To stitch or not to stitch???

[Aunt Mildred]

As many of you know based on our recent posts, our chickens suffered a wild animal attack about two weeks ago. The wounds for the most part are healing very well and feathers are starting to grow back like crazy. They are eating and drinking well. This post is concerning two wounds on Aunt Louise the chicken who was mauled the worst.

She had large surface wounds all over her back from having feathers ripped out. 90% of the wounds scabbed over and the scabs have fallen off as we wash and treat them each night. Under the scabs that have fallen off are new feathers and mostly healed skin (a few tiny unhealed areas but nothing significant)

There are two wounds of concern - the scab over one came off (nickel to quarter size) last night to reveal a big open hole. No infection but it looks as if the skin above and the flesh below are not actually connected. I dont see how this can actuall grow back together? there is another similar spot at the joint between her wing and body (quarter sized). This spot has formed a scab inside of the hole over the flesh but the skin above is open and not connnected to the flesh below. I think the reason this one did not scab over completely like the other is because it is constantly re-opened when she moves her wing.

Should we just continue to keep these areas clean and disinfected or, our neighbors are both in the medical field and have offered to stitch up the two spots with proper medical supplies.

I am looking for advice on the pros, cons, and recommendations from others - if we do stitch how do you recommend we keep the wound from infection and do we use any type of numbing agent aroung the wound before stitching - (I already know from previous posts not to use any type of "Caine")

Thanks

 

[Love my Critters!]

The wounds are too old to stitch up. Also you do not want to stitch up a bite wound because of all the bacteria, it will cause an infection. The "hole" you are describing will granulate in, meaning it will heal from the bottom of the hole up to the surface. If you can help it, try not to remove the scab. For the hole by the wing, you may need to softly "bandage" her from moving it so much so it can also heal. Hopefully restricting her movement of her wing will keep the scab on. After the initial attack, I'm sure you cleaned up the wounds very well, therfore you do not need to be washing them everyday. You only need to do this if there is an infection you are trying to clean out and get rid of.

 

[Aunt Mildred]

Thanks for the info, I am sure Louise would appreciate not having to go through the cleaning process every day (saline cleanser with a swab of betadine over the wounds). I am just paranoid that if we don't keep cleaning them she will get an infection that will set back the healing. She stays inside most of the day but goes out when we get home to spend a little time outside which she really enjoys. We try to keep her from rolling in the dirt, and she wears a vest we made to keep her from picking. We don't pick the scabs off, we let them fall off as much as possible. Would it hurt to put a little neosporin or betadine on once a day or do you really mean just leave her alone unless there are signs of infection (paranoid)??

 

[Zahboo]

Could you use ace bandage to keep that wing held closed.

 

[Morning Dove]

Not that cats and birds are the same, but my cat had a half dollar sized gaping hole in her leg, and with antibiotics, and regular flushing, it closed up on it's own with no stitches......it took FOREVER (3 months) but it did close up......

Dove

 

[Aunt Mildred]

That is a good idea, it would also help hold down the back of her vest - it is hard to hold down the back of a chicken vest on a chicken with no tail feathers!

 

[Aunt Mildred]

How often did you clean the cat wound? did it do okay outdoors as far as the dirt and all or is it an indoor cat??