Puncture to crop

[crittercaretech]

Hello,
I guess I'm looking for a little reassurance that my girl can recover from an injury to her crop. Dolly is a special needs polish pullet about 5 months old. While she is usually part of the dog family she just got nipped when she decided to crawl on top of and scare our sleeping older dog. She lost a few feathers and I looked her over inch by inch and almost missed a small tear and a tiny puncture over her crop. I only noticed it as there was a little bit of pasty chicken feed stuck to her feathers and it came from her crop. No blood and alert and acting normal at this point. She is panting on and off but not terribly uncommon for her. The 110 Las Vegas summer heat is hard to escape even with the AC on sometimes. I clipped the feathers around the wound to be able to find it again, keep and eye on it and keep it clean. I rinsed it with saline and applied vetricin. There are no veterinary services available at this late hour on a Saturday. A few weeks ago we had another chicken problem involving my neighbors bird and found out none of the emergency clinics were open minded to see a chicken. I know every injury is unique but is this something a bird can recover from. I have never had an Injury like this in any of my birds. I have seen them recover from some impressive wounds but now that it's my bird I am feeling a little unsure. Worried mom here. Any recommendations or things that I can do to prevent complications would be appreciated. I'm sure my brain and ability to think reasonably will return once I see she will be ok. But in the meantime I'm useless

 

[RumneyRoost]

Someone on one of my chicken Facebook groups actually went through something similar. They posted an update this morning and the hole has closed up and the hen is doing really well.

They flushed it, treated with an antibiotic spray, then closed the wound with superglue.

 

[azygous]

Consider closing the wounds with super glue as @RumneyRoost suggested. Be sure to glue both the crop sack puncture and the exterior tissue puncture.

If you don't wish to do that, continue the very good wound care you've begun, and do it until the wound closes completely. I suggest feeding soft foods or wet mash until the wounds heal.

 

[crittercaretech]

Thank you for the replies. Had internet issues so I didn't see this right away. Great suggestion with the super glue. Something I have suggested myself in the past but worried mom's can't think of those things. Gave her a moistened mash earlier and she ate a fair amount. She is alert and enjoying a cuddle watching TV but a little quieter than usual. I will update in a few days and let you know how she is doing.

 

[casportpony]

How's your girl doing?

 

[crittercaretech]

I tried to glue it but she wouldnt leave it alone and ended up tearing it open and made the hole slightly bigger then before. It's slightly smaller then dime size currenty. After that we just left it open and clean it daily. Luckily she is used to being in the house as she is almost completely blind and only goes outside a few hours a day when she is healthy. I cant imagine how impossible it would be to keep it clean and fly free if she was outside. Anyway the hole has covered over with a scab. For several days it had lay mash paste in the opening and if she overexerted or we picked her up it would ooze out. She has continued to eat drink and have normal bowel habits all along and except for a new respect for our old dog she is unphased by the injury. Thank you for asking about her I think we are headed in the right direction and should be healed before we know it. Here is a photo of our sweet pre injury Dolly,

the one who caused her momma to almost have a heart attack with worry. BYC members to the rescue once again

 

[azygous]

Dolly is a star.

 

[casportpony]

Thanks for the update, she is beautiful!