Jtaranc
Songster
- Sep 26, 2022
- 120
- 281
- 121
Heres an update on my year old BCM who I found in the pasture 2 nights ago after she didn't go up in her coop to be put up.
I found her with a very clean U shaped cut on the back of her head down her neck. The tissue under did not sustain any damage. We are assuming this was a passing grab by a hawk or owl.
We immediately called our vet and he discussed maybe bandaging her neck. I did not feel this would heal well because every time the hen stood up straight and looked around, the flap of skin would roll up like a window shade. I just didn't feel it would granulate well.
Because her wound fit back together like a perfect puzzle piece, I elected to use my skin stapler. I always keep several in my first aid kit, we purchased them on Amazon and they are sterile and one time use.
I trimmed as much feathers back as I could to see the edges of skin, flushed with saline, then flushed with dilute betadine, and pulled the skin down and stapled while she ate watermelon. The staples do not go deeper than the first layer of skin.
Our vet recommended an LA 200 injection as well.
This is day 2. The skin edges fortunately are nice and pink. No sign of necrosis. The staples have held well.
Hen is inside our home in a pen, she's eating and drinking and laying eggs. I can tell she feels better because she is starting to get sassy.
I work in an emergency hospital in small animal medicine, so I just tried to do what we would have done there.
I did leave small spaces at the bottom of the wound open in case we had an infection that needed to drain but no sign of that thus far.
And the wound passes the sniff test
I found her with a very clean U shaped cut on the back of her head down her neck. The tissue under did not sustain any damage. We are assuming this was a passing grab by a hawk or owl.
We immediately called our vet and he discussed maybe bandaging her neck. I did not feel this would heal well because every time the hen stood up straight and looked around, the flap of skin would roll up like a window shade. I just didn't feel it would granulate well.
Because her wound fit back together like a perfect puzzle piece, I elected to use my skin stapler. I always keep several in my first aid kit, we purchased them on Amazon and they are sterile and one time use.
I trimmed as much feathers back as I could to see the edges of skin, flushed with saline, then flushed with dilute betadine, and pulled the skin down and stapled while she ate watermelon. The staples do not go deeper than the first layer of skin.
Our vet recommended an LA 200 injection as well.
This is day 2. The skin edges fortunately are nice and pink. No sign of necrosis. The staples have held well.
Hen is inside our home in a pen, she's eating and drinking and laying eggs. I can tell she feels better because she is starting to get sassy.
I work in an emergency hospital in small animal medicine, so I just tried to do what we would have done there.
I did leave small spaces at the bottom of the wound open in case we had an infection that needed to drain but no sign of that thus far.
And the wound passes the sniff test
