How to stitch limbs of skin!!! Young pullet attacked by her peers in the neck....

[RedCurls]

This afternoon I saw the young pullet lying quietly by herself with a bloody neck.


Her peers must have pecked and eaten some skin on her neck.
She is alive and the neck muscles are visible.

She would need 5 or 6 stitches to join together the skin. Called the vet and the quote is way too high nearly $400
I have used betadine to disinfect the area and cut off some feathers (probably not enough) Wanted to do stitching!

So far I applied a bandage that holds the skin over the open wound. The chicken can't retract her neck which is probably uncomfortable but until I stitch the limbs together it is better than leaving a 2 inch opening on the back of her neck..
Should have taken a photo...

Can't buy suture nor anesthetic gas, so it has to be done in the garage!

If you have any tips please let me know...

 

[SmiYa0126]

This afternoon I saw the young pullet lying quietly by herself with a bloody neck.


Her peers must have pecked and eaten some skin on her neck.
She is alive and the neck muscles are visible.

She would need 5 or 6 stitches to join together the skin. Called the vet and the quote is way too high nearly $400
I have used betadine to disinfect the area and cut off some feathers (probably not enough) Wanted to do stitching!

So far I applied a bandage that holds the skin over the open wound. The chicken can't retract her neck which is probably uncomfortable but until I stitch the limbs together it is better than leaving a 2 inch opening on the back of her neck..
Should have taken a photo...

Can't buy suture nor anesthetic gas, so it has to be done in the garage!

If you have any tips please let me know...

@RedCurls can you post a picture? My junior cockerel got scalped from behind his comb down to the bottom of his neck. I didn't bandage it. Clean the wound thoroughly, let it dry, spray with betadine, slather with plain antibiotic ointment. Repeat twice a day. The wound will turn green after a few days, it's the white blood cells coming to the surface to build a barrier. Keep an eye for infection, if you can buy some aqua mox to keep on hand. Tsc only takes a couple of days to deliver.

 

[Lor]

I'm not sure anyone has stitched up a chicken.
This post may help with wound care.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/please-help-me-my-chicken-might-die.1584165/#post-26914946

 

[Shadrach]

You can stitch up skin but given the location of the injury, the number of stitches you've written you think the wound needs and apparently the lack of the proper equipment, including a pain killing spray, I wouldn't recommend it.
A picture of the injury would help.

Skin wounds such as the one shown above are not usually life threatening unless infection sets in. I've had hens running around with flaps of skin hanging from various parts of their body. Doesn't sound nice I know, but sometimes repair isn't a going proposition.
The bare patch where muscle is showing will fill in time.
SmiYa0126 has given good advice above. I would follow that rather than stitch.
Provided you keep the wound clean and prevent further injury from other hens pecking at it she should heal just fine.
A further option which has worked for me is to get the wound absolutely clean, disinfected with Chlorhexidine (don't use hydrogen peroxide) and seal the area with this.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...s-and-injuries-with-stockholm-hoof-tar.74400/
WARNING. Applying pine tar of any sort is a one shot remedy. Once it's on you cant get it off if you mess up so think very carefully before you go this route.