Chicken badly pecked and won’t eat or drink

[Lilynoel93]

Hello

My chicken had been badly pecked on the head by another hen. I think it was happening for 30 minutes to one hour before I realised.
She was lying on the ground and lifeless when I rushed her inside. She is still alive. I cleaned the head, I’ve used topical antibiotic/antiseptic spray on the wound, I’ve bought Poultry Nutri Drops which I use once daily and have added sugar syrup to add to water. I’ve phoned the Vet and they said there isn’t much more I can do.

There hasn’t been much improvement 48 hours later apart from now standing up, eyes open, preening feathers and alert. But the chicken isn't walking, won’t eat or drink. I’ve been syringing droplets of water into their beak slowly to give some sort of hydration. I’ve taken her outside to show the other hens but always been right beside her but she just puts her head down. The bully hen has gone, I got rid of her the next morning and the other hens are fine with the injured presences. (Injured is kept inside and apart but showing them she’s still here)

I’m getting really concerned about her not eating, drinking or walking. She can stand and move her feet when she wishes. Not sure if it’s shock?

 

[CCsGarden]

I'm so sorry no one helped you.
I don't know much about that it looks pretty bad! poor girl
maybe so other members can help out.
try to get her to eat and drink.
I'm sorry I don't really know how to help.

@Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock @nuthatched
can you please give more advice??
Thank you!

By the way !!

 

[Tookie]

You're doing everything you can for the wound, so keep that up.
Check her over well and make sure she doesn't have any other wounds somewhere else.

Early in the morning, check her crop and make sure its empty.

I do think she's in shock. I would stop giving her the sugar syrup, and instead mix 1tspn of sugar and a pinch of salt and baking soda in 1 cup of water, and get as much of that as you can into her.
For the Nutri-Drench, make sure you're giving one ml of it for every 3 pounds of body weight. Don't give it for more than 5 days in a row.
She needs to eat, so maybe try giving her something like meat, fish, or eggs and see if she's interested. If she won't eat that, then you'll probably need to start force feeding her. If you will need to force feed you could try torpedo feeding, here's a post about it.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/2-5-week-old-chick-wont-stand.1592491/post-27061295

 

[Tonyroo]

She is in shock, you need to apply a layer of neosporin to prevent infection. Think of it as a jelly bandaid. Generally you would need to reapply for 3 days in a row till her body can produce a scab.

If you give her anything, start with a raw egg yolk (no whites) in small bowl or a peanut butter lid. Put it up to her beak. This will give her immediate hydration and nutrients. Do this every 4 hours. Just feed her as much as she's willing to eat it. Also leave a small bowl of water and feed out to let her know it's there for her. Injury like this takes 2 weeks to recover before joining the flock.

 

[WingsysRoost]

Poor girl! She could definitely still be in shock at this point. Usually, if a bird has been injured, I try to keep them somewhere as quiet and calm as possible until they seem to be returning to normal (eating/drinking well on their own, typical activity level, etc), sometimes with lower light levels via a partially covered dog crate or a similar setup depending on the severity of the injury and their symptoms. I definitely second the suggestion to feed her a bit of egg yolk, either raw yolk or hardboiled and then mashed, whichever one she seems to prefer. It sounds like you have the actual wound care covered already. Best of luck, and I hope she starts to feel better soon!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Sorry about your hen.

With her being crested, she may have suffered some neurological damage.

With your mention of Nutri Drops, are you in the UK? I can't remember what's in the Nutri Drops but you want to aim for 400 IU Vitamin E daily. If you can, get some human B-Complex and give her 1/4 tablet daily as well.
Egg or tuna as a treat can help with the uptake of E.

Work on getting her hydrated, as suggested and eating.

Is she able to see or have her feathers gotten in the way of her eyes and need trimming?

 

[Lilynoel93]

I'm so sorry no one helped you.
I don't know much about that it looks pretty bad! poor girl
maybe so other members can help out.
try to get her to eat and drink.
I'm sorry I don't really know how to help.

@Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock @nuthatched
can you please give more advice??
Thank you!

By the way !!

Thank you so much and I really appreciate the message on the other post too and trying to help me!

 

[Lilynoel93]

She is in shock, you need to apply a layer of neosporin to prevent infection. Think of it as a jelly bandaid. Generally you would need to reapply for 3 days in a row till her body can produce a scab.

If you give her anything, start with a raw egg yolk (no whites) in small bowl or a peanut butter lid. Put it up to her beak. This will give her immediate hydration and nutrients. Do this every 4 hours. Just feed her as much as she's willing to eat it. Also leave a small bowl of water and feed out to let her know it's there for her. Injury like this takes 2 weeks to recover before joining the flock.

Thank you so much for your reply!
I made up some eggs last night but not eating it yet. I place her down in a certain position and she’s turned herself round. If I put her on her side, she’ll put herself on her feet and will stand up straight. Just not taking steps.
I’ve left out chicken food and water, mealworms and treats hoping it’ll tempt her at some point. I’ll put down some peanut better too.
I’ll buy the neosporin today! Thank you. My friend breeds Shetland ponies and I borrowed their blue antibacterial and antiseptic spray to apply.
I have her set up in my kitchen in a pen with a black fitted sheet over the top, I’ve made a make shift perch, put down meal worms amongst hay and using a plastic dog bed full of hay to keep her comfortable.
I’m really hoping today is a better day. She’s my favourite and so tame and lovely. Hate seeing this.

 

[Lilynoel93]

Sorry about your hen.

With her being crested, she may have suffered some neurological damage.

With your mention of Nutri Drops, are you in the UK? I can't remember what's in the Nutri Drops but you want to aim for 400 IU Vitamin E daily. If you can, get some human B-Complex and give her 1/4 tablet daily as well.
Egg or tuna as a treat can help with the uptake of E.

Work on getting her hydrated, as suggested and eating.

Is she able to see or have her feathers gotten in the way of her eyes and need trimming?

Thank you for your reply! I’m really worried about neurological damage. She will take steps to move into a position but won’t take actual steps forward. If put on her side, she’ll get back to her feet and stand up straight.
I’m in the UK, I’ll definitely get what I can today vitamin wise. I’ve cooked up eggs last night but still not interested. I syringed water droplets before bed last night. I’ve never thought about trimming but we actually thought they may be covering the eyes. I’ll do that today!
Thank you again for your reply and advice!

 

[Lilynoel93]

Poor girl! She could definitely still be in shock at this point. Usually, if a bird has been injured, I try to keep them somewhere as quiet and calm as possible until they seem to be returning to normal (eating/drinking well on their own, typical activity level, etc), sometimes with lower light levels via a partially covered dog crate or a similar setup depending on the severity of the injury and their symptoms. I definitely second the suggestion to feed her a bit of egg yolk, either raw yolk or hardboiled and then mashed, whichever one she seems to prefer. It sounds like you have the actual wound care covered already. Best of luck, and I hope she starts to feel better soon!

Thank you so much for your reply! I’ll definitely try the egg yolk today. This is her set up currently in my kitchen. I cover the whole thing when it starts to get dark. She’s getting up from lying position onto her feet. I’m so worried she has brain damage. It was squishy flesh and no bone or anything other I could see. I made up some egg last night but no interest
Thank you again for your reply! X