9 week old baby attacked last night

[Trisseh]

I would stick with amoxicillin for now... you can get some weird side effects with metronidazole, neuro stuff that you don’t need on top of the rest of what’s going on with this little one.

 

[Trisseh]

Also, the brown tint to the discharge may actually be a good sign - older blood that’s starting to break down, rather than frank red fresh blood that would indicate a continued bleed. Definitely watch for pus or foul odours to that discharge. You said he had a puncture wound on his head - it may even be connected to that, depending on what structures were hit.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Day 3 update.... He is getting a little stronger each day. I gave him some amoxicillin mixed with Gatorade last night. This morning he definitely was fighting me with the dropper and wanted nothing to do with it.

I also noticed his crumble was more disturbed and a little spilled outside his cage so I think he is trying to eat. I also cooked him up some scrambled egg and he appears to have tried to pick at it at least because some is on the ground. His poo is still runny but now a mix of brown and yellow.

I also caught him trying very hard to drink water today. I took the video below and then walked away for at least 30 minutes. When I came back, he was still voraciously trying to drink. It seems he is having some trouble with his beak closing properly. The whole front of his chest and neck is soaked from him trying to drink. Not sure what to do about that but keep giving him antibiotics and watch to see if it heals....

 

[TJAnonymous]

Forgot to mention, as I watched him try to drink, he still has some mucus-y goo draining from his beak but it appears clear today

 

[Eggcessive]

You can give him 57 mg per pound of amoxicillin twice a day for 7 days. I would apply a dab of plain antibiotic ointment into his eye to keep it from sealing itself again. When I have a sick chicken needing to eat and drink, I will mix some very watery chick feed, a few bits of scrambled egg, tuna, or canned cat food. Add water to each. Then I sprinkle on some dry feed a little at a time to stimulate them to peck at it. Do this at least twice a day.

 

[BFen]

Glad to see him progressing! What a little fighter!

 

[Trisseh]

Oh wow! He certainly looks a lot more “with it” than before. I concur with mush food to start with, with some interesting bits on it to encourage him to try. good way to get extra water into him too, without too much effort on his part. I’ve used Oxbow critical care for birds before, it’s nice because it’s higher calorie so less of it goes further and can be made to whatever consistency you need.
Hopefully he doesn’t have too much damage in his jaw and it’s just the swelling that’s causing him to not be able to close his mouth.
I’m so happy for you that he’s improving at least a little!!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

 

[TJAnonymous]

You can give him 57 mg per pound of amoxicillin twice a day for 7 days. I would apply a dab of plain antibiotic ointment into his eye to keep it from sealing itself again. When I have a sick chicken needing to eat and drink, I will mix some very watery chick feed, a few bits of scrambled egg, tuna, or canned cat food. Add water to each. Then I sprinkle on some dry feed a little at a time to stimulate them to peck at it. Do this at least twice a day.

Thanks for that information! Very helpful.... I did mix some chick starter with water in a little condiment bowl set it on top of the crumbled grower/finisher that he seemed to be pecking at earlier, but I don't think he's getting much. I put some scrambled egg in there earlier and I've found a piece or two on the floor of his cage, but again...I think he's TRYING but unable to really grab or swallow it. However, he does seem much livelier this afternoon than he has been. I tried to pick up him and hold him and actually started flapping and chirping wildly which he hasn't done at all since this whole thing happened several days ago.

Unfortunately, his eye has swelled shut again. He was able to open it just a sliver this morning. I will use some warm water and a soft cloth to try to clean it again. I think we have some eye antibiotic drops somewhere. Would those be safe, do you think?

 

[TJAnonymous]

Oh, I have noticed him losing a lot of feathers... Is that a natural reaction to trauma?