Post Crop Surgery Questions

[Kiki]

Yes, I am in northern California.

I think she ran to the store real quick.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Why do these emergencies happen on a weekend or holiday I'd be too chicken to do surgery of any kind, in my younger days perhaps but not anymore

 

[staceyj]

I vote for a vet too but if that’s not possible, you can try to correct this.

2 days since the original surgery?

I’d order “fishmox” 250 mg online ASAP.
Just antibiotics isn’t going to solve this problem though in my opinion.

Everything she’s eaten and drank since the surgery is potentially leaking into the space between the crop and the outer skin layer (a fistula) and gravity is holding it like a balloon.

But that stuff in there is potentially festering.

I would reopen this girl.

Don’t wear white while doing this.

Gather towels beforehand.



Flush out the cavity with sterile saline with just a small amount of povidine SOLUTION (*NOT scrub!) mixed to the color of tea.


Lay the bird on her side on a pile of towels.
Towels on floor is a good idea too.

Flush the pocket copiously until the liquid coming out looks exactly like the liquid going in. You are rinsing the wound with this antiseptic solution to kill infection causing microorganisms.

You might need to jiggle and gently squeeze to get it back out but STOP if it DOESN’T come out.

Gently, but with confidence you need to feel inside this fistula for globs of food as well as any tunnels in the wound.

Find the original incision in the crop.

Flush that as well.

When you are sure it’s cleaned out, proceed.

If the crop incision still looks clean and fresh around the edges, and doesn’t look necrotic, approximate the sides to see if they’ll meet together well. You want to plan and visualize how you’re going to put it back together.

dab it dry it with sterile gauze.

You have two choices here.
Suture it.(optimal, even if all you have is strong thread)
Or
Glue it shut, carefully with a small amount of crazy glue from a fresh clean tube.

Less is more.
Use tweezers or forceps to hold the wound together while the glue catches.

*Do not rush to close the outer wound until you’re sure the crop is holding.

If the crop tissue looks sickly or very dried up at the edges, with sharp scissors you’ve cleaned with alcohol or boiled for five minutes then let cool on a clean towel, cut it very neatly away vertically.

Gently hold pressure til bleeding has completely stopped, (patience here) then proceed with the glueing.

I wouldn’t hesitate to just glue the outer skin.

I would only provide water with electrolytes for 24 hrs following surgery to let the crop get a head start on healing.

Then only soft foods for a week or so such as
scrambled eggs and yogurt for a few days then soft mash for a few more.

Not trying to sound bossy. And others may have better ideas but my phone is about to die and my daughter has my charger and won’t be back for an hour or so.
Very best wishes to you.

 

[Kiki]

I vote for a vet too but if that’s not possible, you can try to correct this.

2 days since the original surgery?

I’d order “fishmox” 250 mg online ASAP.
Just antibiotics isn’t going to solve this problem though in my opinion.

Everything she’s eaten and drank since the surgery is potentially leaking into the space between the crop and the outer skin layer (a fistula) and gravity is holding it like a balloon.

But that stuff in there is potentially festering.

I would reopen this girl.

Don’t wear white while doing this.

Gather towels beforehand.



Flush out the cavity with sterile saline with just a small amount of povidine SOLUTION (*NOT scrub!) mixed to the color of tea.


Lay the bird on her side on a pile of towels.
Towels on floor is a good idea too.

Flush the pocket copiously until the liquid coming out looks exactly like the liquid going in. You are rinsing the wound with this antiseptic solution to kill infection causing microorganisms.

You might need to jiggle and gently squeeze to get it back out but STOP if it DOESN’T come out.

Gently, but with confidence you need to feel inside this fistula for globs of food as well as any tunnels in the wound.

Find the original incision in the crop.

Flush that as well.

When you are sure it’s cleaned out, proceed.

If the crop incision still looks clean and fresh around the edges, and doesn’t look necrotic, approximate the sides to see if they’ll meet together well. You want to plan and visualize how you’re going to put it back together.

dab it dry it with sterile gauze.

You have two choices here.
Suture it.(optimal, even if all you have is strong thread)
Or
Glue it shut, carefully with a small amount of crazy glue from a fresh clean tube.

Less is more.
Use tweezers or forceps to hold the wound together while the glue catches.

*Do not rush to close the outer wound until you’re sure the crop is holding.

If the crop tissue looks sickly or very dried up at the edges, with sharp scissors you’ve cleaned with alcohol or boiled for five minutes then let cool on a clean towel, cut it very neatly away vertically.

Gently hold pressure til bleeding has completely stopped, (patience here) then proceed with the glueing.

I wouldn’t hesitate to just glue the outer skin.

I would only provide water with electrolytes for 24 hrs following surgery to let the crop get a head start on healing.

Then only soft foods for a week or so such as
scrambled eggs and yogurt for a few days then soft mash for a few more.

Not trying to sound bossy. And others may have better ideas but my phone is about to die and my daughter has my charger and won’t be back for an hour or so.
Very best wishes to you.

 

[casportpony]

I think she ran to the store real quick.

I vote for a vet too but if that’s not possible, you can try to correct this.

2 days since the original surgery?

