Help! Baby pecked almost to death

[Sprinkles212]

This chick escaped the brooder tonight as I was refilling their water. The hens pecked her skin clean off her head before I found her. What can we do to save her? The skin is gone from her head.

 

[gingerly1983]

Skin grows back. Keep the chick inside so you can keep bacterial contamination down. Rinse twice daily with a warm saline solution (very light salt water, like a 1/4 teaspoon to a cup if you can't find it in pharmacy section of stores). Apply an antibiotic ointment after each rinse. Look for 'Bacitracin', it should be right next to the Neosporin in the pharmacy section. It's an active ingredient of Neosporin without the extra stuff. Keep it clean, keep it dry (other than the cleaning). Good luck!!

 

[dawg53]

Here's a link for you with a similar situation, plenty of help here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-chicken-an-turkey-injurie-grahpic-to-the-max

 

[Sprinkles212]

Gingerly and Dawg, thank you for the info. I have cleaned the head wound, put triple antibiotic ointment on it and lightly wrapped it. Afterwards I saw Dawgs reply and read the thread you attached. It says not to use ointment with pain reliever. Unfortunately I did use an ointment with pain reliever. Should I leave it or go and wash her off again? What is the danger of the pain reliever?

 

[Sparrow]

Wash it off of her, the danger of pain reliever is that it can easily kill her.