hurt baby chick

[sudolph]

Hi Folks,
A newbie, here. I have 23, 2 week-old baby chicks of various breeds, cochins to Wyandotte bantams which were all doing fine when I went to bed last night. They are in an appliance box in my basement. Got up this morning to find one of the two cochins crouched in the corner with a bloody tail. Her little tail is completely pecked to the flesh and looks like raw hamburger meat in a diameter of about 1.25 inches around her tail, mostly under the tail. I put her in another box with light, feed, and water, washed and dried her, and put preparation H on her since my vet recommends it to draw cirulation and promote healing. She went to sleep. This afternoon she wants out of that box in a bad way and is pecking her own tail, now.

What do I do?

Sudolph

 

[bigzio]

sudolph, Welcome to BYC, keeping your peep seprate until it heals is important, so you are doing the right thing. I would keep a eye on the peep and see what happens. Is it possible the chick had a pasted rear causing the problem? ( poo stuck to the down )

Things should improve if that's the cause. I would hope the peep will ease up on itself, prolly feels the preperation H on it's butt, but it's the right thing to do.

If you discover poo stuck to the rear, use a warm washcloth and gently and slowly remove. Hope this helps.

bigzio

 

[sudolph]

Thank you Bigzio. Will do. It wasn't pasty butt. I've been watching for that. All I can figure is that I turned the light off of them yesterday for the first time during the day. When I got home from school (I teach) they were all huddled in a corner as if they were freezing to death, so I switched on the light again as I would have at night, anyway. They had plenty of food at the time, but this morning were completely out. I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not. Additionally, I think they may need a bigger box. This is a TV box, not a washer of refrig box. I will get one Monday. No other pecking is occurring.

She's not eating either, and she isn't pecking at herself constantly. Do you think even one other chick would peck at her? I wonder if she just needs company.

Thanks again,
Sudolph

 

[robinh]

they may be too cramped, ur supposed to have 6in square for each chic.

 

[bigzio]

sudolph, if your chicks are huddled together indeed they are chilled. I leave heat on the peeps 24/7, they don't have feathers yet and need to be kept warm. Crowded chickens at any age is a problem.

It's ideal to have a large enough box so the peeps can move in under the light when needed and also away when too warm.

Temporary measures with the brooder you have is ok, just keep the heat going at the proper temp. At 2 weeks they still need 85- 90 degrees, don't overheat just watch the peeps they will tell you if they are comphy. Huddled they are cold, peeping and looking for a cool place.... too hot, laying around stretching and seem happy, just right.

bigzio

 

[sudolph]

Thanks to you both for replies. I'm concerned about her not eating or drinking.
Sudolph

 

[bigzio]

sudolph, I think she may be resting from the ordeal, hopefully she will recover. Young chicks can at times seem strong and others very fragile. Sometimes they don't make it through, but if you do your best to help ,that's all that can be expected. If you do the best you can and lose a peep, it's the hardest part to this, but also part of the process of raising peeps. Good Luck.

bigzio

 

[mudhen]

How is the peep doing today?

 

[sudolph]

Hello all,
Hurt chick is doing fine. It will be a week tomorrow. Did I say she's a cochin? Well, she's true to the description of her nature. She's walks over to my hand when I reach into her box. She's eating and drinking and stopped pecking at herself when I quit putting ointment on her. She's now scabbed over very nicely. Most of the area is only feather-bare, not wounded flesh. I think I see nubs of new feathers coming in. And she makes the cutest chortling sound. I never heard this kind of sound from a chicken. Her name is Ruby. Don't know why. I just think she's jewel.

Thanks for the encouragement. I think she's going to make it.

Sudolph

 

[mudhen]

So glad to hear the good news!
If you can, post a picture, she sounds darling!