Bullied Blue Cochin head split open, deep gash

[ChickenLord33]

Our Blue Cochin got beat up by one of our Ameraucanas today and it's the worst injury I've seen on a bullied chicken. The top of her head looks split open, about an inch in width and it looks like it's deep down to her skull! Not just a bloodied pecking but a deep split on the top of her head, showing the thick white of her meat split to what looks like her bone. When I went out there to put them in for the night it was bloody around the head but the actual gash looked like it had more of a clear fluid.

I isolated her in a our nursing coop and sprayed the gash with some disinfectant but I worry that it won't heal because its so deep and the skin sorta opens up on each side and doesn't stay closed depending how she sits. A human would have to get staples or stitches. She is acting normal, will eat, and drink, walks around normally etc.

Is there anything anybody could recommend to me? Should I keep spraying it with disinfectant? Should I rinse it out with anything first?? Should I use another product?

 

[nuthatched]

Just let it scab over for now and monitor it.

 

[Eggcessive]

From your description of the wound, I am surprised that she is walking around, eating and drinking. Can you post a picture of the wound? What is the disinfectant you are using? I would not use peroxide, but saline, or a wound spray would be okay. Most would also use antibiotic ointment on the wound until healed. She probably needs to be kept separated, so other do not peck the wound. Do you have any idea why she was attacked?

 

[ChickenLord33]

From your description of the wound, I am surprised that she is walking around, eating and drinking. Can you post a picture of the wound? What is the disinfectant you are using? I would not use peroxide, but saline, or a wound spray would be okay. Most would also use antibiotic ointment on the wound until healed. She probably needs to be kept separated, so other do not peck the wound. Do you have any idea why she was attacked?

Thank you, I made a saline solution with 2 cups boiled distilled water and 1 tsp non-iodized salt that I'm cooling down now to put into a syringe to rinse it out better. As for the spray I used vetericyn wound spray. I just want to make sure it gets cleaned out enough and I think spraying it initially was not enough...I will use the saline solution to clean it out, then dry around it with gauze and then apply the spray again I think.

For the antibiotic ointment, can I use a human one? Like neosporin? I will get some pics as soon as I go out there and rinse the wound out in 15min.

She has been bullied in the past but never so badly...we just had our oldest queen of the roost die 2 weeks ago so I think they are restructuring their order and she is on the bottom of the totem pole. I'm almost thinking she will have to be separated forever now and maybe give her a Silkie friend or something, I dont know...

 

[ChickenLord33]

From your description of the wound, I am surprised that she is walking around, eating and drinking. Can you post a picture of the wound? What is the disinfectant you are using? I would not use peroxide, but saline, or a wound spray would be okay. Most would also use antibiotic ointment on the wound until healed. She probably needs to be kept separated, so other do not peck the wound. Do you have any idea why she was attacked?

Here are some pics after we cleaned it. It was hard to get a good photo... There is a flap of scalp towards the back of the gash that kept folding back when she'd shake her head that I had to flap back over. You can kinda see the depth in the first two pics when she leans forward but in person with the right angle it's deeper than it looks in the pics. You can see the line of the split in the last photo when the skin is together when she leans up.

I cleaned it up good with the syringe of saline solution and then sprayed it with vetericyn

 

[nuthatched]

Here are some pics after we cleaned it. It was hard to get a good photo... There is a flap of scalp towards the back of the gash that kept folding back when she'd shake her head that I had to flap back over. You can kinda see the depth in the first two pics but in person with the right angle it's deeper than it looks in the pics. You can see the line of the split in the last photo

My hen looked like that a few months ago, she healed fine but her head feathers grew back white so now she has a mohawk.

 

[ChickenLord33]

My hen looked like that a few months ago, she healed fine but her head feathers grew back white so now she has a mohawk.

That's great to hear, thanks... and a mohawk would suit her well

 

[Sg-chickens]

Thank you, I made a saline solution with 2 cups boiled distilled water and 1 tsp non-iodized salt that I'm cooling down now to put into a syringe to rinse it out better. As for the spray I used vetericyn wound spray. I just want to make sure it gets cleaned out enough and I think spraying it initially was not enough...I will use the saline solution to clean it out, then dry around it with gauze and then apply the spray again I think.

For the antibiotic ointment, can I use a human one? Like neosporin? I will get some pics as soon as I go out there and rinse the wound out in 15min.

She has been bullied in the past but never so badly...we just had our oldest queen of the roost die 2 weeks ago so I think they are restructuring their order and she is on the bottom of the totem pole. I'm almost thinking she will have to be separated forever now and maybe give her a Silkie friend or something, I dont know...

Hello! We have a very similar situation going on. We had a flock of 3, but our head hen past about 2 weeks ago and think there could be a reordering. Our Cochin who’s been bullied in the past by our Australorp in the past and the lowest in the pecking order, was found yesterday with what look like a gash on the back of her head. It’s by far the worst injury we’ve seen on any of our hens. She’s eating, drinking, and otherwise acting like a normal hen, but definitely scared of the australorp. They have a large coop (8x8) and run (11x16) and places for the bullied one to get out of the way. Did the behavior end up subsiding between your two hens? Did you have to keep them separated? Any advice or pointers would be super appreciated!

 

[BobbyNix]

Our chicken Maddie was attacked last month by a hawk in that same spot and the injury looked identical but a bit worse. Both eyes were swollen shut and she was a real mess. We separated her then treated her for the first few day with peroxide but after that used only blu kote. Happy to report she is back with the flock, strong as ever and laying.

 

[lintlicker]

Our Blue Cochin got beat up by one of our Ameraucanas today and it's the worst injury I've seen on a bullied chicken. The top of her head looks split open, about an inch in width and it looks like it's deep down to her skull! Not just a bloodied pecking but a deep split on the top of her head, showing the thick white of her meat split to what looks like her bone. When I went out there to put them in for the night it was bloody around the head but the actual gash looked like it had more of a clear fluid.

I isolated her in a our nursing coop and sprayed the gash with some disinfectant but I worry that it won't heal because its so deep and the skin sorta opens up on each side and doesn't stay closed depending how she sits. A human would have to get staples or stitches. She is acting normal, will eat, and drink, walks around normally etc.

Is there anything anybody could recommend to me? Should I keep spraying it with disinfectant? Should I rinse it out with anything first?? Should I use another product?

keep it clean and dry, disinfect and triple antibiotic in isolation until cleared.