I need help RIGHT NOW! Yellow jackets are eating my chicks alive!

[LaynaDon95]

Thanks everyone! I've decided if the chick lives I'm going to call him Phantom, like the Phantom of the Opera.

I cleaned the little guy's face up. (I'm pretty sure his left eye is gone

) I crushed up a benedryl tablet and put the tiniest pinch of the powder into a little water and dropper fed him some of it. His breathing is back to normal. I gave Mama the chick from the incubator which she took without question, and I put little Phantom into the incubator so his siblings and Mama wouldn't peck at his freshly wounded face. (I don't know if they would or not, but chickens tend to do that, to I wasn't doing to risk it.) I'll let you know how he's doing in the morning. Right now he's trying to decide whether he should sleep on the hurt side of his face, so he can see out of his good eye, or sleep on the good side of his face to keep from hurting the wounded side. Poor little guy.

 

[centrarchid]

Show a picture of a dead yellow jacket with something like a coin next to it.

I have seen yellow jackets do weird things but that is usually towards the end of a colonies life. Also make certain tractor is not on top of nest.

 

[LaynaDon95]

Show a picture of a dead yellow jacket with something like a coin next to it.

...Why?...

 

[centrarchid]

...Why?...

There are many kinds of yellow jackets, especially in southern U.S. Also some kinds hornets that might do as you describe. Preventing future such happenings might be easier if problem more thoroughly understood.

 

[LaynaDon95]

There are many kinds of yellow jackets, especially in southern U.S. Also some kinds hornets that might do as you describe. Preventing future such happenings might be easier if problem more thoroughly understood.

Gotcha. I'll do my best. They are mean little suckers. We threw a party for the 4th and I got stung by one then. I went inside and refused to come out for quite some time because they leave a pheromone on you when they sting you that the other wasps can follow and they WILL attack you. We had that happen at a birthday party once. We were at a park and the kids apparently ran over the nest. The ENTIRE nest swarmed them and followed them, stinging all the way. We called the city every couple weeks until we had conformation they had destroyed the nest.

I'm not looking forward to hunting down the nest. I imagine it's going to be a painful experience.

 

[LaynaDon95]

Phantom is alive and seemingly well this morning. His face was swollen again when I woke up to the point he couldn't see out of his good eye, so I gave him some more benedryl. The swelling is back down and he is eating and drinking. I think his left eye may still be intact. He keep tilting his head like he can see out of it. But there is blood crusted over that side of his face. I'm about to try to clean him up again. This is going to painful for both of us, but it's the only way to save his eye is it's still there. He can't even shut it right now.

 

[Eggcessive]

If you have some blue food coloring, you could use that to put on his face in order to put him back under the broody hen. It would be safer to put around his eye than BluKote which has alcohol. The blue ingredient in BluKote is gentian violet which would be safe to put around the face and eyes, and can be found on the shelves of WalMart in the bandaid/antiseptic aisle in tiny bottles. Much cheaper than BluKote I might add.

 

[LaynaDon95]

If you have some blue food coloring, you could use that to put on his face in order to put him back under the broody hen. It would be safer to put around his eye than BluKote which has alcohol. The blue ingredient in BluKote is gentian violet which would be safe to put around the face and eyes, and can be found on the shelves of WalMart in the bandaid/antiseptic aisle in tiny bottles. Much cheaper than BluKote I might add.

I might do that later. Thanks! I have to monitor him really closely right now because he keeps trying to slip back into a reaction when the benedryl wears off. I've just cleaned his face. His eye is still there but there is no way he can see out of it... I can see his skull in places. I've put some Complete Tissue and Bone oil on it, which I've used on chickens (whose skull was showing as well) before and it worked wonders.

ETA: I do have BlueKote and blue food coloring, BTW, so if I end up needing to use that I will, but I'm worried about putting anything chemically on him right now.

 

[LaynaDon95]

He's insisting on lots of cuddles right now. When I put him in his cage he just cries and cries, so I'm holding him a lot right now. But he's doing great!!

 

[BarredRockMom]

He's insisting on lots of cuddles right now. When I put him in his cage he just cries and cries, so I'm holding him a lot right now. But he's doing great!!

How is Phantom? And how did you get rid of your yellow jackets? I just found a couple of nests in our yard, not too close to the coop, but I don't want to use chemicals on them because I don't want my girls to ingest anything harmful. I've been reading on-line this morning & read somewhere that the females are the only ones who survive the winters in their nests, the males all die. I've got to do something so that they ALL die & soon!!