Injury - Chick missing half of skull Need advice

[DoodleRoo]

Be very cautious when you are preparing to reintegrate her. I would start putting her back with the others in a small cage with food and water, so they can be together. Then, have some supervised visits with them (the ones of her age) for days. This may take some time because she is not part of their pecking order. I worry a little about her getting hurt again. Sometimes it is easier to put a friend in with her for awhile, then add the 2 to the flock. Anyway, I am glad that she has survived well and is healing. A single chick sometimes bonds very close to it's owner. Good luck.

Thank you. I've wondered about how she would do when re-introduced to the pecking order. Do you think I should bring in another chick to be with her now, or wait till she's completely healed? I wouldn't want the chick pecking at her wound when it's almost healed up.

 

[DoodleRoo]

UPDATE!

My chick, her head completely healed and covered in feathers again, has been back with her flock for over a month. Here is a picture I took of her on her last day inside (with funny caption cause I thought she looked so grumpy in this photo)!

The good news is that she's eating and drinking fine, and the other chickens have not caused her any harm. The -bad- news is that she hasn't been able to incorporate herself back into the 'chick clique' she was in before she was injured. She mostly free ranges alone now, though the other young chickens allow her to roost next to them at night.

I'm sad about her not being 100% accepted back into the flock though, and I was wondering if anyone had advice on this, or if you know that she may be able to incorporate herself back on her own in time? Any shared experiences or advice would be very helpful.

 

[SIMZ]

That is incredible! You did a great job nursing her through that. Good job!

 

[DoodleRoo]

Thank you so much, SIMZ! I'm just hoping she eventually starts hanging out with the young chicks again, like she used to (instead of being a loner like she is now)!

 

[cacknballs]

bobby mcgee made it!!!

 

[Eggcessive]

Good to hear that she is much improved. Things will probably work themselves out with her old friends. It just takes time.

 

[DoodleRoo]

bobby mcgee made it!!!

She did!

 

[DoodleRoo]

Good to hear that she is much improved. Things will probably work themselves out with her old friends. It just takes time.

Thank you! That's good to hear. She's worked up her courage to get a little closer to them when eating, but still gets run off often. I hope they eventually accept her back completely.

 

[Jenniferbaillie]

I hate that this has to be my first post here. I've been browsing here for some time and have found valuable advice on more than one occasion in these forums.

On to the topic, I was closing my coop tonight when I noticed something wrong with one of my Ameraucana chicks. At first I thought a hen had plucked out all the feathers from her skull cap but, it was so much worse, her entire top part of her skull was missing, revealing the soft tissue underneath!

This chick is kept in a side room inside the coop that is kept closed up (the chicks are hand raised and only about 7-8 weeks old) so I am at a loss as to how this injury occurred. Sometimes a grown hen or rooster will drop down into the chick's section from a rafter above, but I generally have to be the one to open the door and let them out and no adult chicken was trapped in there with them today. I also checked the coop for predators and haven't come up with any evidence of one yet, except for the injury of course.

I love my chickens and want to give this little one a chance. She is in my house now, in a large dog crate. She's bright-eyed, alert and doing her 'where am I and where is everyone else?' chirping. After I brought her in I noticed she quickly began eating from her dish too. As for medical care, I've cleaned the top of her head carefully (this part made me so nervous, because her brain might be partially exposed) and put a large amount of antibiotic ointment on it.

What I need to know is, what do you think could've caused this and, what else can I do to help her? We are not in a good financial situation at all atm so taking her to a vet is unfortunately not an option.

Thank you so much for any help and advice!

This just happened to me and it was one of my chickens who did it and I was looking for advice should I just put my chick to sleep because you can see the skull and everything and I don't know if he will survive

 

[Eggcessive]

This just happened to me and it was one of my chickens who did it and I was looking for advice should I just put my chick to sleep because you can see the skull and everything and I don't know if he will survive

This is a common injury. Please start a new thread of your own for more attention, post a fee pictures and details, and we will try to help you. Each case is different, but it is worth trying to save them. Here is where to post your thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures.10/post-thread