HELP WITH PECKED HEAD!! (GRAPHIC PICS...)

[missdelia]

Hi. One of my 3 mo old chicks was pecked badly by one of our adult chickens and her head is a mess! I didn't actually take any pics of the first day - I was too upset and just read on here what to do and got her through the first few days (this happened Saturday 7/17 - 6 days ago). We kept her inside for the first 3 days then put her in a crate inside the area where our other 3 chicks are so she can see them but none of them can see her. We have also completely divided our enclosure so that our 5 adults hens (2 NH reds/1golden wyandotte/1 RIR and 1 legghorn) are on one side with the coop to themselves and access to a large area that is enclosed with poultry netting and the 4 chicks (2 barred/ 2 blue australorp) now have half the enclosure and their own smaller coop and the adults are completely separated from the chicks. I am now trying to figure out 1) what do I do for her wound at this point (if anything)??. I have added pictures - up until yesterday I was covering it with bacitracin 2x/d ( the whole wound looks yellow because I initially put some antibiotic/antifungal/topical coating stuff from our vet on it) - then yesterday I stopped with the bacitracin and I covered the wound with blue Kote. She was so lonely and I wanted to let her at least interact briefly with the other chicks. There is a flap of skin on the left side of her head - that was the skin that covered her head - it didn't re-attach despite my best efforts - but it also is viable tissue so I didn't cut it any...and there is now a thick scabbed area at the base of her skull which is really thick...should I be trying to get the scab off??!?? I am inclined to leave the whole thing to heal on its own with blue Kote on it but don't want to deal with maggots or anything awful like that...
also _ wondering when I lcan et her be with the other chicks again. she is clearly lonely and bored by herself in the crate but she is also definitely now at the bottom of their pecking order. I have watched them and they have pecked toward her head a few times but they are not aggressive as long as she moves along. I just left all 4 of them are roosting together but am not sure if I should isolate her again during the day tomorrow??!! ( I won't be home to supervise..)

First pic is what her head looks like now with blue Kote - further ones are older from 2 d ago. also included a pic with her next to the other blue australorp...She is SO MUCH SMALLER - has been from day 1 - not sure if there is something wrong with her??!?
Thank you in advance for your advice!!!!

 

[MROO]

Poor Baby! Separate her and put her in a clean cage or bin. Don't use sand as bedding. Shavings fine straw would be better. Rinse her with a bit of sterile saline solution. If you don't have one for wounds, like Hibiclens, you can use sterile saline for contact lenses (NOT the cleaner - just straight saline!) I spray with Blu-Kote, but you can also use an antibiotic salve for people. Make sure your salve does NOT contain a "-caine" pain-killer ingredient. Those are harmful to chickens. Many people avoid pain killers altogether, just to be safe, and that's okay, too.
Keep her separated, keep her warm and give her electrolytes. You can use the types specially made for chickens or a Pedialyte (for children) type. In a pinch, Gatorade and sugar water will do. Don't panic. Even though it looks awful, chickens are very resilient creatures. You'd be surprised at what soe of them can overcome.
Good Luck!

 

[Georgiahome622]

Hi. One of my 3 mo old chicks was pecked badly by one of our adult chickens and her head is a mess! I didn't actually take any pics of the first day - I was too upset and just read on here what to do and got her through the first few days (this happened Saturday 7/17 - 6 days ago). We kept her inside for the first 3 days then put her in a crate inside the area where our other 3 chicks are so she can see them but none of them can see her. We have also completely divided our enclosure so that our 5 adults hens (2 NH reds/1golden wyandotte/1 RIR and 1 legghorn) are on one side with the coop to themselves and access to a large area that is enclosed with poultry netting and the 4 chicks (2 barred/ 2 blue australorp) now have half the enclosure and their own smaller coop and the adults are completely separated from the chicks. I am now trying to figure out 1) what do I do for her wound at this point (if anything)??. I have added pictures - up until yesterday I was covering it with bacitracin 2x/d ( the whole wound looks yellow because I initially put some antibiotic/antifungal/topical coating stuff from our vet on it) - then yesterday I stopped with the bacitracin and I covered the wound with blue Kote. She was so lonely and I wanted to let her at least interact briefly with the other chicks. There is a flap of skin on the left side of her head - that was the skin that covered her head - it didn't re-attach despite my best efforts - but it also is viable tissue so I didn't cut it any...and there is now a thick scabbed area at the base of her skull which is really thick...should I be trying to get the scab off??!?? I am inclined to leave the whole thing to heal on its own with blue Kote on it but don't want to deal with maggots or anything awful like that...
also _ wondering when I lcan et her be with the other chicks again. she is clearly lonely and bored by herself in the crate but she is also definitely now at the bottom of their pecking order. I have watched them and they have pecked toward her head a few times but they are not aggressive as long as she moves along. I just left all 4 of them are roosting together but am not sure if I should isolate her again during the day tomorrow??!! ( I won't be home to supervise..)

