How and what to feed an injured chick

[Chicksrulefarm]

My 2 months old polish chick somehow accidentally got into the separated section with adults and got brutally mauled by two hens yesterday. He eyes are swollen and shot, and I don't know if the eyeballs are still there. So, she can't see right now. She is drinking water when I dip her beak into it, but she is not eating. Any suggestions what I maybe can feed her from syringe? Or any other way I can feed her. She might survive if she would only start eating. Any suggestions appreciated.

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Yes, feed her water from a syringe. Don't open her beak, but if you drip to the side of her beak she should begin drinking.
You can add poly-vis-tol baby vitamins (without iron) to her water to help give her a boost.

As far as feeding, try making the food into mush using water and take some on your finger and spread it onto her beak. Hopefully this will get her eating some.

 

[Sylvestor12]

Here's my thread, hope it helps you! https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/664910/rich-food-for-the-sick

 

[Chicksrulefarm]

Thank you both for advise. The thought of giving her raw egg come to my mind but I will boil it. She is drinking when I pour water on her beak from syringe. After examined her closely today I found out that the skin on the back of her head and neck is gone. She must be in tremendous pain. Anything I can do about that?

 

[Sylvestor12]

The adult chickens probably pecked them off. I'd put some neosporin on it to soothe it and keep out infection. (just put it on very thin)

 

[binza1979]

I had something very similar happen to one of my hens when she was young. I was sure she was missing an eye. Her skull got cracked open. She was in bad shape and I was sure she would die. So, I brought her into the house, cleaned her up with some saline, and put antibiotic ointment on the wounds. Then, I wrapped her in a towel and left her alone. She had food and water in the tote she was in. I kept her quiet and made sure that she drank a bit each day. I didn't worry about food for the first few days.

She healed up. She was able to lead a semi-normal life. She was afraid of chickens her size because they were the ones who tried to kill her. We had to keep her with our bantam flock. She mothered them and let the little girls under her to keep warm. She never laid an egg. She loved people. She lived almost a year after the incident. There is hope! Just give your gal a little TLC and see what happens! Good luck!

 

[Chicksrulefarm]

What an amazing story. Chickens are such survivors. Good news about my chick, she will make it too. Eventually she opened both eyes. The skin on her cheeks, neck and back of the head is gone. I was applying Neosporin with pain reliever to her wounds and she felt better. It is still looks bad but it is healing. She eats very well and quite active. Hopefully she will grow some feathers back. Thank you for your support, everybody.