I’d order “fishmox” 250 mg online ASAP.
Just antibiotics isn’t going to solve this problem though in my opinion.

Everything she’s eaten and drank since the surgery is potentially leaking into the space between the crop and the outer skin layer (a fistula) and gravity is holding it like a balloon.

But that stuff in there is potentially festering.

I would reopen this girl.

Don’t wear white while doing this.

Gather towels beforehand.



Flush out the cavity with sterile saline with just a small amount of povidine SOLUTION (*NOT scrub!) mixed to the color of tea.


Lay the bird on her side on a pile of towels.
Towels on floor is a good idea too.

Flush the pocket copiously until the liquid coming out looks exactly like the liquid going in. You are rinsing the wound with this antiseptic solution to kill infection causing microorganisms.

You might need to jiggle and gently squeeze to get it back out but STOP if it DOESN’T come out.

Gently, but with confidence you need to feel inside this fistula for globs of food as well as any tunnels in the wound.

Find the original incision in the crop.

Flush that as well.

When you are sure it’s cleaned out, proceed.

If the crop incision still looks clean and fresh around the edges, and doesn’t look necrotic, approximate the sides to see if they’ll meet together well. You want to plan and visualize how you’re going to put it back together.

dab it dry it with sterile gauze.

You have two choices here.
Suture it.(optimal, even if all you have is strong thread)
Or
Glue it shut, carefully with a small amount of crazy glue from a fresh clean tube.

Less is more.
Use tweezers or forceps to hold the wound together while the glue catches.

*Do not rush to close the outer wound until you’re sure the crop is holding.

If the crop tissue looks sickly or very dried up at the edges, with sharp scissors you’ve cleaned with alcohol or boiled for five minutes then let cool on a clean towel, cut it very neatly away vertically.

Gently hold pressure til bleeding has completely stopped, (patience here) then proceed with the glueing.

I wouldn’t hesitate to just glue the outer skin.

I would only provide water with electrolytes for 24 hrs following surgery to let the crop get a head start on healing.

Then only soft foods for a week or so such as
scrambled eggs and yogurt for a few days then soft mash for a few more.

Not trying to sound bossy. And others may have better ideas but my phone is about to die and my daughter has my charger and won’t be back for an hour or so.
Very best wishes to you.

 

[casportpony]

@CPBlaire, just wanted to say that you shouldn't feel bad about what happened because you're right, most of the posts and blogs don't mention that the two need to be sutured separately.

 

[staceyj]

@CPBlaire, just wanted to say that you shouldn't feel bad about what happened because you're right, most of the posts and blogs don't mention that the two need to be sutured separately.

I’m back.

I totally agree with this statement.

@CPBlaire,
You’ve gone far above what most chicken stewards are willing to do!
And you’ve done a great job so far.
You got this.


Here’s a few more thoughts.
If you feel like you can’t reopen the outer incision because it’s started to knit back together, make a new one.
Yes it would be a bummer to have two (exterior) wounds have to heal, but a fresh one would heal with less complications than ripping open flesh that’s already trying to heal. Plus, you will have to rough up the edges of the wound anyway to encourage it to knit to its opposite side.

To do this you would take the scalpel and scrape the edge of the wound until it bleeds readily.

And a note on stitching,
Don’t make your needle’s entrypoint too close to the very edge of the tissue you’re trying to pull together. Aim for a few millimeters out. (Into undamaged skin) This discourages tearing of the tissue which may be compromised and fragile at its edge.

Also when bringing the two margins together, bring them to touching but DON’T make it so tight as to smash the sides tightly (because that isn’t good for circulation) You just want it to butt up snug to each other.

Each stitch should be knotted several times.(3-ish) Leave a little tail on each so you don’t accidentally snip the knot when you snip the thread.

 

[Kiki]

I’m back.

I totally agree with this statement.

@CPBlaire,
You’ve gone far above what most chicken stewards are willing to do!
And you’ve done a great job so far.
You got this.


Here’s a few more thoughts.
If you feel like you can’t reopen the outer incision because it’s started to knit back together, make a new one.
Yes it would be a bummer to have two (exterior) wounds have to heal, but a fresh one would heal with less complications than ripping open flesh that’s already trying to heal. Plus, you will have to rough up the edges of the wound anyway to encourage it to knit to its opposite side.

To do this you would take the scalpel and scrape the edge of the wound until it bleeds readily.

And a note on stitching,
Don’t make your needle’s entrypoint too close to the very edge of the tissue you’re trying to pull together. Aim for a few millimeters out. (Into undamaged skin) This discourages tearing of the tissue which may be compromised and fragile at its edge.

Also when bringing the two margins together, bring them to touching but DON’T make it so tight as to smash the sides tightly (because that isn’t good for circulation) You just want it to butt up snug to each other.

Each stitch should be knotted several times.(3-ish) Leave a little tail on each so you don’t accidentally snip the knot when you snip the thread.

 

[Cyprus]

@staceyj are you in the medical field? Sounds like it.

 

[staceyj]

@staceyj are you in the medical field? Sounds like it.

I’m “a jack of all trades, master of none”.
To answer your question I am very fortunate to have had a diverse medical background.

...Now I live a boring life and have replaced my grown kids with chickens.