3 day old chick, scratching its head off, HELP, (BLOODY PIC!!!)

[Miss Lydia]

as much as the poor thing has been through and still living means she is pretty tuff cookie.. I hope she gets over this and happy to hear the other is better..

 

[alessadry]

She has still a good appetite and drinks ok, if it wasn't for these itching fits that can last up to 20 minutes she would look like a normal chick..I just hate not knowing what is going on because I would at least try to help her..

 

[Miss Lydia]

has she cut herself up with her sharp nails? you might try trimming them just a bit to see if that would help with the tearing of her skin.. It's surely a mystery.

 

[alessadry]

No, she has no wound so far..just the skin is irritated mostly on the days she scratches the most.. the hatchery just contacted me and watched the video I posted and they are concerned it may be a reaction to the Marek's vaccine.. this really worried me, now..

 

[artsyrobin]

hows she doing?

 

[b.hromada]

Quote:
thats great news! So happy to hear its doing better now.

 

[leahschicks]

Anyone still able to answer questions for this thread i am having the same problem right now!?!? Did you just put neosporin on the chick wounds? Mine just scratched the feathers off no open wounds yet.

 

[Bessetti]

So glad I found this thread!! This is exactly what my dark brahma chick is doing, I thought it was seizures at first!!

 

[CPFarms]

We received 7 (day old) chicks 3wks ago. We have them in a stock tank in the house with fresh pine shavings. I don't know the breeds for sure yet. They were a batch of brown egg layers. The chick I am to describe is black with some white. It may be a barred rock. They were all fine the first 24 hours or so. The 2nd or 3rd day one of the chicks began the head scratching on both sides of the head. It would frantically scratch then fall over on its back and look like it was shaking/seizuring for several seconds. It would get up and run under the heater. There were times it was still, but quite frequently it would resort to scratching. I called MPC where the chicks came from and they hadn't a clue. I saw these postings, but no clear solutions. Luckily the skin was not broken. There was nothing visibly wrong to address. One thought I had was that it got dust, food, or water in its nostrils and was trying to eject it. Or maybe a seizure. These chicks did not have the Marek's vaccine.

We just observed and pampered it making sure the other chicks didn't attack it when it was on its back. After the 5th day, the scratching just stopped. The chicks are 3 weeks old now and all seem fine.

I don't have a remedy to offer, just hope that it may be a temporary ailment or sensitivity that is not fatal. The MPC representative shared a personal story she had with a day old chick she had. It was fine when she picked it up but when she brought it home all it could do was walk backwards.?? This went on for hours maybe a day or so, then it just figured it out and walked normal again. Her point was that sometimes there are just quirky things that work themselves out.

Just trying to offer hope.