Baby Chick with Eye Poked Out!!

[moodymetoo]

I probably made a HUGE mistake but it's done and now I have questions......I went into Tractor Supply last night and saw a baby chick all alone. I asked what was wrong and was told that the other chicks had poked her eye out. Yup, sure thing! Sooooooooo......I took her. Now what?! I have her under a heat lamp in a safe place. I have food and water in there, and shavings. I put her beak in water, and have had her drink out of a dropper, but she doesn't seem to want to eat or drink on her own. Her eye area is all bloody, but I don't know what to do! She is peeping, and can stand........what do I do to help her?! I have four grown hens and I read that an injured one will never be accepted...is that true? Any advice would be SO appreciated!! She made it through the first night, and I think she is 3 days old (she is a leghorn).

 

[SIMZ]

Are you looking for a practical answer? That's a pretty traumatic injury and it's not a good sign that the chick won't eat or drink on its own. Putting the chick down seems like a compassionate solution.

Although, since you took the chick, I'm assuming you aren't looking for a practical answer? lol I'd suggest taking it to a vet and spending a lot of money for proper wound care and medication. Chickens shouldn't be raised alone, but that eye is going to get pecked by other chicks until it heals. I'd suggest getting a few friends for it and keeping them separated by some wire or something that they can see through but not get to the injured chick. In the meantime, get some Nutri-Drench and an eye dropper. Dilute the ND to a weak tea color and carefully offer the chick some to get some nutrition into it. Maybe that will boost it enough to get it to eat on its own. Keep it warm - but not too hot.

The injured one very well can be accepted, as long as it can function well when it's healed. They will usually bully and pick on a weak or injured flock member - especially with an open wound.

Best of luck! Keep us posted!

 

[moodymetoo]

Sigh....I guess practical is out of the question now lol! Is there anything I can put on her eye to clean it? I'm at work and my daughter just called me to say that "Onesie" drank a lot of water out of the dropper. Stupid question......there was food in with the chicks at Tractor Supply, does that mean that they already know how to eat and my chick isn't eating due to her injury? Thank you so much for replying!

 

[SIMZ]

Yes - the chick probably isn't eating and drinking on its own because of either trauma or injury. Be careful giving water with the eyedropper because it's easy to force water into the lungs and that can be a death sentence (pneumonia). I like to hold the dropper to the side of the beak and place a drop on the outside of the beak, so when the chick opens her mouth the drop goes in. Then I'll let a drop form on the end of the dropper for the chick to peck at.

Sometimes a chick already has a problem and that causes the others to pick at it, so the eye injury may have been secondary.

Chickens hide pain and injury really well as a prey animal. I think it can be too easy to put them through unnecessary suffering because of that. I'm not sure what you could clean an eye with - from the standpoint of what I'd want put in my ruptured eye that wouldn't cause unnecessary suffering. Most antiseptics aren't for use in eyes. Try to do some googling and see what you can come up with or contact a vet.

Hopefully someone will chime in with some wound care advice for you. Can you post some pictures of the injury? That might give a better idea for people to give specific help.

I don't mean to be a complete Negative Nelly. It's probably not hopeless!

 

[moodymetoo]

Thank you for the water advice. I wondered if there might be something else wrong with the chick, and have second guessed getting her as soon as I got home. Now my 22 year old daughter is in love, and I wouldn't know how to "cull" Onesie now anyway. I took her to avoid further suffering, and I may have prolonged it! I feel bad

 

[coach723]

Veterycin makes an eye wash that would be safe to use, you could also use sterile saline to rinse it. If you see signs of infection you can use Terramycin eye ointment, both are usually available at Tractor supply. You can also try giving the chick a mirror (unbreakable) for 'company' so it doesn't feel alone, and a feather duster suspended so they can get under it and in the feathers can be a surrogate mom that is comforting. There may be something else wrong, or not, you can only try. It may just be really stressed from whatever happened. They do tend to get stressed and lonely when alone.

 

[moodymetoo]

I SO appreciate all the advice! I put an alpaca stuffy in with her and she LOVES it!! It gets warm under the light, and of course, it's very soft. I purchased some saline solution to wash the eye area, then applied Veterycin eye gel. She is now eating, and has continued drinking from the dropper (side of the beak as advised, an electrolyte and probiotic formula). I'm hopeful!

 

[SIMZ]

Yay! If she's eating on her own that is HUGE! It sounds like you're on the right track and things are looking up!

From your earlier comment about feeling bad....DON'T! I've been there many times along with lots of us! Sometimes it turns out well and other times it doesn't. But having your care and comfort is a lot better than being pecked in a store, so you can feel good about that, regardless of how it turns out!

 

[moodymetoo]

You are so kind! Eating, but not really on her own unfortunately. I make a mash out of her food and put it along my thumb while she is cuddled in my hand. She has learned to peck away at it.

 

[coach723]

Glad it's looking better! Sometimes encouragement and contact with another living thing can help them pull through and give them the will to keep going. I wish you the best and hope it goes well. Here is a link with some info on helping weak chicks, which is not exactly your situation, but much of the info may be helpful. I have used the neckerchief technique myself several times and it often does help. Hopefully as she strengthens she will soon start eating on her own. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-chicks-to-survive-hope-it-is-helpful.367608/