Chickens, head severely picked and can’t stand. Please help.

[Peter_Rabbit_Farm]

Wow. Okay. It could then be pneumothorax, which explains her gulping air. It can often heal itself if left, the air is re-absorbed. Else it will be aspiration of air, so a hollow needle is needed. But if her condition is stable and there is no other tissue damage, it may be safer to allow reabsorbtion. If it is indeed pneumothorax.

As to the vitamins:

Vitamin E: 400iu (180mg) daily is well tolerated and suggested widely. You can give this as an oral pill, or you can add to water, if you are sure she's going to drink it.

Vitamin C: Even as low as 15mg daily has proved helpful in most situations. 400mg in drinking water sounds reasonable (unless it is just a tiny quantity of water).

The air bubble seems to be in a sensitive area. I don’t feel comfortable puncturing there. I’ve had to deflate a chicken before, but the bubble kept coming back. It eventually stopped coming back, but if there is a risk of blood thinning after me giving the vitamins I don’t want to risk it

 

[Peter_Rabbit_Farm]

The air bubble seems to be in a sensitive area. I don’t feel comfortable puncturing there. I’ve had to deflate a chicken before, but the bubble kept coming back. It eventually stopped coming back, but if there is a risk of blood thinning after me giving the vitamins I don’t want to risk it

I had another chicken a while ago that needed to be deflated. That is what I was referring to and not this current Chicken. I know you probably already guess that, but just making sure.

 

[EuroChook]

Air under skin could also indicate air sac rupture (birds of all kinds have air sacs all over the body).

 

[EuroChook]

I had another chicken a while ago that needed to be deflated. That is what I was referring to and not this current Chicken. I know you probably already guess that, but just making sure.

Yes, got it. Okay, so definitely don't do the aspiration yourself, which could also lead to infection/s anyway. Stay on the antibiotic (well, her, I mean), and sometimes even at a good avian store they can (rarely) offer help. I've had that experience and know one other person. So remote chances.

Most definitely vit E has an anticoagulant effect. So we don't want to go through a blood vessel. It may resolve with minimal care. If it gets worse and she deteriorates further, we will need to step up and intervene.

 

[Peter_Rabbit_Farm]

If it's ok by you, can you please upload a pic of the Oxbow? Let's see if the ingredients can also help us out here. (Good thinking, too).

 

[EuroChook]

It looks quite ok. I looked at each ingredient and they are each suitable for your lil chicky. In don't see any reason why she can't have it.

 

[NuggetMama]

Watching with bated breath that your baby girl pulls through!

My fingers are crossed and my best thoughts are heading your way. Chickens are hardy little things. (My little boy was super sick and burst an abscess in his face and pulled through like a champ!) So I hope your sweet girl can pull up her big girl straps and pull through this! She can meet Rugby in yeaaarrrsss from now and they can exchange scar stories over a bowl of mash and mealworms.