Hi all! Newbie to the forums here. I didn't want to post about this until I knew the outcome. We had a chicken get run over by back of the chicken tractor as it was being moved about 6 weeks ago. As would be expected, the pullet (Caroline) sustained some pretty ugly injuries. I splinted her broken leg w/ a pincher clothespin, cotton balls for padding and vet wrap. I'd done this successfully for another chicken earlier this fall. After setting her leg I realized that her skin was laid open on her back from near the front of her right wing, running down her back and ending near the top of her thigh. Curious, but no blood to speak of and all the muscles were intact. Because I'd rather try to mend than to put down another chicken (been there, done that due to a hawk attack), I experimented by sewing her skin back together w/ needle and thread while my daughter held her. Here's what I learned: the chicken was much more cooperative than expected. Not sure why- shock? She didn't flinch or wiggle or anything. Secondly, this works like a charm! I expected her to be dead each day for about a week afterwards but no infection was noted and the break in the skin (which was originally about 6 inches long) healed cleanly in about 10 days. I did try to give her antibiotics in her water starting about day 3 post injury but she wouldn't drink the stuff. I did smear the stitched area w/ people type triple antibiotic after suturing and again 3 days later and again at 6 days post op. The sewing needle and the thread was dipped in rubbing alcohol before use to sterilize them. Does anyone else have experience w/ this?
