HHELP HELP HELP!!! Please help!!!

[mamahen222]

I have 2 hicks one cuckoo maran that is 5 weeks and a astrolourp that is 7 weeks... Iv been slowly introducing them to my older flock over the past week for a few hours a day. Yesterday they stayed with the flock the whole dy without any problems everyone got along great, so I decided to leave them in the coop over night... I woke up to a disaster! The littlest chick the cuckoo marans head is compleatly opened up!!!! The flock torchoured the poor baby!!! I took the chick out and it is by itself in a plastic tub now, it seems okay other than the fact that it's head is totally opened... Idk if I have to cull? Iv never done that before and would feel terrible! But I'm also not sure if she is able to grow akin over the wound???? I don't think so...... Sorry for the graphic image!!!

 

[enola]

Clean it with warm water and coat it with antibiotic cream ( no painkillers).

Wait until she is closer to the size of the hens in the coop before reintroducing her.

 

[mamahen222]

Thank you so much! Do you really think she can heal from this? And I'm not sure if I should leave the bigger chick in the coop or take it out also? She seems totally okay, the flock just picked on the littler one

 

[enola]

I would worry about them picking on the one you left in the chcken house.

As long as the injured one is drinking, she shouldbe fine.

 

[CROWKISS]

I ALWAYS WAIT AT LEAST Until they r as big as the others before I allow chicks to be with the older hens and then only when I'm with them. THEY R SO MEAN

 

[Eggcessive]

I would remove them both or place them inside the coop in a large cage with food and water until they are close to the same saize as the bigger hens. My polish chickens were scalped at different times, and after Neosporin ointment and later, BluKote, the feathers eventually all grew back fine in about 5-6 weeks.

 

[Michael Apple]

I would remove them both or place them inside the coop in a large cage with food and water until they are close to the same saize as the bigger hens. My polish chickens were scalped at different times, and after Neosporin ointment and later, BluKote, the feathers eventually all grew back fine in about 5-6 weeks.

X2. A wound like that requires daily observation. Don't put a bird with an open wound in with another bird. Lesson learned. I see people integrating birds too young over and over again with posts on this forum. I can't even count how many of these type of posts I've seen over the last several years. Don't put immature birds with mature birds until they are developed to equal size and immunity. Silvadene cream is better than Neosporin for wound healing. Blukote is worthless and will dry the wound making the epidermal layer split.

 

[philnj]

Had same problem slowly introduced four 8 week old chicks. Kept seperate a week then opened up area but allowed little ones a safe area. Was fine a few weeks then found the largest (was a cockerel ) dead. He was pecked badly. A few days later found the other cockerals head pecked. He recovered. They seemed to leave them alone but the newbies were never with the others. Didn't forage with them or roost at night. It took almost 6 months before the remaining two hens actually coexist peacefully with the group. Even now they get picked on occasionally but at least they forage and roost together.

 

[mamahen222]

Thank you all for your fast responces! Okay, So the little scalped chick is separated and doing well, eating/drinking. And the bigger chick is still inside the coop, I'm monitoring to see how badly she gets picked on. I mAde her a little hut to hide in and put it in the coop incase she needs it. Also, all of my chickens are bantams I have a silkie roo, 1 cochin,1 english game bantam and 1 easter egger, the easter egger is the biggest, the chick that's in the coop right now is about the same size as the game bantam. The chick is in the picture next to the box hut I made for her.

 

[Liberty Farm]

I had a case where my geese torn the skin off of a 8 weeks old turkeys neck, like a patch of 3 in. by 1 in. it was just gone, like when you butcher a chicken and seperate the neck, and my family tried to get me to cull it. But I wanted to test something, so I got antiseptic spray and doused it. Then I took a bottle of "New Skin" and brushed it over the entire area, which was really really big, and then left in a pen by himself and every couple days sprayed more antiseptic spray. It dried up and looked pretty gross for awhile, but later on it healed over nicely and now you cannot tell, feathers grew back and you could not tell anything happened. They do not feel pain the same way we do. Up to you, but I would do what I just laid out again with any of my other birds.


Michael Jones