Chick with swollen/scabby neck???

[FreedomFarm13]

I've never seen anything like this. Could be just getting picked on, but since it's swollen, I thought I'd ask here. This is a wheaten Ameraucana chick about 3-4 weeks old, in with 7 other chicks the same age. What is this?

 

[FreedomFarm13]

Just wanted to add the pink area where it's the most swollen is soft and squishy, like there might be some liquid in there, and the black-ish area looks like dried blood a bit. It also appears that some of the feathers may have come out of its neck, whether they were plucked or not, I can't really tell. I put a little antibacterial ointment on it, even though there aren't any open wounds, and plan to give it some oral antibiotic as well, but I would really like to know what it is. It appeared since last night when I checked on them. None of the others have anything going on with them, and it doesn't look like anyone is picking on this chick. Any input would really help, but since it looks like there's fluid in the swollen part, an antibiotic can't hurt, right?

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

It's probably being picked on. What I did when that happened, was Seperate it In a little spot in the brooder, close to the lamp, so the heat got in, but with wire or something, so it could still see the other chicks. I would wait for it to completely heal, then put it back in, and watch carefully.

 

[coach723]

I'm wondering if it's a ruptured air sac, try to determine if it's really filled with fluid or if it's air. Ruptured air sacs can happen with injury or trauma. And chicks will peck at just about anything, so they probably started pecking and once there was a spot, they will keep going for it, just making it worse. You can treat the rupture fairly easily, just disinfect the area as well as you can with a bit of betadine or chlorhexidine, disinfect a sewing needle, and make a small prick to let the air out, you can put a tiny bit of plain antibiotic ointment, like neosporin (no pain killer) on it. Once the pressure is off it, the rupture should heal up. I'm going to give you a couple of links that may help. https://www.birdtrader.co.uk/bird-advice/emergency-care-for-birds-air-sac-rupture/507
https://wagwalking.com/bird/condition/air-sac-rupture
I would try to put up a screen/wire barrier in your brooder to keep her separated from pecking, but still visible to the others until she's no longer a pecking risk. You can also try putting another chick that isn't rough in with her if it works, or give her a mirror. Once the swelling is down and the small prick is closed you can try a bit of blue-kote to disguise the area also, I've never used it on one so young and they tend to peck at EVERYTHING, so be cautious to see if it works.

 

[Eggcessive]

Leaking air sacs, if that is what is causing this, feels like a balloon of air under the skin. They do not need to be punctured and air pushed out if the chick is not having any respiratory distress. I have deflated this in my own chick with a 22 gauge needle, but my chicken was having trouble breathing.

 

[azygous]

The others and I agree. Your chick is a victim of pecking. One of the main causes is a brooder that has too little room for the number of chicks. Here's an article you can maybe find some useful information in on how to deal with pecking in the brooder. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aggressive-baby-chicks-and-how-to-stop-the-behavior.72029/ It gives you lots of different options to try to discourage the pecking.

The best thing to put on a pecking wound is Blu-kote, sold at all feed stores. It disguises the wound while helping it to heal.

 

[FreedomFarm13]

Well, I've been observing them all day, and haven't seen anyone picking on her, but I think she's making it worse by scratching at it as it's healing. It also looks like it's swollen a bit more since this morning. Is there any way to help the swelling go down? And should I put something on her feet to keep her from scratching it back open? She started kinda squealing in pain as she was scratching it, and I saw a little bloody spot after she scratched it, poor thing. So, I think she's the only reason it's not healing, although I think the swelling is a different case. The swelling has spread around the back of her neck now, instead of just the one side. She seems a little sleepy, too. I separated her with her best friend for now, and put some Neosporin (without painkiller) on it, but I'm not sure what to do about her scratching...or the swelling...

 

[azygous]

Is the skin where the swelling is red by some chance? That would be a sign of infection. If the skin is normal skin color, the swelling could be inflammation from all her scratching.

Try smoothing some coconut oil onto the raw skin. That should soothe the discomfort while helping the wound to heal since coconut oil is both antibiotic as well as antifungal.

Do you happen to have Vetericyn wound care? Most feed stores carry it. I would get some and spray on the wound each day before putting on the coconut oil. Between the two, they should bump up the healing process.

 

[staceyj]

May I suggest the same treatment as for spraddle leg? If you could just get it to not scratch for a day or two in combination with the other suggestions, the inflamation should go down.

 

[azygous]

May I suggest the same treatment as for spraddle leg? If you could just get it to not scratch for a day or two in combination with the other suggestions, the inflamation should go down.

That is a very innovative idea! I would recommend the hobbles along with the coconut oil so the chick will not be feeling the frustrations of itching it can't scratch.