Hock injury, how does it look? (w/ close up photo of wound)

[rosemarythyme]

One of my pullets must've caught her leg on the netting and is limping. She can move the leg but it's obviously uncomfortable. There's a wound on the top back of the hock where about a 1/2" long piece of skin/top layer of tissue has been sliced and is flapped down - I imagine that skin flap will eventually die and drop off. I can't tell what I'm looking at underneath though.

For now she's in an isolation crate in the coop on fresh, clean bedding. Wound area is dry, not seeping or sticky, but does feel warm to the touch. I trimmed back some of the feathers on the side to minimize them sticking to the wound and dabbed a little plain triple antibiotic ointment on it, but left it uncovered.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

 

[Eggcessive]

You can try to glue the flap of skin back onto the wound with the antibiotic ointment. It may die anyway, but it might take hold. Reapply the antibiotic ointment twice a day.

 

[rosemarythyme]

You can try to glue the flap of skin back onto the wound with the antibiotic ointment. It may die anyway, but it might take hold. Reapply the antibiotic ointment twice a day.

Thanks, I'll give it a shot. The skin flap seems pretty dried out so don't think it'll stick, but worth trying.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

One of my pullets must've caught her leg on the netting and is limping. She can move the leg but it's obviously uncomfortable. There's a wound on the top back of the hock where about a 1/2" long piece of skin/top layer of tissue has been sliced and is flapped down - I imagine that skin flap will eventually die and drop off. I can't tell what I'm looking at underneath though.

For now she's in an isolation crate in the coop on fresh, clean bedding. Wound area is dry, not seeping or sticky, but does feel warm to the touch. I trimmed back some of the feathers on the side to minimize them sticking to the wound and dabbed a little plain triple antibiotic ointment on it, but left it uncovered.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

View attachment 4001652

It does look like she skinned it.

If the hanging skin looks dried up and won't adhere back with the ointment, I agree with you, it will dry up and fall off.

With your care plan, I think it should heal up o.k.
If she got hung up in netting, she may have also sprained or flexed the leg some. Limiting activity like you are doing should help that heal a bit quicker too.

 

[rosemarythyme]

It does look like she skinned it.

If the hanging skin looks dried up and won't adhere back with the ointment, I agree with you, it will dry up and fall off.

With your care plan, I think it should heal up o.k.
If she got hung up in netting, she may have also sprained or flexed the leg some. Limiting activity like you are doing should help that heal a bit quicker too.

Thanks. Initial thought was a sprain as she looked ok on the first go. I didn't notice the skin flap until later, which is why it's dried out.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Just wanted to update in case anyone facing a similar issue stumbles onto this thread later.

So I kept the pullet caged for a few days but she wasn't eating well and the other flock members were getting testy around her (pacing around in front of the cage) so I started letting her out during the day.

She's recovering much faster than I anticipated. The wound is pretty solidly scabbed over and she's growing new feathers in the area so I've stopped treating it. The skin flap (which wouldn't reattach so I left it alone) is still hanging there but not bothering her and not discolored or infected. There's a lump below the hock which is a little warm but not swelling any further than when I first noticed it. She's still limping but now putting weight on the leg which she wasn't before, and has even been scratching lightly at the ground the last 2 days. She's even roosting at night but wisely opting for the lower roost. So hopefully she'll make a full recovery or close to it!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Just wanted to update in case anyone facing a similar issue stumbles onto this thread later.

So I kept the pullet caged for a few days but she wasn't eating well and the other flock members were getting testy around her (pacing around in front of the cage) so I started letting her out during the day.

She's recovering much faster than I anticipated. The wound is pretty solidly scabbed over and she's growing new feathers in the area so I've stopped treating it. The skin flap (which wouldn't reattach so I left it alone) is still hanging there but not bothering her and not discolored or infected. There's a lump below the hock which is a little warm but not swelling any further than when I first noticed it. She's still limping but now putting weight on the leg which she wasn't before, and has even been scratching lightly at the ground the last 2 days. She's even roosting at night but wisely opting for the lower roost. So hopefully she'll make a full recovery or close to it!

I had thought about you the other day, then got sidetracked...


Thank you for giving an update and glad to hear she's on the mend.