Today I operated on my hen having a huge swollen mass under 1 of her eyes. she had a 'cold" a couple of months back which we cleared up quick enough. But it settled in this eye and grew.
After reading the threads on Bumblefoot I did that surgery with success on this bird.
Got me to thinking if this was something amounting to much the same problem. Bacteria/infection gone astray.
SOOOOO......today i got out my chicken Doctor kit and grabbed her up. into a warm bath.....snipped off her crest feathers to keep the area clean and so I could see what I was up against (polish hen) and wrapped her up into a nice warm towel after cleaning her eye area well.
Upon close inspection.... underneath that huge swollen mass, was that same dark "plug" the chickens get with bumblefoot! This mass was hard as a rock. I have no local vets so I am always on my own. Thank goodness for this group.
I took out my scalpel and made a small incision around the outside diameter of that black round plug.....and out came a large plug/mass as I gently squeezed the area. But the worst was to follow because it was still jam packed inside with white/yellow rubbery gunk. I used tweezers to grab & pull it out in pieces.....all the while kinda milking the putside to go towards that open wound.
When I was finally done pulling/squeezing and flushing this mess out it was likely the size of 2-3 marbles had been removed. Her eye is now wide open and she can see again.
Phew, I can't believe I did that. This bird is my Frankenstein hen who gets me to experience ALL types of chaos and I adore her.
I then flushed with saline and packed the large open space with antibiotics. there was so much skin left hanging loose due to the mass size it was remarkable. Blow dried her.....Placed her comfortbly in a cozy cage in my warm basement for the time being so she can eat special mash and be spoiled.
I then sanitized my tools and everything we had touched.
I sure hope I don't have to do that again!
But if I do..... I know I can pull it off.
After reading the threads on Bumblefoot I did that surgery with success on this bird.
Got me to thinking if this was something amounting to much the same problem. Bacteria/infection gone astray.
SOOOOO......today i got out my chicken Doctor kit and grabbed her up. into a warm bath.....snipped off her crest feathers to keep the area clean and so I could see what I was up against (polish hen) and wrapped her up into a nice warm towel after cleaning her eye area well.
Upon close inspection.... underneath that huge swollen mass, was that same dark "plug" the chickens get with bumblefoot! This mass was hard as a rock. I have no local vets so I am always on my own. Thank goodness for this group.
I took out my scalpel and made a small incision around the outside diameter of that black round plug.....and out came a large plug/mass as I gently squeezed the area. But the worst was to follow because it was still jam packed inside with white/yellow rubbery gunk. I used tweezers to grab & pull it out in pieces.....all the while kinda milking the putside to go towards that open wound.
When I was finally done pulling/squeezing and flushing this mess out it was likely the size of 2-3 marbles had been removed. Her eye is now wide open and she can see again.
Phew, I can't believe I did that. This bird is my Frankenstein hen who gets me to experience ALL types of chaos and I adore her.
I then flushed with saline and packed the large open space with antibiotics. there was so much skin left hanging loose due to the mass size it was remarkable. Blow dried her.....Placed her comfortbly in a cozy cage in my warm basement for the time being so she can eat special mash and be spoiled.
I then sanitized my tools and everything we had touched.
I sure hope I don't have to do that again!
But if I do..... I know I can pull it off.