First pic is what her head looks like now with blue Kote - further ones are older from 2 d ago. also included a pic with her next to the other blue australorp...She is SO MUCH SMALLER - has been from day 1 - not sure if there is something wrong with her??!? View attachment 2770313 View attachment 2770314 View attachment 2770316 View attachment 2770318
Thank you in advance for your advice!!!! View attachment 2770311

@missdelia Hi, do you mind posting an update with pics? I found your post while searching for similar posts to my situation. My chick is only 5 weeks old though. Sometimes I think she’s doing great, others I’m not so sure. Did your baby make it and how does she look now?

thanks!

 

[MROO]

@missdelia Hi, do you mind posting an update with pics? I found your post while searching for similar posts to my situation. My chick is only 5 weeks old though. Sometimes I think she’s doing great, others I’m not so sure. Did your baby make it and how does she look now?

thanks!

Not the same chick, but this may give you some hope. The blue-necked chick (that's BluKote) actually had a half-inch circle of muscle exposed. I never thought she'd survive - but she is now a happy, healthy, egg-laying two-year old. They're resilient little buggers!

 

[Georgiahome622]

Not the same chick, but this may give you some hope. The blue-necked chick (that's BluKote) actually had a half-inch circle of muscle exposed. I never thought she'd survive - but she is now a happy, healthy, egg-laying two-year old. They're resilient little buggers!

It’s day 5 and she is doing better.

Not the same chick, but this may give you some hope. The blue-necked chick (that's BluKote) actually had a half-inch circle of muscle exposed. I never thought she'd survive - but she is now a happy, healthy, egg-laying two-year old. They're resilient little buggers!

thank you! My girl is on day 5. She has made amazing progress. Her skin is growing back and covering much of her head and neck, just the deepest peck holes remain bare. Even those are healing. She is eating and drinking some. I have given her an egg daily and she loves that. She is in my kitchen in a dog crate with a heat lamp - it’s cool in my house and she is happier warm. I brought her sister in today to visit her and it went okay. They ignored each other some but I think she was happy for the company. Well besides my lab, who considers her his responsibility. He absolutely loves chicks - not kidding. It was surprising to see how small she looked compared to her sister. They were the same size a week ago.

Sorry for all the detail but this has been a big deal this week! I could go on and on.

do you have any idea when she might regrow feathers? I am so afraid to put her back in the coop. I have 5 chicks together and one is a bully.

thanks for reading 😊

 

[MROO]

It’s day 5 and she is doing better.

thank you! My girl is on day 5. She has made amazing progress. Her skin is growing back and covering much of her head and neck, just the deepest peck holes remain bare. Even those are healing. She is eating and drinking some. I have given her an egg daily and she loves that. She is in my kitchen in a dog crate with a heat lamp - it’s cool in my house and she is happier warm. I brought her sister in today to visit her and it went okay. They ignored each other some but I think she was happy for the company. Well besides my lab, who considers her his responsibility. He absolutely loves chicks - not kidding. It was surprising to see how small she looked compared to her sister. They were the same size a week ago.

Sorry for all the detail but this has been a big deal this week! I could go on and on.

do you have any idea when she might regrow feathers? I am so afraid to put her back in the coop. I have 5 chicks together and one is a bully.

thanks for reading 😊

It took a long time for Iris (because of all the blue!) to regrow her feathers, she didn't really get much back until her first real molt. Some never did, so she has a half-inch long, narrow scar down the middle of what was once a hole.
I wouldn't put her back until the rawness is gone. Until then, you could keep one of the smaller chicks in with her, inside. It will make integration a lot easier for her. Three chicks will accept two faster and more easily than four will accept a lone stray ... I hope that makes sense!
If your bully continues to be an issue after the injured baby returns, simply pull her for a few days to rearrange the pecking order. They'll work it out.