Need advice/ solution to an injury

[silkieobsessed3]

Hey guys! First off, I want to put a disclaimer for anyone thinking about giving me advice to put my baby down or "cull", not going to happen. She is my pet and I love her very much. Moving on, my baby is named Little Foot and she is a 10 month old sex link. She has an injury on her chest from, well I don't know what from. I'm thinking something either tried to grab her or she got caught on something. I'll attach pictures of the injury. After a few days of anti biotic and cleaning the injury, it looks so so much better and is healing. The only problem is that there is a opening on her chest now. Whatever injured her cut a gash in her chest and what would normally seem to heal and close back together is healing like two seperate flaps if 29th-1st makes sense. It isn't healing shut basically, it's healing left open and leaving the flaps seperate. I'm worried about this catching on something else since the flap is not healing back to her chest. Should I make her wear something so she wouldn't get that caught? The only thing I've found are chicken sweaters or saddles but that seems more likely to cause problems or get caught. Should I just leave it? Is there anything that is safe she could wear? The picture I attached shows the flap hanging off her chest and that is what is not healing back attached to her chest. It will heal left open from her chest. It's hard to describe. The white stuff you see is ointment.

 

[silkieobsessed3]

That* not 29th through 1st. Lol. That was a strange auto correct

 

[The Phantom]

I would not touch it. Keep her separate and in an area that is very clean and has nothing the wound will get scratched by. Spray some Red Kote on it. That stuff works really well.

 

[Stayc]

They make bras for chickens with pendulous crop. I wonder if this would help? Im no pro just thought of this. Best of luck with little foot

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UUVc16Bdh...Iw/72ZeVbvIfM4/s1600/Pendulous+crop+bra+4.jpg

 

[silkieobsessed3]

I would not touch it. Keep her separate and in an area that is very clean and has nothing the wound will get scratched by. Spray some Red Kote on it. That stuff works really well.

Than

I would not touch it. Keep her separate and in an area that is very clean and has nothing the wound will get scratched by. Spray some Red Kote on it. That stuff works really well.

Thank you! I am keeping her seperate till it heals which has been hard for her being seperate from her friends but she is healing really fast and nicely. Just concerned the injury didn't heal closed like it should have. I'll have to get some of that red mote! I need a spray because liquid and cream ointments are very messy and she can reach down and peck at it to try and clean it off.

 

[silkieobsessed3]

They make bras for chickens with pendulous crop. I wonder if this would help? Im no pro just thought of this. Best of luck with little foot
Thank you! This would be right where her injury is so might be better than a sweater!
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UUVc16Bdh8s/VrGK9XIw-OI/AAAAAAABDIw/72ZeVbvIfM4/s1600/Pendulous+crop+bra+4.jpg

 

[azygous]

I'm sorry, but those photos aren't much help. Try to get a well focused photo as close up to the wound as you can get, and when you post it, select the "full size for all images" option. That allows us to zoom in to view it even closer.

That said, if you don't see any signs of infection and you see continuing progress in healing, the wound will eventually resolve itself by building new tissue where needed, walling off the damaged tissue, and the "flap" should dry up, turn black, and fall off. Chickens have an ingenious response to damaged tissue that is truly amazing.

But I'd really like to see a better photo of the wound to see what color the skin is on the flap. That would help in deciding what to do about the flap. If it appears to be dying, you might be able to cut it away. I wouldn't attempt this, though, if the skin still has a blood supply.

You've been doing an excellent job of keeping the wound clean, and that's 99% of the battle. Keep up the good work and she'll eventually be good as new.

 

[rebrascora]

I would think that might be from a hawk attack.
I would place her in a safe environment for the first week of treatment like a cage or box in the house for ease of treating and monitoring. I would trim or pluck the surrounding feathers so that they don't get stuck in the wound. You may lose the flap of skin if it doesn't have an adequate blood supply to heal, but I would leave it for now and keep the wound clean and moist.... raw honey provides a good healing medium. If she is going back out with the flock, I would cover the wound with a dressing and then form a bib with stretchy material like an old tshirt cut into in a sort of triangular shape with a hole in one angle to go over her head and the other two ends taken under her wings and the ends tied together on her back..... you will need to fiddle about with the size to get it right.
Good luck with her. Chickens have recovered from some pretty horrific injuries so I would say that she has a good chance.

 

[silkieobsessed3]

I'm sorry, but those photos aren't much help. Try to get a well focused photo as close up to the wound as you can get, and when you post it, select the "full size for all images" option. That allows us to zoom in to view it even closer.

That said, if you don't see any signs of infection and you see continuing progress in healing, the wound will eventually resolve itself by building new tissue where needed, walling off the damaged tissue, and the "flap" should dry up, turn black, and fall off. Chickens have an ingenious response to damaged tissue that is truly amazing.

But I'd really like to see a better photo of the wound to see what color the skin is on the flap. That would help in deciding what to do about the flap. If it appears to be dying, you might be able to cut it away. I wouldn't attempt this, though, if the skin still has a blood supply.

You've been doing an excellent job of keeping the wound clean, and that's 99% of the battle. Keep up the good work and she'll eventually be good as new.

Thank you so much for your reply! I will try to get a better picture and post it bigger if I can figure it out! I am cleaning it daily and it is drying up. The flap is starting to turn black which I originally thought was infection but what you said makes total sense! There is definitely still blood supply to the flap so I do not feel confident cutting that off yet because it is definitely still sensitive to her. I really appreciate your response!

 

[silkieobsessed3]

I would think that might be from a hawk attack.
I would place her in a safe environment for the first week of treatment like a cage or box in the house for ease of treating and monitoring. I would trim or pluck the surrounding feathers so that they don't get stuck in the wound. You may lose the flap of skin if it doesn't have an adequate blood supply to heal, but I would leave it for now and keep the wound clean and moist.... raw honey provides a good healing medium. If she is going back out with the flock, I would cover the wound with a dressing and then form a bib with stretchy material like an old tshirt cut into in a sort of triangular shape with a hole in one angle to go over her head and the other two ends taken under her wings and the ends tied together on her back..... you will need to fiddle about with the size to get it right.
Good luck with her. Chickens have recovered from some pretty horrific injuries so I would say that she has a good chance.

Thank you so so much! She doesn't seem to be at all phased by it besides being bothered she can't be with her friends. My main concern at first was infection as I didn't even notice it probably till a few dats after it happened. It was tucked under her feathers and there was no blood noticeable. She really is healing nicely though. I will try that t-shirt and see if I can get it snug. If not, I'm pretty sure the flap will fall off eventually on its own.