Open crop wound

[ebl081]

This chicken suffered from an attack several months ago. I had posted and received excellent advice and she healed up well. However, I noticed a new wound that stemmed from the previous chest wound. Maybe she jumped off the roost wrong or got pecked at but her previous chest wound opened up again and kept tearing up to her crop by the time I noticed it. Now there is a small hole in her crop where food and water ooze out. I have been sterilizing the area for a couple weeks now and have kept it wrapped with gauze and medical wrap as seen in the first picture. Luckily, there is no infection and it seems that only about 1/8 of food and water will ooze out. She is definitely still getting food and water and does not seem to be crazily drinking or eating irregularly.

That said, the hole will not heal. I started using pine tar about 3 days ago and that has not worked either. Every time I unwrap the gauze there is a little but of food and moisture and the hole is still noticeably leaking contents as seen in the second picture. I also tried an eco bond solution early on that did not work.

Any advice on how to close this hole for good? Like I said, I've tried pine tar and keeping it moist and clean and wrapped up. She is separated from the other hens and I have tried removing her food for a few hours after applying pine tar as well to no avail. She is a mature Golden Laced Wyandote.

 

[coach723]

I would suture this. You can get suture assortments on amazon for $16-$20. You will have to close the crop, and then close the skin separately. I would do the crop and monitor first to make sure it's not leaking. Anything leaking under the skin would set her up for infection. Before closing the skin I would flush it out really well to minimize the chance that stuff is going to get closed in there. Some use superglue, but you have to make sure to close the two layers separately and not glue the skin to the crop. If you search for threads on crop surgery, you will find some with pictures of others that have had to close injuries like this, or from treating impacted crops.

 

[ebl081]

I would suture this. You can get suture assortments on amazon for $16-$20. You will have to close the crop, and then close the skin separately. I would do the crop and monitor first to make sure it's not leaking. Anything leaking under the skin would set her up for infection. Before closing the skin I would flush it out really well to minimize the chance that stuff is going to get closed in there. Some use superglue, but you have to make sure to close the two layers separately and not glue the skin to the crop. If you search for threads on crop surgery, you will find some with pictures of others that have had to close injuries like this, or from treating impacted crops.

Thank you! I think this is my best option now so I will try it. Do you recommend absorbable or non-absorbable sutures?

 

[Eggcessive]

I think that the advice by @coach723 is very good. A vet might do this for you as well. The only other option I can think of is to try a hydrogel dressing or hydrogel spray which is used in chronic wounds and ostomy problems that are difficult to heal. Those are sold at most pharmacies in the first aid supplies, and you can also find hydrogel sprays, such as in some Vetericyn and Theracyn hydrogel products at feed stores and Amazon. But be sure to remove any oil or ointment. Here is some reading about it:
http://old.woundcareadvisor.com/apple-bites-vol2-no6/

 

[coach723]

I personally would use absorbable on the crop, and if they don't work switch to non-absorbable. You could use either on the skin. My preference would be to not have to remove sutures from the crop, if possible.

 

[ebl081]

I think that the advice by @coach723 is very good. A vet might do this for you as well. The only other option I can think of is to try a hydrogel dressing or hydrogel spray which is used in chronic wounds and ostomy problems that are difficult to heal. Those are sold at most pharmacies in the first aid supplies, and you can also find hydrogel sprays, such as in some Vetericyn and Theracyn hydrogel products at feed stores and Amazon. But be sure to remove any oil or ointment. Here is some reading about it:
http://old.woundcareadvisor.com/apple-bites-vol2-no6/

Good article. I am going to see if my local pharmacy has some tomorrow. I may try to use it in conjunction with the sutures. Just a little bit to ensure closure. I think I will try the suture route since the eco bond I tried didn't work. Thank you for your help!

 

[ebl081]

I personally would use absorbable on the crop, and if they don't work switch to non-absorbable. You could use either on the skin. My preference would be to not have to remove sutures from the crop, if possible.

I just ordered some and watched some videos. I'm going to try sutures and maybe a little hydrogel to get a good seal. I'll post an update with the results

 

[dianm50]

Good article. I am going to see if my local pharmacy has some tomorrow. I may try to use it in conjunction with the sutures. Just a little bit to ensure closure. I think I will try the suture route since the eco bond I tried didn't work. Thank you for your help!

Ok i have the same problem, but my bird doesn't have any loose skin to stitch its scabing over the crop. But food leaks out from top n bottom. Ive use liquid skin ,not holding well. Theres no vet to help in my area ?

 

[ebl081]

Ok i have the same problem, but my bird doesn't have any loose skin to stitch its scabing over the crop. But food leaks out from top n bottom. Ive use liquid skin ,not holding well. Theres no vet to help in my area ?

So I did not end up posting an update on this but my chicken healed nicely from her crop wound. I had ordered stitches but they didn’t come quickly enough so I never ended up using them. I applied pine tar instead twice a day and kept her on her back for a few minutes after to make sure it didnt just leak off. Some food continued to come out but keeping it clean each day with a disinfectant spray and applying the pine tar kept out infection. It slowly healed after about a week or so. I only gave her some crumble food so that large pellet pieces wouldn’t open the wound further. This is all just my experience with this one bird but maybe the pine tar could work for you!

 

[Eggcessive]

Ok i have the same problem, but my bird doesn't have any loose skin to stitch its scabing over the crop. But food leaks out from top n bottom. Ive use liquid skin ,not holding well. Theres no vet to help in my area ?

It might help to post a clear picture of the injured crop. Crop surgery is ideally done by a vet. Some use sutures, but crops sometimes are closed by superglue. There are 2 surfaces—the crop itself, and the skin which need to be closed separately. There are numerous videos of crop surgery online if you do some Googling. I have never seen a crop injury, but it was not too severe, it could heal. If it was severe, I would consider culling if it could not be closed.