Help Please, Chicken with head injury...

[Staceynadine]

My 8 week old chick accidentally found its way into the "Big Chicken Coop" My babies free range in the afternoon and I have no idea how it happened, but when I found her she was in the corner of the coop hiding her head and neck and on deaths door. It was horrible and I was in shock, as was she. They scalped her, pecked at her neck and seemed to left a pecking hole in her head. I brought her inside, cleaned the wound and have been babying her for the past 2 days. Today she let me give her electrolytes and some raw egg via syringe so I was hopeful, so went and got her antibiotics and started injections.


But.... She seems to have a head injury other than the obvious. She spontaneously bobs her head, can't seem to walk straight and twists her neck around to see me. I think she is pretty messed up and may even be blind in 1 eye. She makes no attempts to feed herself. Its only been 2 days but my question is: Do I put her out of her misery or wait a little longer to see how it goes? I obviously want to save her but don't want her not to be able to feed herself etc...

Thanks for any help! This is my first injury in 3 years of chickens...

 

[bantamluv]

Oh gosh. That sounds bad. Could you post some pictures? I would wait and see how she does.

 

[Staceynadine]

Oh gosh. That sounds bad. Could you post some pictures? I would wait and see how she does.

 

[Staceynadine]

Here Are a few pics. I just rinsed and medicated her wounds. Head has puncture holes , was scalped and neck took a beating as well. Her balance and vision are off. I can get her to drink from her waterer when I bring her out but haven’t got much food in her. I just wonder if birds with these issues actually recover. Today is day three and I have been doing everything I can. Sometimes I think she gets better and sometimes I think she doesn’t.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would give her a few more days to try and see improvement. I think a week might be good. We have seen a few fox and dog attacks, where the chicken was injured badly, and had some neurological injuries. Some do improve with time, rest, and sometimes tube feeding.

You can get feeding tube equipment from a vet or online, or you can make it with walmart’s aquarium air tubing, or other tubing found at farm or home improvement store. There are 2 kinds of syringes, the normal ones that fit needle, and catheter syringes, similar to turkey basters that connect to red rubber catheters for tube feeding. Get a normal 35 ml syringe which will fit aquarium air tubing—melt the sharp edges with a lighter to insert into the esophagus. Here is some info on learning to tube feed, which is very easy and quick once learned:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ng-guide-pictures-under-construction.1064392/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-pics-for-visuals-very-detailed-post.805615/

 

[Staceynadine]

I would give her a few more days to try and see improvement. I think a week might be good. We have seen a few fox and dog attacks, where the chicken was injured badly, and had some neurological injuries. Some do improve with time, rest, and sometimes tube feeding.

You can get feeding tube equipment from a vet or online, or you can make it with walmart’s aquarium air tubing, or other tubing found at farm or home improvement store. There are 2 kinds of syringes, the normal ones that fit needle, and catheter syringes, similar to turkey basters that connect to red rubber catheters for tube feeding. Get a normal 35 ml syringe which will fit aquarium air tubing—melt the sharp edges with a lighter to insert into the esophagus. Here is some info on learning to tube feed, which is very easy and quick once learned:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ng-guide-pictures-under-construction.1064392/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-pics-for-visuals-very-detailed-post.805615/

Thank you!

 

[rebrascora]

My guess would be that this may have happened because the chick was already sick. That posture in the 3rd photo looks very like Marek's. I appreciate this chick has sustained head injury which could also cause neurological issues like this but often when a bird gets victimised like this, it is because it is already sick.

If she is able to eat and drink with your help and you are able to tend to her regularly, then I would give it a little time and see how she goes but if your work/life commitments prevent you from being able to feed her regularly and she cannot feed/drink herself then it is kinder to end her suffering.

I'm sorry, it must be a really horrible thing to be confronted with and have to treat. Chickens can be pretty cruel. I would try a few drops of Nutri Drench into her beak twice a day to see if that will give her a boost. I wish you luck with her. Be aware that this may take some time to fix if it is possible and reintegration is then going to be difficult, so that is something else to factor in when making this difficult decision.

 

[Staceynadine]

My guess would be that this may have happened because the chick was already sick. That posture in the 3rd photo looks very like Marek's. I appreciate this chick has sustained head injury which could also cause neurological issues like this but often when a bird gets victimised like this, it is because it is already sick.

If she is able to eat and drink with your help and you are able to tend to her regularly, then I would give it a little time and see how she goes but if your work/life commitments prevent you from being able to feed her regularly and she cannot feed/drink herself then it is kinder to end her suffering.

I'm sorry, it must be a really horrible thing to be confronted with and have to treat. Chickens can be pretty cruel. I would try a few drops of Nutri Drench into her beak twice a day to see if that will give her a boost. I wish you luck with her. Be aware that this may take some time to fix if it is possible and reintegration is then going to be difficult, so that is something else to factor in when making this difficult decision.

Thankyou! I absolutely agree but the chicken wasn't like this at all before the attack. It wasn't housed with the big chickens, but snuck into their coop while free ranging. I appreciate your response and will give it till Wednesday (which would be 7 days) and then will take appropriate action if needed

 

[rebrascora]

I appreciate that, but from my experience with Marek's, it comes on very suddenly and often birds with it get into vulnerable positions because they are not fully alert or get trapped in places that they would not normally go. This chick is within the more vulnerable age range to exhibit symptoms of it and it is an incredibly common and widespread disease.
I could be entirely off the mark, but just worth keeping it in mind if you get any other sick or injured chicks. It might be worthwhile giving all the chicks a poultry vitamin supplement like Nutri Drench in their water to help boost their immune systems.

 

[Flamens Farm]

When you love and raise animals things like this happen, it is so hard to see and the feelings can really get to you. I wish you the best in helping her to recover.