Pneumothorax? Now what?

[michelio]

Hi, I hope I don't get in trouble for posting this again since it is now part of my other post but... my chick most likely has a pneumothorax. Can she survive? Should I let the air out? I actually have all sterile supplies and I am sure it cant be comfortable.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i'm not sure how many folks on this board are qualified to address your issue. Sounds like you need an actual vet. Can you get your chicken to a vet's office? Or are you qualified to operate on an animal?

 

[michelio]

Well, I wasn't sure if anyone has dealt with this. I couldn't find much info on it. When I said "should i let the air out" I did not mean that I was going to operate. I did call the vet but was told that the stress of the trip might kill her. I have a friend who is a vet tech but could not get a hold of her at the moment. We did end up "letting the air out" by using a sterile needle and such. I really didn't think this was any more of an operation than stitching up a wound would be. I was pretty frantic at the moment so please don't write me off in the future. Thank you for letting me know why I wasn't getting any replies.

She is doing very good now. Thanks everyone. This is an awesome site.

 

[Ariel301]

Aww poor chicken. It's good that she is doing better!

 

[babsbag]

You are brave. Although I was an EMT and I do know what a pneumothorax is, I don't think I could stick the needle in. Did she get her chest punctured when the cat bit her? At least I think that was your post.

 

[michelio]

Yea, when the cat bit her. Ugh! I can't beat myself up enough for letting that happen! I love my cats but when they start acting like cats it gets really frustrating! Ha ha...
If it was just a small bubble of air I would of left it alone but it was 1/3 the size of the chick. She is only approx 2 weeks old.
The other day my cockatiel laid an egg and had a uterine prolapse! I called the vet then also and it was really the same situation (the trip to the vet would most likely kill her).
He told us what to do and it worked! We just used sterile supplies (a lot of health care workers here with sticky fingers)-kidding, kinda
and with a little antibiotic ointment we "put it back". It was insane to say the least. She is perfectly fine now. At least until she tries to lay another egg! Praying that she won't!

Well, as far as the hillbilly chest tube goes,

I am definitely not suggesting that anyone do this but I felt as if it were the only thing I could do, other than culling her and that would of been a lot harder to do I think.

 

[Kansaseq]

Was it a true pneumothorax, or subcutaneous emphysema? I wouldn't think you'd be able to see a pneumo. With dogs and cats, you see a lot of respiratory distress, and we use radiographs to diagnose it. Never seen it on a chicken, though, and I'm curious.

 

[michelio]

I saw a post here where someone had used that verbage but wasn't totally sure what i was dealing with at the time. So, no pneumo. It is a air sac rupture, so yes to subcutaneous emphysema