Help! My baby chick got her eye poked out!

Quick run down, I have five chicks, all roughly four weeks old, all have been together since 2-3 days. This evening I went out and found my favorite baby in the corner and she wouldn't come to us. We got her out and they pecked her eye out on one side, pecked at the other side and pecked her head. I'm so mad I could spit! We've never had chickens before and I guess I'm going to have to toughen up because I'm heart broken. We brought her in and put her in a seperate pen, IF she makes it I'll put her back out with them but in her own pen so she won't be alone. Any tips? Do you think she will make it? Can they ever be together again? Will they do it to each other? Sorry for so many questions, I'm just at a loss here!

Is she sick?

Unfortunately they tend to peck at anything shiny, eyes included. I would divide off a section of the brooder so they can still see each other but not get to her for a while. Will make it easier to reintroduce her to the group. She will learn to adapt to having only the one eye.

MamaRudey said:

Is she sick?

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Well I didn't think so. She is a little smaller and always seems to be a follower but has been eating and drinking just fine and ran around with them. She liked us more than the others did and just seems a little bit slower but nothing major.

Oh my! I'm so sorry to hear that about your baby!! I hope she heals well!

Oh I see so they are all the same age! Sounds like she's probably sick and they picked up on it. Like another person said, try to seperate them, but keep them together and hopefully they won't pick on her when you put them back together. But there are no guarentees, sometimes when a bird gets black listed it sticks. How big of a space do you have them in? Maybe they are feeling cramped and turned on the smallest? And don't hate them all for it, you may just have one bully.

Oceanseve said:

Oh I see so they are all the same age! Sounds like she's probably sick and they picked up on it. Like another person said, try to seperate them, but keep them together and hopefully they won't pick on her when you put them back together. But there are no guarentees, sometimes when a bird gets black listed it sticks. How big of a space do you have them in? Maybe they are feeling cramped and turned on the smallest? And don't hate them all for it, you may just have one bully.

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I'm not sure of the dimensions but I'd say for four week old chickens it's pretty darn big. They have a lot of running space. I don't have them in a box anymore, they are in a coop with an outside fully fenced area. I have one Polish that I am beginning to think might be a boy. I am wondering if he did it. Of course he's so young I'm not certain if he's a boy yet, but he just acts a little different. I don't hate them but I'm not happy. I'm not sure if I'm mentally prepared for what's ahead with chickens. I have four daughters that are going to be so sad when they get home. We spend a lot of time with these little babies and think of them no different than our cats or dogs. I've still got a lot to learn and apparently I'm learning some tough lessons early on. If she heals I'm going to be scared to ever let her with them again, guess I'll just have to keep a very close eye of them. Thank you for your input.

I would clean out any and all woulds immediately, with a disanfectant, and put Blue Coat (Purchaseable at a local feed store) on it to keep out infection. If your baby gets her wounds infected, it is very likely she will die. Make sure she stays in a clean area, and has acsess to clean water all the time. Im sorry this happened to you, you and your baby are in my prayers.

Just make sure to rinse it wiTh saline. And you can by coating drops at a pharmacy like if you scratched you eye. I had a one eyed chick and it just shriveled up and she was fine. Good luck!

jens-hens said:

...I'm not sure if I'm mentally prepared for what's ahead with chickens. I have four daughters that are going to be so sad when they get home. We spend a lot of time with these little babies and think of them no different than our cats or dogs. I've still got a lot to learn and apparently I'm learning some tough lessons early on. If she heals I'm going to be scared to ever let her with them again, guess I'll just have to keep a very close eye of them. Thank you for your input.

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You're feelings are NOT uncommon. I have a small 20 acre organic farm and all but two of my first flock of 12 RIR were killed by a neighbors dog at around 10 weeks. I was devastated! My son came in the house and told me not to come outside and told me what happened. He took care of them for me, but one came home two days later wounded, and another was found by a neighbor, and I thought for SURE she was going to die. She was my favorite chicken. But Sunshine made a full recovery after several weeks of in-home care and lots of love.

I waited for a few months and got the nerve up to try again. I lost many of them too. My Sunshine died a couple of weeks ago. She was the one who was attacked near to death (3 years ago). It's definitely more difficult when you've bonded with a few.

My chickens are free range. They are only locked up at night in an electrified coop and yard. But sometimes that doesn't even work. I've had opossums get in there somehow. I am in the process of building a new yard and large house as I've just received 40 beautiful babies. I lost 5 overnight. It's hard when you hand raise these youngins and feed them and love them so, but if you are looking to raise hens, as much as I HATE to say this, you do need to be prepared to lose them on occasion.

But for now, DO enjoy them. They are so fun to watch, raise and love. I wish you healing in your heart and courage to continue!


Much Love!
Tracy