Chicken has air pocket under skin

[brewmiss96]

Hi there,

So my dog go ahold of one of my chickens last week and she was okay except for a few holes, they almost looked like abrasions they were not ripped or bloody. I cleaned them and have been watching her. She is energetic and eats and drinks just like the other chickens, but when I picked her up today she has this bubble from her crop down to the bottom of her keel where there is air or gas between her skin and her body. Is there something I should do to make it go away, or should I just keep an eye on her?

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

OH no I hope you get some answers...I wanted to bump your thread to see if you could get anyone who knows what this could be. Good luck!

 

[silkiechicken]

Remember to wait more than 5 minutes before bumping things since you're not supposed to be doing it at all.

Sounds like the dog attack may have ruptured one of her air sacs. Not sure what you can really do about it though. Best of luck.

 

[aliena614]

yup sounds like a pneumothorax (the presence of air or gas in the pleural cavity) if left alone it will re-absorb! I would keep her where she can rest as much as possible! good luck and hope she does well!

 

[Davaroo]

This often results from caponizing, too, and is called an air puff, or most often, a "wind puff."

As long as there is no other internal damage, you're alright there and aliena is likely right on track. If it bugs you, you can do what caponizers do: prick it with a pin to let the air out and, well... there you go.

Better get the dog under control, though. Once they get the taste of chicken in their mouth, it's a rough road thereafter...

 

[aliena614]

If you are going to try to asperate it (poke it with a needle) make sure it is a hollow one so the air is released with the needle in place dont go poking with a straight pin! Get a 18gauge needle from the feed store! The kind you give vaccines with! insert it at an angle just under the skin into the air pocket! If there is blood return back out asap! good luck!

 

[WrenAli]

I would just leave it to reabsorb. Aspirating them can lead to infection.

It may take a while but it will work out.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Here is info for you on that:
http://dlhunicorn.conforums.com/index.cgi?board=emergencies&action=display&num=1161887881

 

[Davaroo]

Wow great stuff! I stand corrected, for the most part. Unless I had a hypodermic needle, I'd leave it alone.
Man, you guys are smart...

 

[brewmiss96]

I do have sterile syringes and 16 ga. needles (both my mom and my boyfriend's mom are nurses) so I could aspirate it... just didn't want to without knowing what caused it, and now that I'm thinking about it she had a little gassiness when I was handling her after the dog got her so it may not be related to that. If it gets any larger and tighter I will aspirate it.

My dog has been a bit of a problem, I would love to let him guard them, but he's a bird dog and if they start running or flapping around playing he gets excited. Thankfully he has a soft mouth so he's not hurt any, but I can't get anymore until I have a place to keep them apart.

Thank you for the help!