UPDATE with PICTURES:Chicken with ripped throat!!!!

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

I personally feel the stitches were a good idea. I'm not in the medical field, but I have seen cases of doctors leaving wounds open for a few days to drain and stretch skin and THEN stitching so I don't feel this is much different. Also, I saw no scabbing in any picture...maybe clotting but not scabbing. Good job!

 

[rbaker0345]

She will probably be fine, but honestly, it will be in no way due to the stitches. I am not trying to be condescending. I have a degree in microbiology and I know like I know the sky is blue and the grass is green, that wounds do better when open to the air. There are three things that bacteria hate most in this world, even worse than antibiotics: oxygen, light and a lack of humidity, its their kryptonite. Fly eggs can be prevented with a simple dusting of wound powder. So she has a scar, I could think of a lot worse things. Her trachea would have been fine just covered up with some nitrofurazone.

There is a reason that medical science has progressed from the dark ages where people used thread and sterilized their sewing needles with a flame. If you insist on stitching wounds, keep two things on hand. A sterile suture kit, and a bottle of penicillin. You can buy a suture kit on ebay and your local feed store should have the penicillin.

A note on maggots: maggots will keep a wound clean and free from infection. Doctors in burn units are now using maggots to clean the necrotic flesh from people with 3rd degree burns on significant portions of their bodies. The job that maggots do can prevent a person from expiring from DIC (disseminating intravascular cooagulation) and sepsis. Never underestimate the power of a maggot. I once found a week old wound on a cochin (I had been away and a friend was watching him), it was the most horrifying thing I had ever seen at the time. I felt the wound when I picked him up and when I turned him over it was like a horror show entitled "Night of the Chicken Maggot Butt". I was up until 3a.m. cleaning maggots out of his butt (the wound was just behind his vent). When I brought him into work the next morning, the vet I worked for said it was the cleanest wound on a chicken that he had ever seen, no necrosis, no infection, no need for antibiotics. Maggots aint so bad.

 

[rbaker0345]

Nice stitches, though. But don't use perroxide, use betadine. Perroxide can mascerate a wound and it is a powerful oxidizing agent with really no drying action.

 

[chkn]

Looks like a good job. Red flag though for a possible possum attack. You need to secure their perimeter and house at night so no critter can crawl over or under and gain access. Something happened there.

Some antibiotics would be a good idea. Definitely don't allow a maggot infestation to occur. They have special maggots they use in a hospital environment. The ones we see will kill a chicken quickly so treatment to get rid of them is urgent. It's a life threatening emergency.

 

[CMV]

Quote:
It all depends on what type of maggot ends up in the wound. Not all maggots are beneficial, and not all maggots eat dead flesh. See screwfly maggots.

As far as the stitching goes- you have done a nice job, but used inappropriate materials. If you leave that stitching in for any length of time you are going to be ripping it out and reopening the wound when you decide it is time to remove the stitches.. The wound is going to stick to the thread as it heals and skin is going to try to grow into the threads.

For the record- I don't think you have taken the best course of action. I think you have needlessly complicated this situation when you really didn't need to do much of anything. There is a chance that this is going to turn out badly, but chickens are so tough that she will likely be fine despite anything you do to her. It's your bird so you can do what you want.

Good luck.

 

[remuda1]

I'm glad to see that your hen is doing well. I think it was a good idea to leave drainage holes. One way to get around reopening the wound during stitch removal would be to apply some dabs of super glue without it touching the stitches, then remove the stitches while things are still loose and moist. I would then apply more super glue where the stitches had been but be careful to leave a little opening at the bottom of the wound for drainage.

Hope you'll keep us posted on how it goes for her

.

 

[NatureBoy86]

You know whats hilarious?? Pretty much everyone whos had an opinion or stated something they lived thru, in one instance their right and in another instance their completely incorrect. Lol Humans havnt made it this far by not making mistakes or taking chances, stitches are good, stitches are bad, open wound good open wound bad! Hahaha In reality nothing we do will change whats ment to happen and what inevitably is going to happen, I say good job with all youve done, Hope she makes a speedy recovery, please keep us posted.

 

[Beaky Buzzard]

Hello everybody , thanks for posting, I might post some more pics later . Everything looks about the same, if anything it is better. I didnt seperate her,she hates being in any sort of confinement ,because she is used to free-rangeing. She is molting as you can see. i will cotinue with updates. As far as the posibilty of maggots, I think she is safe. It has frosted pretty hard up here and remains cool for flys to be out,
Thank everybody!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

b

 

[Beaky Buzzard]

She is doing great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Beaky Buzzard]

She is doing great three days since the surgery and still no infection. As far as I can tell.

I will post new pictures so everyone can see what she looks like!!!!!!!