I've been reading here for awhile, but sadly this is my first post.
I have a five week old barred rock who got stuck on something last night and ripped off a chunk of feather and skin. Thankfully it happened right as I was heading out to bring the chicks in to their brooder, so the wound was clean. Last night I cleaned the wound (to make sure) and put triple antibiotic ointment on it, then loosely wrapped her in gauze to keep her from making it worse. She slept in a separate box with a towel and a heat lamp (they've been off the lamp for about a week now).
She seemed pretty bad last night, but I think I managed to keep her from going into shock. I also got a little water in her, but didn't offer food. I was pretty sure she wouldn't make it through the night, so I sat with her for a bit and said my goodbyes and tried to prepare my three year old son for the fact that she might not be OK. (She's my and his favorite of our three chicks.)
This morning, she's still with us, which is great. She's clearly weak and tired, but she's alert, looking around, drinking lots and even eating some mashed, watery chick crumble. She can stand and even hop if startled, although she seems to prefer to lie down. She's not saying much.
The very bad news is that when I removed her gauze to check the wound and put more ointment on, I realized that her crop had been torn open when she hurt herself, which I had not realized before. I knew it was visible, but I didn't realize it had been opened. Now I'm worried (1) that she's even less likely to make it; and (2) that I might have made it worse by pointing ointment on her. What if some got into her crop? Also, if her crop is open, should I be offering food at all? She was very happy to eat this morning.
I don't know what to do! I had gotten my hopes up after seeing she made it through the night and after reading some threads on here where chickens made fabulous recoveries, but now I'm terrified again. She's such a sweetie.
We're hoping to get her in at the vet when they open at ten. Unfortunately, our normal vet (for our cat & dog) doesn't see birds anymore, but we found one sort of near us that does and we're hoping they can help.
Any advice? Reassurance? Scolding for all I did wrong in trying to care for her?
I have a five week old barred rock who got stuck on something last night and ripped off a chunk of feather and skin. Thankfully it happened right as I was heading out to bring the chicks in to their brooder, so the wound was clean. Last night I cleaned the wound (to make sure) and put triple antibiotic ointment on it, then loosely wrapped her in gauze to keep her from making it worse. She slept in a separate box with a towel and a heat lamp (they've been off the lamp for about a week now).
She seemed pretty bad last night, but I think I managed to keep her from going into shock. I also got a little water in her, but didn't offer food. I was pretty sure she wouldn't make it through the night, so I sat with her for a bit and said my goodbyes and tried to prepare my three year old son for the fact that she might not be OK. (She's my and his favorite of our three chicks.)
This morning, she's still with us, which is great. She's clearly weak and tired, but she's alert, looking around, drinking lots and even eating some mashed, watery chick crumble. She can stand and even hop if startled, although she seems to prefer to lie down. She's not saying much.
The very bad news is that when I removed her gauze to check the wound and put more ointment on, I realized that her crop had been torn open when she hurt herself, which I had not realized before. I knew it was visible, but I didn't realize it had been opened. Now I'm worried (1) that she's even less likely to make it; and (2) that I might have made it worse by pointing ointment on her. What if some got into her crop? Also, if her crop is open, should I be offering food at all? She was very happy to eat this morning.
I don't know what to do! I had gotten my hopes up after seeing she made it through the night and after reading some threads on here where chickens made fabulous recoveries, but now I'm terrified again. She's such a sweetie.
We're hoping to get her in at the vet when they open at ten. Unfortunately, our normal vet (for our cat & dog) doesn't see birds anymore, but we found one sort of near us that does and we're hoping they can help.
Any advice? Reassurance? Scolding for all I did wrong in trying to care for her?
