point end and pull all the way through flesh. Carefully stick needle into flesh other side of wound and immediately let go...allow chicken to wiggle/shake...grasp needle and pull through. Repeat as many times as needed to generally secure.

Yes, prior to this, I have washed wound as best as possible, flushed with either betadine or hydrogen peroxide, scrubbed myself with soap, rinsed, then 'rinsed' hands with rubbing alcohol, also have sterilized needle and thread. And grabbed a freshly laundered towel for wrapping the chicken best I can based on wound location.

however, no, the chicken itself is clearly not sterile, especially her feathers that she may shake and fluff...now that I think about it...she probably spreads microorganism and dust into the air every time. Even with being wrapped....wounds are usually on the body itself, so can't 'contain' all the feathers.

Great. I wish I was still in my ignorant little bubble. I'm going to totally freak out the next time I have an injured chicken that I need to do something about.

 

[Kris5902]

Update on the chicks in general, mystery chick in particular.

So,after morning chores & breakfast, I head into the room with the brooder box to say 'hi' spend some time and get more pics of'mystery chick'.

1) Mystery chick is an intrepid explorer. She is the first to manage to hop/jump/fly to the top of the brooder box & perch Unfortunately, no picture of that...as soon as she saw me coming, she hopped back down into the boX!

2) Despite having raised the brooder plate, the chicks spend as much or more time on top of it than under it. Not yet 2 weeks old and they are already becoming independent.

3) With this physical, maturational and cognitive growth is also coming an increasing need to explore and 'be high! The instant I remove them from the brooder box now, instead of cowering and staying clustered with their hatch mates....they each immediately try running, jump/flying, climbing to the nearest 'higher' spot! Sometimes generally heading in the same direction, sometimes not. Either way, initially it appears to be a 'yay! I can explore and be on top of the world' versus a 'hey, wait, where are my buddies'!

4) Whenever they hear my voice or footsteps, now instead of running under the 'protective mom' heating plate, they stand up tall with heads stretched to their utmost to see me/watch me approach!

I know I have brooded many chick in the past, but it still amazes me how quickly they learn, grow, and become increasingly independent.

Mystery chick:
I've included a couple slightly better shots of the mystery chick, and a shots of it with a Marans, so you can note the difference in leg color. (Note, I tried to get a close-up of it's leg so you could see the slight dusting of black/grey, but the camera will not focus on the leg that close


View attachment 3075337View attachment 3075340
Note the slight 'dustiness' on her leg - particularly the right leg (your left viewing side) For some reason it looks a bit fuzzy in the picture. IT IS NOT fluff/fuzz/feathers
View attachment 3075348

This next pic, Mystery is on the right, a BCM on the left. Notice the distinct difference in leg color...but yet 'Mystery' doesn't have yellow legs - they are, the best I can describe - 'flesh color'.

View attachment 3075360

I'm wondering if @rural mouse might be right with an Olive Egger (cuckoo marans cross?) Would explain the very limited barring, and also the odd colored legs - a white legged breed crossed with a yellow legged breed???

Is mystery chick supposed to be sexed? The look of some barring and that headspot would make me highly suspicious of gender in any of my Marans cross olive eggers (the ones that hatch out black are sexed with the headspot, the ones that hatch out yellow and grow out white are a gender guessing game until the leghorn/Marans combs pop out in the males, which is very quickly…)

 

[Kris5902]

Boy, don't I know. You should see me stitching a chicken by myself. While 'gently pinching' skin so not flat against body with one hand, holding chicken with combo of lap, wrap and elbows., Stick needle into flesh on one side of wound with 2nd hand, immediately let go so when chicken shakes/move, it doesn't pull the needle out. grasp needle point end and pull all the way through flesh. Carefully stick needle into flesh other side of wound and immediately let go...allow chicken to wiggle/shake...grasp needle and pull through. Repeat as many times as needed to generally secure.

Yes, prior to this, I have washed wound as best as possible, flushed with either betadine or hydrogen peroxide, scrubbed myself with soap, rinsed, then 'rinsed' hands with rubbing alcohol, also have sterilized needle and thread. And grabbed a freshly laundered towel for wrapping the chicken best I can based on wound location.

however, no, the chicken itself is clearly not sterile, especially her feathers that she may shake and fluff...now that I think about it...she probably spreads microorganism and dust into the air every time. Even with being wrapped....wounds are usually on the body itself, so can't 'contain' all the feathers.

Great. I wish I was still in my ignorant little bubble. I'm going to totally freak out the next time I have an injured chicken that I need to do something about.

I’d say with something gaping and your experience and confidence in suturing, closing a big gap up would be very beneficial, and as you’ve had lots of success with it before you are clearly doing well at cleaning and preventing infection. From the sounds of it you’re not pulling the edges too tightly together, or doing anything wrong… we aren’t vets so it’s not like we have access to even that level of sterilization. I think of it like bringing the edges of the wind closed enough to keep anything from actively getting into the wound/under the skin… and letting the body do the rest. I don’t close up/seal wounds so much and hold the pieces together enough for the healing to happen. It helps that chickens heal incredibly quickly compared to people. I had a little slice in my thumb that literally took three months to heal as it kept cracking and separating, got infected twice… but I beat my hands up pretty badly early this year working. Also interesting to note ragged wounds with rough edges heal much faster and better than clean incisions (if not as straight and prettily) from utility knives or surgical implements…

 

[bgmathteach]

Is mystery chick supposed to be sexed? The look of some barring and that headspot would make me highly suspicious of gender in any of my Marans cross olive eggers (the ones that hatch out black are sexed with the headspot, the ones that hatch out yellow and grow out white are a gender guessing game until the leghorn/Marans combs pop out in the males, which is very quickly…)

Yes, all - including the MMM are supposed to be pullets.

