I hope this little one makes it!

[coopdevil86]

Hi everyone!
I hope someone can give me some advice.
Here's what happened.

My broody hen, BC, this year is sitting on her first nest. Mama has always been a difficult Hen, and with her sitting on a nest amplified her hostility towards me. Hence her name, B**ch Chicken, or BC. I was hoping the Hen from last year would've gone broody again for her second nest, but of course it didn't work out like that.

BC is sitting on eight eggs that I have labeled and monitored their growth, while giving Mama a space to feel safe from the rest of my flock. 4 eggs were further along in growth. Yesterday was Hatch day for the first 4.

When I reached under her that's when I saw a chick. It was fully out of its shell, and looked like it had some wetness still to its feathers, so maybe an hour old at the most. But then I noticed the dead ones.
After close examination they were still in the shell and hadn't been given the chance to get out like this other lucky one. I removed 2 full bodies, the 3rd one there was nothing left but some feathered piece.
When I went back to Mama, she was attacking the healthy chick!
I quickly grabbed it, and brought into my house.
The image below shows the condition of the chick. It got pretty bad wounds to the side of its head, on both sides!

One side looks a lot worse then the other.
In my panic, I did the only thing I could think of. I cleaned the area as best I could, then I put an antibiotic ointment over it, and bandaged it up!

This image shows the chick still hangin with me, and under a heat lamp.

I've since named it Lucky if it makes it.

Late yesterday afternoon Lucky gave a few healthy peeps, and I haven't heard from it since. I'm concerned about any long term effects, hearing, vision, and any motor skills disabled.

Lucky has made it through the night, and when I checked this AM, it seems the eyes are sealed shut.
I rubbed a q-tip with warm water over them. One side is non-responsive. The other side I get movement out of the little guy.

Any suggestions I could try to get Lucky back on her feet?

 

[DiamondSwan]

Awww, poor baby! Is she eating, drinking, and walking? If she's not, I would warm the little one up in your hands and feed her plain yogurt mixed with water from an eyedropper (If she's not drinking, give her water this way too). Don’t force the liquid into her beak (unless she's so weak she won’t take food at all), but rather drip very small amounts onto the end of the beak so the baby can tip her head back and swallow it. Be sure she stays warm, and continue feedings at least every 2 hours until she's able to get food and water on her own. If she begins to perk up, you can mix a pinch of chick starter feed into the yogurt mix and see if she will peck at the mix to eat. Give her a few drops of straight nutri drench with a dropper twice daily, and continue cleaning her wounds, using antibiotic ointmen, and rapping it. I would also use sav - A - chick electrolytes and probiotics (1 teaspoon each to 1 quart of water), along with apple cider vinegar (2 teaspoons to 1 quart).

 

[Blooie]

I don't know what her chances are, to be honest. And if she does come out of it with just some deficits it will be really hard to integrate her with the flock. They'll sense her weakness and you'll be spending more time wrapping and treating than anything else. But you can certainly hope and try!

I second the Nutri-drench. It's instant nutrition directly into the bloodstream because it doesn't have to go through the digestive system first. And I might suggest that you check the label on the antibiotic cream or ointment you are using and make sure it doesn't have a pain reliever in it. Anything with "caine" in the ingredients isn't good for them. Good luck!

 

[coopdevil86]

Awww, poor baby! Is she eating, drinking, and walking? If she's not, I would warm the little one up in your hands and feed her plain yogurt mixed with water from an eyedropper (If she's not drinking, give her water this way too). Don’t force the liquid into her beak (unless she's so weak she won’t take food at all), but rather drip very small amounts onto the end of the beak so the baby can tip her head back and swallow it. Be sure she stays warm, and continue feedings at least every 2 hours until she's able to get food and water on her own. If she begins to perk up, you can mix a pinch of chick starter feed into the yogurt mix and see if she will peck at the mix to eat. Give her a few drops of straight nutri drench with a dropper twice daily, and continue cleaning her wounds, using antibiotic ointmen, and rapping it. I would also use sav - A - chick electrolytes and probiotics (1 teaspoon each to 1 quart of water), along with apple cider vinegar (2 teaspoons to 1 quart).

Thank you so much! Definitely info I will hang on too, regardless if Lucky makes it or not.

 

[coopdevil86]

I don't know what her chances are, to be honest.  And if she does come out of it with just some deficits it will be really hard to integrate her with the flock.  They'll sense her weakness and you'll be spending more time wrapping and treating than anything else.  But you can certainly hope and try!

I second the Nutri-drench.  It's instant nutrition directly into the bloodstream because it doesn't have to go through the digestive system first.  And I might suggest that you check the label on the antibiotic cream or ointment you are using and make sure it doesn't have a pain reliever in it.  Anything with "caine" in the ingredients isn't good for them.  Good luck!

Thank you for your reply. I agree the chances of survival are slim, but I can't kill it. Even if it means putting it out of it's misery. Also thank you for your helpful info, I will hang on to it.

 

[coopdevil86]

This AM, Lucky has died through the night.
Last night I changed the wrappings and tried the water in a syringe, it was extremely weak. I felt like I was drowning it, and I probably was.
Anyway, I felt hopeless, and this little baby was a fighter. I just didn't have all the means to be able to keep it with me. I feel Lucky is in a better place.
RIP Lucky chick.

 

[Blooie]

I'm so sorry. Having nursed a little one through a rough time myself I know how much dedication it takes. Mine lived to take charge of the coop and he did a fine job, even with his deformities from the frostbite. But we ended up losing him anyway when he was 8 or 9 months old. You did all you could, and you did a great job!

 

[coopdevil86]

I'm so sorry.  Having nursed a little one through a rough time myself I know how much dedication it takes.  Mine lived to take charge of the coop and he did a fine job, even with his deformities from the frostbite.  But we ended up losing him anyway when he was 8 or 9 months old. You did all you could, and you did a great job!

Aww, thanks so much. I feel like I really did try my best but it wasn't good enough.
That's amazing to hear about your roo. Thank you for sharing his story.
Now moving forward I had another chick hatch yesterday, and it's thriving. I have 4 more still under the mama hen. (I had a miss count of the eggs the other day, yesterday I was able to confirm the count) Here's hoping the rest survive!

 

[Sutremaine]

If this happens again, take the live chick(s) out first. The other ones aren't going to get any more injured if they stay there.