midnoight
In the Brooder
- Jul 29, 2018
- 27
- 65
- 47
Our two australorp broodies hatched out two chicks (one to each hen). Our less aggressive broody rejected her red chick before it had even fully hatched, and I moved it to the aggressive hen's nest with her black chick which was happy and healthy. The nest day- both hens were in the same nest (i dont think that's normal). Both chicks were still alive and healthy, although upon sight of the red chick, both hens went berserk and started attacking both chicks, pecking and scratching in the nesting box. I took the two chicks away and set them up in a dog crate setup (one that we'd used to raise our hatchery-bought chicks before). The black chick was perfectly fine- slightly shocked, but fine. The smaller red chick however had a large wound (in comparison to it's body) beneath it's wing. the wound exposed it's leg muscle and what I thought was a bone but I really didn't get a great look at it- i really didn't want to. I put neosporin, vaseline (only a small amount, that's what my parents put on my cuts but>???), and a small circular bandaid to keep out infection. That was all for the first day, and the chick was barely eating and just learning to drink.
The next day was better. The red chick was eating and drinking with the bigger black chick, and I even took them outside for a bit (they got cold, i brought them in after about a minute). I applied more neosporin and kept another small bandaid on the wound. All was good.
The next day, things were looking even brighter! The wound was healing quite nicely, and the chick seemed to be much stronger (although compared to the black chick, which was growing like a freak, it looked meek). I applied more neosporin to try and keep infection out, and took them outside.
Today it seems the red chick has relapsed. It is extremely tired and stopped eating and drinking halfway through the day. I did apply a small bit of neosporin to the wound, which was still healing nicely. I'm very worried, though, as the two chicks seem to be inseparable and I would really hate to see the black chick left all alone until we get our batch of 12 day olds from the hatchery (we're scheduled to get them august 5th).
I'll try and get pictures of the injured chick tomorrow. But with this info, is there anything I could do to try and save the red chick? And if it does pass, is there anything I can do to keep the bigger chick company until we get the day olds?
The next day was better. The red chick was eating and drinking with the bigger black chick, and I even took them outside for a bit (they got cold, i brought them in after about a minute). I applied more neosporin and kept another small bandaid on the wound. All was good.
The next day, things were looking even brighter! The wound was healing quite nicely, and the chick seemed to be much stronger (although compared to the black chick, which was growing like a freak, it looked meek). I applied more neosporin to try and keep infection out, and took them outside.
Today it seems the red chick has relapsed. It is extremely tired and stopped eating and drinking halfway through the day. I did apply a small bit of neosporin to the wound, which was still healing nicely. I'm very worried, though, as the two chicks seem to be inseparable and I would really hate to see the black chick left all alone until we get our batch of 12 day olds from the hatchery (we're scheduled to get them august 5th).
I'll try and get pictures of the injured chick tomorrow. But with this info, is there anything I could do to try and save the red chick? And if it does pass, is there anything I can do to keep the bigger chick company until we get the day olds?
