What color is a chicken bruise??

[tstefanick]

I have a friend who as my husband puts it, "knows all things animal." She's so amazing because she's only 32. She says the wing has to go or the gangrene will spread and the poison will get in her bloodstream. And also she says she will get maggots and while most people think maggots only eat dead flesh, they will chew on live flesh to kill it so they can eat it.

So, sadly, tonight when hubby gets home we are doing an amputation at what I would call the "elbow" of her wing. It's the joint just above the middle portion of her wing, the part that has two bones like our forearm. Sterilized tin snips and a torch to cauterize. She will then be in isolation for a few days to heal.

I'm giving her amoxicillin and poly vi sol to boost her health and ability to fight the infection.

Will let you know how things turn out. Thanks for your concern. She's a cute, little, 3-month-old Salmon Faverolle. I really hope I don't lose her.

Theresa

 

[threehorses]

If you do the amputation, note that if you leave the joint end, the joint will still produce joint fluid which will fill the area. It may require draining.

In our case, when we had my turkey's wing amputated (after a clean dislocation), the vet amputated mid-bone which did cause air leakage, but the air leakage healed and ceased. Of course, he was a vet with the right equipment.

I understand that there are 'pinion' surgeries which (I believe?) still leave the joint end.

In any case, bird bruises can be green - and broken bones can cause leakage. Maybe reading this post can help:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=211237

If there is indeed gangrene, then yes - it does have to go. And yes - if there are any chances of maggots, the maggots MUST go. People constantly throw out the "but maggots clean wounds" theory. But this is not so in a real life situation. In real life, maggots spread disease through a wound. We're not talking about maggots cultured in a sterile lab and applied by a trained technician, or even the type of maggots they use there. In real life, blow flies will eat live flesh and burrow into the insides of the bird and kill them. Regular maggots spread bacteria. So thank you for sharing that information.

 

[toredano]

A bruise is not allways black..
It depends where its located at.


My RP Hen had a huge hematoma and bruising on her head.. it was not black.. it was blue-ish, actaully more of a turquoise.. then greenish then .. gone
This was the day after the attack from the hens.

 

[threehorses]

Exactly. My big scare, on day 2 of Ella's surgery, was that her area was black-green and swelling. I thought for sure it was going bad. But it was bruising. You can't see it in the pictures, but it was really horrible looking. I've seen dying flesh before (horse injury) and still was worried.

 

[mypicklebird]

birds bruises start out red/purple, but as they fade they will often turn blue/blue green. The color can be shockingly bright green. This is NORMAL. They have a different blood cell structure, and as the blood breaks down in the tissue to be recycled into the body, the color is often different from mammals. Green is not always bad if you are a bird.

 

[tstefanick]

Sorry I've been so negligent in my correspondence. We got the operating room ready on Wednesday, sterilized everything we could and grabbed the patient. Flipped her over and to our total surprise, her wing had improved. At that point she had been in isolation and on oral penicillin for about 24 hours. The green area was smaller and it never had any foul odor so we decided to let her be. I changed her from oral penicillin to injectable and she continues to improve each day. I am so relieved and happy. I even think maybe her wing isn't drooping as much today.

 

[threehorses]

Well this is great news! See, I think you went through the same thing I did with my turkey and her wing bruise. It really looked necrotic - I just couldn't check off the other requirements of the necrosis list. I cried all night over that wing, waiting til the vet was in the next day only to find that all my tears and prayers were unnecessary. /sigh I'm glad tho, and I'm very glad for you!

 

[tstefanick]

Three horses,

Your prayers weren't unnecessary...they were answered. I'm glad we applied the tincture of time I've heard about so often working in the medical field. She still continues to improve. Today will be her 4th injection of PCN. Then we stop that and see how things are. If her status backslides, I'll give her another 4-day regimen. At this point, I'm thinking she won't need it.

tstefanick

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
LOL this is true.

Yes, people tend to say bad things about iodine, but really if you use it on the first day and any time you suspect something is going bad, it's a life-saver - literally! I'm so very glad that your girl is doing well. Yes, I think you're right in that she's likely out of the woods now. Let's hope, and pray. /wink

 

[PoultryPedia]

Quote:
I have 2 Brahma roosters who lost the tips of toes due to scaley leg mites. Is there any possibility your roo had that problem, too?