Help with a roo missing part of his scalp - skull exposed

[ChickDancer]

We're on day three of no scalp, and he's doing okay. Last night he slept on my bed (wearing a chicken diaper) and despite not being able to see, he worked his way over to me and stood right beside my head for most of the night. Never laid down - until I put him in my lap just now.

No scabbing though, at all. Not on the scalp anyway. His comb also got pretty beat up, and it is almost all black from all of the scabs there. I spent some time yesterday trimming all of the feathers around the head wound to keep them out of it.

I did see what looked like the very top points of two vertical neck muscles though. The problem is, with the skin not being able to stretch enough to cover everything or reconnect, the skin on the back of his neck is sagging a bit now and exposing more than the original wound. But there's just nothing to hold it to, so it will just have to sag for now.

He also hasn't started to eat or drink on his own, but he shows interest. He follows the food and waterbowl with his eyes, but I don't think he trusts putting his head down at all. So I do force food and water in him, and none of it gets spit back out. So he is getting some nutrition and lots of hydration at least.

Unfortunately for the first day or so, he never pooped. I kept taking the diaper off, ready to clean it and nothing was there. But he FINALLY pooped once, it seems, so that tells me he is improving at least a little.

 

[CMV]

Keep up the good work. Unfortunately, when large swatches of skin get removed, it takes an awfully long time to heal. They do eventually heal, but it seems to take forever. That's why I always recommend stitching/gluing great gaping wounds if there is any possible way to do it. Clearly, this guy did not have that option available to him.

He should definitely be eating something today. If you need to try your hand at tube feeding, I would. It's a very easy procedure. He needs some nutrients to start growing that scalp back.

 

[ChickDancer]

I'm trying to get some sleep now, and a certain someone seems to think he needs to be up against me, AND that I need tail feathers shoved in my face. Get back on your OWN pillow, Phoenix! Lol!

 

[jonalisa]

Good luck to you and Phoenix... keep us posted!

 

[ladycluck333]

just gonna say i know NOTHING about chicken veterinary care. but, i do know humans. and if it were a person... and we could not get to a hospital.... some large butterfly sutures/steri strips and or a bit of dermabond may be helpful to keep the skin from sagging and would help to encourage the wound to close up. ideally you would want the skin to be as close to its original position as possible.... hope he feels better soon!

 

[ChickDancer]

Ahhh, I'm so happy today. It's barely afternoon, but he ate enough earlier that I can actually feel a good-sized crop right now!

Of course today's meal was a little bit of yogurt mixed with hard-boiled egg yolks, and "banana, peaches, and rice cereal" flavored baby food. So all of it should be ready-to-digest, but I'm happy that he's actually got a sizeable crop full of it, now!

 

[ChickDancer]

Alright, have a new question now.

My wonderful nieces (yes, you detect sarcasm) who are notorious thieves, took three of the four rolls of bandage wrap I had. I finished using the last of the one that was left. But to make it worse, I still need it for Phoenix's head.

I have changed the gauze and kept petroleum jelly or neosporin on there. But this morning I was on the third round of re-using the self-adhesive bandaging to hold it all on. Obviously, that stuff doesn't stick very well after the first use. So at some point during the morning it came off, and the wound dried. The problem is, one of his ligaments for the two main muscles attached to the back of his skull, became dried out and separated from the skull. Since it is no longer attached and has no tension in it, the other side's tension is causing his head to flop sideways.

What can I do to reattach it? I've heard superglue actually works on wounds and gluing skin back together, but would it eventually reattach itself with tissue? Can ligaments be reattached like this? Is superglue safe to use on him like this?

 

[ladycluck333]

no no no! dont use glue on tendons... once again speaking as tho it applies to people.... you should never use wound glue on a tendon... ever. in theory if you could get it all under the skin and keep it there it will reattach to the skull and heal. the trick is keeping it all in there and keeping infection out. i would give it a good flushing with saline and try to re position the de gloved skin. a wound of this kind will heal from the edges in. it is beneficial to keep the skin in its original place with slight tension to sort of draw the two sides together..... are you handy with a needle? in a situation like this a few long stitches may be the best option you have.... right across the gap... just until he starts to heal and the skin has a hold on his skull..... antibiotic ointment and sterile bandages... i would also suggest a round of antibiotics... broad spectrum.... lots of fluids and maybe up the protein consumption....

 

[CMV]

Oh boy. I can't think of any way that tendon can be fixed without resorting to surgery. Super glue would not work because it would eventually wear away, and it would block up the site where you want new attachments to form. I think you are at an impasse. He needs to see a vet. I am sorry.

I think you should have several strong words (and if it were me, most of those words would be of the 4-letter variety) with your nieces. They have likely killed this animal through their thievery. Not something to be proud of.

 

[ChickDancer]

Phoenix was put down last night. I realized that the ligament probably wouldn't reattach easily, if at all, and he couldn't live with his head flopping to the side. So I made the decision to have him put down. And cried like a baby.

CMV, That is EXACTLY why I chose the punishment I did. Letting them actually know that they killed him, and they are directly responsible for it, is a good lesson, in my opinion. They both care about animals. And yes, it made them both cry. But they needed to know what their actions caused. Of course my sister thinks it was too harsh. But that's like speeding through a crosswalk and killing a kid, and the state doesn't let you know that YOU were the actual cause of the child's death. Not acceptable. They need to know the consequences to their actions. Period.

And the emotional scars just MAY be the most powerful tool to persuade them not to do it again.