Chick emergency

[Hopeful homesteader]

We put eggs under a hen 2 weeks ago and I assume we missed an egg cause 1 hatched today. It looks fully grown with no defects so I assume there was a hidden egg. I found the chick away from the nest with the hen trying to push it under her and the chick has a wound on both sides of it's head so I'm not sure what happened but I think another hen came and pecked at it and she was trying to protect it. I took the chick and she went back to her eggs. I dabbed the wounds with a wet paper towel to clean out the bedding that was stuck in it and applied triple antibiotic ointment and it's in a makeshift brooder now. There is some blood in the coop where I found it but not much and the bleeding has stopped and I made save a chick electrolyte for it. It's still been pretty lively, wobbling around the brooder and chirping a lot so I gave it a little stuffed chick toy to hopefully keep it company. I'm not sure what else to do now? How often should I clean the wounds and apply new ointment? Is there anything else I should do to help it heal? What signs should I be looking for that would indicate I need to cull it? It's so lively now I think it has a good chance of recovering but I don't want it to suffer unnecessarily either. How long should I wait before introducing other chicks in with it? I've never had an injured bird before.

 

[Hopeful homesteader]

 

[Hopeful homesteader]

It's still chirping loudly this morning and is walking around better. I don't think it's eaten yet, I can't say if it drinks when im not looking but I dip its beak whenever I go check it every few hrs and I try tapping at the feed, it pecked the feed once but I know it's still early and doesn't need food just yet. It pooped once last night too which was mostly watery with a small black and white dot. I've never seen a newly hatched chicks first poop so idk if that's normal? It's alternating between lots of chirping and moving around and sleeping so aside from the wounds it seems like a normal chick to me

 

[Hopeful homesteader]

The left side of it's face is swollen now, the right side doesn't look very swollen at all but it also isn't as badly injured, it's still able to open both eye's and turns it's head and follows my hand to snuggle under it so vision seems to be ok. It pooped a second time this one also watery but green this time. Still waiting for care instructions but I've just applied more triple antibiotic ointment and tried tapping at some feed again with no results, idk when it'll be hungry but I'll keep trying to show it food and water.

 

[Lor]

Poor little thing. I think keeping the wounds clean an using the antibiotic ointment is a good thing. Have you tried wetting the chick food or using some scrambled egg to see if it will eat that way?

 

[Lor]

You can also try syringe feeding if she won't eat on her own. Just have to be very careful when doing so as not to aspirate.

 

[Hopeful homesteader]

Poor little thing. I think keeping the wounds clean an using the antibiotic ointment is a good thing. Have you tried wetting the chick food or using some scrambled egg to see if it will eat that way?

Not yet, I estimate it's just over 12 hrs old now so it's not really interested in food yet. It seems to just want to snuggle and nap.

 

[picklestheduck]

Can you post pictures of the swelling on the head? I would say try to clean the wounds with saline solution as well before the triple antibiotic. The triple antibiotic is pain relief free correct?

 

[picklestheduck]

To make saline just boil a quart of water and let it cool down. Then add 2 teaspoons of table salt and a pinch of baking soda. (This helps it not to sting). Cover and shake well until it’s all dissolved and stir with a clean spoon. Then apply to the wounds for cleansing before cream.

 

[Hopeful homesteader]

To make saline just boil a quart of water and let it cool down. Then add 2 teaspoons of table salt and a pinch of baking soda. (This helps it not to sting). Cover and shake well until it’s all dissolved and stir with a clean spoon. Then apply to the wounds for cleansing before cream.

How do I keep the rest of the chick dry while rinsing the wounds and avoid filling its nose with saline? I assume blow drying it on low would be bad for the wounds as well so I want to avoid wetting it if I can. Would dabbing with a cotton ball saturated in saline be sufficient? And no pain reliever in the ointment, it's just the plain antibiotic.