Super Glue comb back down

azygous

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Dec 11, 2009
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Yesterday I posted that my SLW pullet had her comb scalped halfway off her head. I cleaned it up with peroxide and put her in a crate in the coop overnight to keep her safe from the others picking at it.

I had this brain flash this morning - why not Super Glue her comb back down to her little head? Absolutely! Hell, mechanics, carpenters and farmers all use it to treat lacerations. It's in all their tool boxes! Who needs a vet? Who needs fancy stitches?

So I brought in the patient and we got out the Gorilla Super Glue, and one drop under the flap, hold in place for thirty seconds, and good as new! I got a tad on my finger and almost glued myself to her head, but we got unstuck and she is now back in the fold, none the worse for wear.

It seemed perfectly dry under the flap, so I don't think there's much chance of any bacteria being trapped under there. And my biggest worry was the others would be attracted to the loose flappy comb and rip it the rest of the way off. And a girl has to have a comb!

Sure hope this works and there aren't any unforeseen consequences.
 
When it comes to the comb if there isn't any blood flow or the glue is preventing blood flow to the comb itself, it may not heal and just turn black and fall off. If and it sounds like some was still attached, some part of it may heal. I would just Dub the comb because it will be better for her in the long run.

AL
 
Aha! You pulled a KISS... keep it simple stupid!! Very Smart. Glad to hear she has her comb back in order!!
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Good Job! I will also keep this in mind just in case I ever have an issue like this!
 
Problem is, that it needs to be done within a few hours, the less time the better, you may have compromised the blood supply by wiating, and the area may slough off any way... Good Luck
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Thanks for the feedback on this. This is one of those cases where you try to stop a worse problem from cropping up with a little ingenuity and materials on hand. I was most worried about the others being attracted to the flappy comb and yanking it the rest of the way off. We did solve that.

It does appear that the separated part of the comb is now turning black, indicating it won't survive. If that's the case, it will want to slough off.

I figure it was worth a shot, and it still might survive. In any case, if this ever happens again, I won't hesitate to utilize Super Glue in lieu of sutures, and will try my best to do it as quickly as possible.
 
We superglued a Delaware chick hatched with its intestines out of a large umbilical opening. Was going to cull it and sat it aside on a washcloth to tend to another one, then DH said why not superglue it. He gently pushed the intestines back inside, pinched the two sides of the opening together and I used the superglue (best to use the regular type, not the gel). joletabey owns that little one and he's about six or seven weeks old now.
 
Uh oh. Just found her running with the flock with her damaged comb a-flapping again!

There's fresh blood, indicating it did not come loose all by itself. They're pecking at her comb. She was eager to go back into the crate on the garage work bench to rest up from the attacking hoard.

I'm all for cleaning it off with peroxide, drying it out, and re-super-gluing it. I need something to put on her comb to keep the rest from pecking it, but I have no blue-coat, or as my feed store sells (when they stock it) "Peck-no-more". So I, always delighted to improvise, thought Vicks Vapo-rub might work. To test it out, I held the open jar under her beak to see if she'd dig in or be repelled. It was the latter, so I will give it a try.

On closer inspection, though, it appears her comb has a natural sort of tail feature that's never been attached. It looks kind of like those racy bike helmets with the pointed projection on the rear. How would I go about bobbing it? You know - amputate the pointy back part that seems to be attracting pecking? Do I just clip it off with some nail scissors? Who's done this comb surgery? I need tips.

Or should I just do nothing? Experts?
 
Wyandottes have a little point on the backs of their combs that sticks out like that; just ignore it. You might want to keep her separated for a while if the Vick's doesn't work, but I think she'll heal up fine.
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