HELP PLEASE! Month old chick head pecked severly (graphic picture)

[panhandler]

I tried to introduce my month old chicks with the rest of the flock and one of them got pecked very badly. does anyone have experience with something this bad? we don't have a vet close by that will see chickens and I want to know if this is an injury that can heal or if I just need to put the chick down. sorry for the graphic photo. Thanks.

 

[willowbranchfarm]

Oh my goodness that's awful. I hope she gets better. I dong have any suggestions but I hope some one else does.

 

[panhandler]

Thanks. I'm hoping someone can give me some advice. I would hate for the poor thing to suffer for no reason.

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

Oh goodness.... is the chick still alive? Because i've dealt with this before, but not this bad..

 

[panhandler]

as of right now she is still alive. I'm not at home and my wife found her and said that the picture actually doesn't look as bad as it really is. I am probably going to end up putting her down, I just want to make sure there isn't something else I could do. I will probably have a better idea once I see the damage in person.

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

That's what i'd do, it looks very painful.

 

[JakRat]

You can always asses when you get home. You could always see about putting blukote on her after you clean her up. Are the other chicks in the coop? You might want to try putting vicks vaporub on their necks or if not that you can get the anti peck stuff.

 

[evenstargirl]

Ouch, I'm so sorry! When one of my roosters got his head beaten in by another roo, I separated him, put antibiotic ointment on him, and waited to see what would happen. I was thrilled when he lived, but he wasn't as badly beaten as your chick.

It's sometimes hard knowing when to put an animal out of its misery and when to not give up hope. I recently put down a very sick hen.... But last weekend I had a day old chick who was flopping all over the place, actually laying on her side with her leg stuck up in the air. I cried as I watched her but I used an eyedropper to water her and made her eat a little. I knew she wouldn't make it through the night. I got up the next morning to find her sitting in her box, looking at me and chirping. Sometimes the lil buggers will surprise you!

 

[roxyblue]

I would give her a chance. When my polish rooster got all of his crest feathers pulled out he looked a lot like your chick. I seperated him, kept his wound clean, and spread antibiotic cream on it. It's obviouse that this hurts the chick, do what your gut tells you too.
Good luck!
-roxy

 

[masonsdad]

Same thing happened to one of my hens last year. We isolated her and applied blukote daily for a few weeks to keep it covered. she recovered fully albeit with some minor muscle damage and scarring. Hope this helps!