I actually felt guilty about my order being only pullets...due to what happens to the extra cockerels. But, I am trying to not have too many cockerels, and I have enough Heritage BR boys, plus 3 boys for my meat breeding, plus kept one boy (the one that looks like @rural mouse 's Cheetah in coloring, but different comb.) who was supposed to be a pullet Americauna (they are really EE's, though)....so I already have enough boys, and will get more from my own hatching...and want to keep from them a young cockerel in each of my 3 BR breeding lines, plus a couple in the next gen of meat breeding.....so I didn't order straight run. I'll cross both some of the BCM & Welsummer (and a couple EE pullets)with my EE Roo for next year's hatch to keep colored eggs going.

Long posts are always more palatable with a pic:

two:

 

[RoyalChick]

Boy, don't I know. You should see me stitching a chicken by myself. While 'gently pinching' skin so not flat against body with one hand, holding chicken with combo of lap, wrap and elbows., Stick needle into flesh on one side of wound with 2nd hand, immediately let go so when chicken shakes/move, it doesn't pull the needle out. grasp needle point end and pull all the way through flesh. Carefully stick needle into flesh other side of wound and immediately let go...allow chicken to wiggle/shake...grasp needle and pull through. Repeat as many times as needed to generally secure.

Yes, prior to this, I have washed wound as best as possible, flushed with either betadine or hydrogen peroxide, scrubbed myself with soap, rinsed, then 'rinsed' hands with rubbing alcohol, also have sterilized needle and thread. And grabbed a freshly laundered towel for wrapping the chicken best I can based on wound location.

however, no, the chicken itself is clearly not sterile, especially her feathers that she may shake and fluff...now that I think about it...she probably spreads microorganism and dust into the air every time. Even with being wrapped....wounds are usually on the body itself, so can't 'contain' all the feathers.

Great. I wish I was still in my ignorant little bubble. I'm going to totally freak out the next time I have an injured chicken that I need to do something about.

No! Now I feel terrible. You have obviously been doing a great job!

 

[bgmathteach]

Is mystery chick supposed to be sexed? The look of some barring and that headspot would make me highly suspicious of gender in any of my Marans cross olive eggers (the ones that hatch out black are sexed with the headspot, the ones that hatch out yellow and grow out white are a gender guessing game until the leghorn/Marans combs pop out in the males, which is very quickly…)

There are limited breeds that Meyer has that it could possibly be: Dominique, BR, CM, or EE/OE That is pretty much it for barred breeds (excluding a few it CAN"T be: polish, 5 toed breeds, etc.)

 

[bgmathteach]

No! Now I feel terrible. You have obviously been doing a great job!

No, don't feel terrible. Ignorance is bliss, but not best!!! I love that I am learning....it just reminds me how very much I still don't know is all. I really appreciate all the knowledge and wisdom you are sharing. Please don't stop nor feel bad.

 

[RoyalChick]

No, don't feel terrible. Ignorance is bliss, but not best!!! I love that I am learning....it just reminds me how very much I still don't know is all. I really appreciate all the knowledge and wisdom you are sharing. Please don't stop nor feel bad.

Only if you promise not to lose your confidence in dealing with your injured chickens.
All my knowledge is from wounds in people. I cannot imagine handling any of this in my chickens. For one thing they wriggle!

 

[bgmathteach]

Only if you promise not to lose your confidence in dealing with your injured chickens.
All my knowledge is from wounds in people. I cannot imagine handling any of this in my chickens. For one thing they wriggle!

Well, whether I lose confidence or not; I'm the only one here to deal with things...so when something goes kerplewie, I just have to roll up my sleeves and dive in best I can. I don't have any kind of avian vet, nor older 'kin folk' with knowledge nor 'helping hands'
to lean on/assist. So, sometimes it is clear that 'doing nothing' will mean the death of the chicken or irreparable harm...and I can't bear to see an animals suffer needlessly. so, my stubborn side kicks in - even when I'm not confident. (basically, the little voice in my head says 'D### IT", do something.) So I do.

Knowledge is power - is it not? The more you know, the better decisions you can make/actions you can take. (so they say, anyways, lol)

Edit: Hubby does try to help. Sometimes it is good; sometimes, just easier without him. But he does put in a valiant effort when I ask for help.

 

[RoyalChick]

Well, whether I lose confidence or not; I'm the only one here to deal with things...so when something goes kerplewie, I just have to roll up my sleeves and dive in best I can. I don't have any kind of avian vet, nor older 'kin folk' with knowledge nor 'helping hands'
to lean on/assist. So, sometimes it is clear that 'doing nothing' will mean the death of the chicken or irreparable harm...and I can't bear to see an animals suffer needlessly. so, my stubborn side kicks in - even when I'm not confident. (basically, the little voice in my head says 'D### IT", do something.) So I do.

Knowledge is power - is it not? The more you know, the better decisions you can make/actions you can take. (so they say, anyways, lol)

Edit: Hubby does try to help. Sometimes it is good; sometimes, just easier without him. But he does put in a valiant effort when I ask for help.

That is what kicked in with me and strapping Bernadette’s foot into a boot splint. It just had to happen and there was only me to do it!
Now I have a whole new skill!