Help! Very torn comb

[deviflux]

I just found my chicken with a very severely torn comb. I looked here and elsewhere online and I’m just totally lost as to what the best thing to do is.

My gut reaction was to clean it as best I could and slather on neosporin. She keeps shaking her head and I’m afraid she’ll hurt herself even more.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Poor girl. It looks like you're on the right track of what to do so far.

She's shaking her head because it does hurt and she's trying to rid herself of the pain and everything on it. For right now, I would put her somewhere very dark to relax her. Come tomorrow, you'll want her to get some light, but I would keep her separated from the flock until she's made a full recovery. (By saying separated, I'm meaning in a way they can't further injure her, like keep her in a cage or closely supervised. I would allow her around them at least once a day to keep the pecking order though.)

 

[deviflux]

Thank you! Is it best to keep it uncovered?

I’ve got her in a quiet, warm, dark place for the night and will be checking on her again after dinner.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Thank you! Is it best to keep it uncovered?

I’ve got her in a quiet, warm, dark place for the night and will be checking on her again after dinner.

You're welcome. Yes, keep it uncovered.

 

[Eggcessive]

Was she attacked by another chicken or rooster? Has the bleeding slowed? Head shaking can aggravate the torn comb, and cause more bleeding and pain. Occasionally, the comb might have to be trimmed off or “dubbed” with very sharp scissors, but hopefully, she will do okay without that. A wire dog crate with food and water plus bedding, can be a good way to keep her separated and also with her flock, so that she remains in the pecking order. Let us know how how she gets along.

 

[deviflux]

I suspect maybe my rooster but I really don’t know. She’s been weak and struggling with some digestive issues so she’s been kept separate in a crate during the day the last two days so I can monitor what she’s eating and her poop. I’ve seen him kinda run her off from the food (I assume because she’s not well) but he’s never been directly aggressive. I put her in the enclosed run late this afternoon, sat with them all for a bit, was gone for 30 minutes and came back to find her like this. She was limp when I found her and I actually thought she was gone.

Still some bleeding but not too heavy. I think her head shaking is definitely prolonging it. I’ve got her inside in a crate for tonight. She devoured the food when I moved it close to her.

She’s so weak already, I just hope her little body can take the added stress of the injury. Poor thing.

 

[Eggcessive]

Let us know how she gets along.

 

[deviflux]

Let us know how she gets along.

She made it through the night and ate a tiny bit this morning.. I added some Nutridrench to her water but haven’t seen her drink any. I’m going to leave her be again for a few hours and let her rest.