Cannibalism wound treatment

[Hidden Chick]

Went out this am and my new chicken (which I thought had made her way into the flock) was lying on the ground with a horriable nasty wound on her head. The entire top of her head is raw, no feathers, and it looks like several layers of skin have also been pecked off, She is in shock right now and I am afraid to treat her wound if I should at all. I have removed her and she is in a safe warm place. I feel like anything I do to try and clean her wound is going to cause her extreme pain, since their body temps run higher, do I need to worry about infections? She is a small bird (Bantam size) and I read an thread on giving them baby aspirin, I am not sure how much I would give her,. (not to good at the milligram stuff) I don't she will take it right now away, like I said not moving much. Any advise would be helpful..worried about this sweet little chick.

 

[BayBay Peepers]

Poor girl. You're going to have to clean it. It's true it will probably be a bit painful, but in the long run it's best. If it gets infected it will be much more painful. Just gently clean away any dirt. If you have a way to bandage it with some soft gauze or vet wrap you could put some neosporin on the wound. Avoid the kind with pain reliever.

As for baby aspirin I hope someone else chimes in as I do not know the amount. In the meantime keep her warm and have fresh water and fresh feed available.

 

[Hidden Chick]

Oh this is not going to be easy for me. Should I just use plan water? Should I wait for her to come out of shock? Thank you so much for responding. I think I knew I needed to clean it, but needed some encouragement.

 

[BayBay Peepers]

It'll be ok. I've also had to have a little push to do things I don't feel I'm ready to face. Try a little peroxide. Then rinse it with water. You want to make sure it really gets cleaned. If you can bandage it put some peroxide on it and cover it up. I'd check it and change it twice a day.

 

[Hidden Chick]

 

[Hidden Chick]

Here is her wound. I managed to get a diluted peroxide on it. I ran it over it and dapped it lightly with cotton then rinsed with water. I put anti bacterial cream on it.

 

[BayBay Peepers]

Oh wow, that's a doozy. Poor girl. Any way you could gently cover that up? I think as long as she is kept clean and comfortable she'll heal alright

 

[trailchick]

I have used Blue Lotion on wounds like that & the birds have recovered.
May also be called Gentian Violet.
It is a product found in the equine section of the farm stores

Here is a website :
http://www.doctorramey.com/things-to-put-on-wounds/

Shock should be the concern - I dont think I would attempt to clean it while the bird is
still in shock. Warmth, reduced light & time may help with shock.
Put in food & water when she begins to improve - standing, clucking, moving around.

If the bird is no longer in shock & eating - drinking, will probably recover....
Shock is the killer with prey animals such as chickens, rabbits, & the like.
Many others on here may have other opinions

.
good luck, Hope she makes it...

 

[pipthepeep]

I just dealt with a very similar problem...I found a hen with the entire top of her head pecked down so far I was worried the bone may have been exposed. I was terrified at first, but, honestly, chickens are very resilient. I agree that the big issue is shock-- if they are eating and drinking, they will usually recover given the chance. After isolating her, cleaning the wound with diluted betadine and applying BlueKote Spray, the area scabbed over. I also put her on some water soluble Oxytet just as a precaution against infection (mainly to make me feel better!) The process was NOT pretty, but, as you can see from the pictures below, it began to heal and regenerate new clean pink skin underneath and the scab slowly fell off on its own. Aside from spraying BlueKote and applying Neosporin (without Pain Med) every few days, the amount of work was minimal. She is even regrowing feathers! This happened a month ago, and she still has a small spot of scab in the middle left to fill in, so it definitely takes time to recover, but if you keep it clean, time is the best healer Good luck!
l

 

[Hidden Chick]

Thank you so much everyone for the advise and encouragement. She has slept most of the day, and I hoping tomorrow she will being to eat and drink. If she is still not eating and drinking I will be back on for my priceless advise. Thank you pipthepeep for sharing your story. I hope my ends as well.