badly Injured silkie hen

[rocky11]

A few hours ago, i noticed my silkie's comb was bleeding as if it was ripped off. In cleaning her up, i found another wound on the top of her head. It looks like she was pecked for hours. I cleaned the wounds with peroxide and applied neosporin. She seems a little off but not totally. I applied betadine as well. The top of her head is swollen now and looks like her brain is exposed. I have her comfortable in my house by herself with food and water. She will eat a few pecks here and there. She's not new to the flock but she is with 4 standard sized hens. They are all such nice birds. I can't believe this happened. I'm afraid she is going to die. I want to help her if possible and make her comfortable but I dont know what else to do.

 

[petejd]

Sorry about your silkie. Keep up the good work. Your doing all you can.

 

[rocky11]

thank you

 

[alcap]

Is she still eating and drinking ?

 

[Christie Loves Silkies]

I'm so about your bird
Your doing your best.
I'd be keeping an eye on her to make sure she eats and drinks.

 

[rocky11]

eating and drinking a little bit..

 

[Christie Loves Silkies]

I'll be praying for her.
I really hope she lives.
Keep us posted on her progress.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

If her brain is exposed I'd put her on an antibiotic if you think she has a chance.

If it were me, I'd either take her to a vet or try to suture it up myself if there is enough skin to work with. I would feel that I had nothing to lose, since with exposed brain...well that's not good.

Keep her calm and quiet...you are doing the right thing.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=230566
Here is a thread where some talk of suturing themselves.

I understand if you just want to wait and see...just trying to be helpful as I cannot really tell how bad it is from the pic.

 

[marshallbrown]

Oddly enough, I had a similar situation with one of my reds today. We found that she had been pecked hard enough to create about a dime sized hole in the top of her head. It doesnt appear that her brain matter is exposed but it could have happened easily enough if we did not discover it sooner. If I can get her to heal with some treatment, am I able to put her back in the flock or will this just happen all over again? What causes this type of behavior? Any help or suggestions would be most appreciated.

 

[Uniontown Poultry]

If you can get your hands on some Blood Stop Powder this may help. It makes a seal over a bloody open wound - looks just like it was sealed up with tar. Once the seal's in place, the wound heals on its own, possibly forming a scar. Powdered sulfur is also good, but that Blood Stop is like magic. You can often find it in the feed stores & if you don't see it, ask (b/c it may be in horses' section).

If you don't do the Blood Stop, you can also stitch up your silkie is you have a needle you can sterilize, some good clean thread (I use silk if I can, but cotton is ok, just soak it in betadine solution). I've had to stitch up 2 silkie hens, and they were so shocked they were easy to sew up.

Rest of treatment: I agree that with a head wound, all you can do it wait and see. You chicken may be 100% better, may have nerological issues (one of mine had recurrent seizures following a bad head wound), or may not pull through (you may be at the "kill or cure" stage). Keep your hen isolated, give her electrolytes, and give her heat / put her in a warm place (calms and relaxes and lets them use their energy for things othere than body temperature). If you can keep her warm w/o light, keep her in a quiet, dim place to help her rest. Stimulate her appetite with some healthy treats like grapes or melon. Best of luck!!