HORRIFIC HEAD WOUNDS

[TheBirdLady2001]

You are doing a good job with your little guy. micstrachan has given you good advice.

You will have to access his condition each day. He is in shock right now, and birds will close their eyes and withdraw from the world. It's OK, you've attended to his wounds. Let him rest for the night.

Be vigilant for infection, daily. Attend to the wounds daily.

He doesn't need pain relief right now.

Leave food and water for him tomorrow. He will probably rest most of the day.

If he survives the next 24 hours, he has a good chance of surviving this.

God Bless and peace to you.

Okay! Thank you for everything. Have a lovley night - or day depending on where you are from!

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Thank you so very much!

One thing. He is in lots of shock and has lost a lot of blood so he might be woozy and pale. Also, don't handle him a lot which you are great at since, stress. So you might want to check for damage to his skull. You can try to feed him via syringe. Keep feeding him via mash with water. Without food, he can become weak. More info might come as I will see if I can talk to her.

 

[Blooie]

@azygous had a chick that got scalped once and she treated it successfully. Hope that when she sees this tag she will chime in. Here's a link to her article about what she did and there might be some assistance in there for you. Poor baby!

Oops, forgot the link!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/healing-a-severely-injured-baby-chick.71976/

 

[TheBirdLady2001]

Hello everyone! Here are some updated pictures. He isn’t doing too bad, he is holding his head up and not as wobbly. He’s been drinking a little bit of water from a syringe every few hours. I’m going to try to feed him again, the mashed up food and water.

 

[TheBirdLady2001]

@FarmerGirl101 @Hen Pen Jem @micstrachan

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

@FarmerGirl101 @Hen Pen Jem @micstrachan

If you keep his wound clean and infection doesn't set in, healing will start to take place. It appears there is missing skin on the skull, but there is flesh.

Clip away all feathers near the injury. Use sterile saline solution
or a solution of 0.05% chlorhexidine may be used, to flush the wound, and sterile gauze pads to gently pat dry. Don't get the bird wet, or he may get a chill.

If you can get some hydrogel that would be good for the healing process. It will seal the wound and protect it from infection. Vetericyn has a hydrogel for animals, and there are other brands on Amazon.

Another option for deep wound protection and healing, is Manuka Honey, medical grade if you can get it. Health food store usually stock this, or you can call any vet's office, to ask if they can sell you some. I purchased mine on Amazon.

Or, you can continue to use the ointment you are currently using, and see how that goes.

Since you didn't stitch the flap of skin, you will need to trim it off. It will dry up and die now, and can get infected.

If the bird seems to be in discomfort, and is no longer bleeding, you can administer an analgesic: aspirin, or carprophen, which is easier on the intestines than aspirin. I've never had quail, so I'm not sure on the dosage. However, the dosage of plain aspirin for standard size 6-7 pound chickens, is 40 mg., may be given up to 125 mg. per day. Use a low dose 80 mg. tablet, they're easier to split with a pill splitter. Carprophen dosage is 12 mg., once daily. You'll have to weigh the quail to determine dosage.

In the days to come the body will start to fill in the area of missing skin with granulation tissue. It's the way the body repairs itself. Sort of a living bandaid. But, you must be vigilant of any infection. Infection usually appears as a thick yellow looking substance. If that happens, you'll have to carefully remove it. Read up on debridement of wounds.

You could also give an oral or IM dose of broad spectrum each day, to further prevent infection.

The bird may never grow feathers on that area again, but, it will be alive and have a unique look to it.

Best of luck to your little feathered baby!

I will say another prayer for him.

These are my thoughts on you bird's issue.
Other members will offer advice. Please consider them too.

God Bless and peace to you.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry about your little quail. Do you have any idea what attacked it? Scalping injuries can heal well in a month or so, but it looks like at least his left eye may be missing. If both eyes are missing or blinded, I would be tempted to out him down. But if you cannot tell yet, you are getting plenty of good advice for care from others. At your feed or pet store, you can purchase Vetericyn Wound spray that can be used alone, and it woulnd not hurt his eyes. I would also use some antibiotic ointment on his skin wounds until they scab over. Good luck to you.

 

[TheBirdLady2001]

So sorry about your little quail. Do you have any idea what attacked it? Scalping injuries can heal well in a month or so, but it looks like at least his left eye may be missing. If both eyes are missing or blinded, I would be tempted to out him down. But if you cannot tell yet, you are getting plenty of good advice for care from others. At your feed or pet store, you can purchase Vetericyn Wound spray that can be used alone, and it woulnd not hurt his eyes. I would also use some antibiotic ointment on his skin wounds until they scab over. Good luck to you.

View attachment 1493823

Hello! The only way this could have happened, is that she was attacked by another quail or hit her head on the side of the cage (not the top, because the top is about 7 ft tall, so I can comfortably walk in)And actually, she has both of her eyes. While I was cleaning her up, I found them lol. She was blinking, and they didn’t appear to be damaged. Thank you so much for your reply!

 

[TheBirdLady2001]

If you keep his wound clean and infection doesn't set in, healing will start to take place. It appears there is missing skin on the skull, but there is flesh.

Clip away all feathers near the injury. Use sterile saline solution
or a solution of 0.05% chlorhexidine may be used, to flush the wound, and sterile gauze pads to gently pat dry. Don't get the bird wet, or he may get a chill.

If you can get some hydrogel that would be good for the healing process. It will seal the wound and protect it from infection. Vetericyn has a hydrogel for animals, and there are other brands on Amazon.

Another option for deep wound protection and healing, is Manuka Honey, medical grade if you can get it. Health food store usually stock this, or you can call any vet's office, to ask if they can sell you some. I purchased mine on Amazon.

Or, you can continue to use the ointment you are currently using, and see how that goes.

Since you didn't stitch the flap of skin, you will need to trim it off. It will dry up and die now, and can get infected.

If the bird seems to be in discomfort, and is no longer bleeding, you can administer an analgesic: aspirin, or carprophen, which is easier on the intestines than aspirin. I've never had quail, so I'm not sure on the dosage. However, the dosage of plain aspirin for standard size 6-7 pound chickens, is 40 mg., may be given up to 125 mg. per day. Use a low dose 80 mg. tablet, they're easier to split with a pill splitter. Carprophen dosage is 12 mg., once daily. You'll have to weigh the quail to determine dosage.

In the days to come the body will start to fill in the area of missing skin with granulation tissue. It's the way the body repairs itself. Sort of a living bandaid. But, you must be vigilant of any infection. Infection usually appears as a thick yellow looking substance. If that happens, you'll have to carefully remove it. Read up on debridement of wounds.

You could also give an oral or IM dose of broad spectrum each day, to further prevent infection.

The bird may never grow feathers on that area again, but, it will be alive and have a unique look to it.

Best of luck to your little feathered baby!

I will say another prayer for him.

These are my thoughts on you bird's issue.
Other members will offer advice. Please consider them too.

God Bless and peace to you.

I will definitely look for both of those products. And trim off the skin? It doesn’t look very dead, still mushy and the end of it is attached to her head. How much of it should I trim? And thank you very much for the reply!

 

[TheBirdLady2001]

I’m wondering if I should just put her down. According to her body weight, I could give her .1mg of aspirin. But I don’t know of any other painkillers that I can give her. She’s breathing really heavy, and she’s too weak to walk. She’ll take a few steps then fall down. Should I keep trying? Or is she suffering too much?