Is that really their brain.... updated with pics!

[smom1976]

Ok so I have some polish.. and when their head feathers get wet they tend to get pecked.. only when they are wet.. I picked up one today and it is like her head is swolen.. I looked closer and it is reall soft .. no bony like hard feeling.. is that their brain??

OH MY GOODNESS if it is..

blury but another

now it only seems to be agravated when their heads get wet..

it is kinda mushy swollen looking.

is it because the feathers get heavy
I am not so sure of pecking persay because it is all over vs one spot..

 

[jenjscott]

Crested breeds like silkies and polish have a hole in the top of their skull. That is why they are more susceptable to head injury than other breeds.

 

[robinaggie]

I got Silkie eggs from an ebay seller by mistake (I ordered Cochins). I read about this skull/brain thing and it terrifies me. I really don't want them, and they are pipping as we speak!

 

[robinaggie]

That photo shows bloodied skin, not brain. But in some Silkies (and maybe Polish) there's little or no bone on top of the head, so any trauma, including pecking, could do serious damage. I don't know what's going on, but hopefully someone can help you out. Keep trying.

 

[smom1976]

there is no blood that is lets just say broken vessels.. it seems as if the others are picking the feathers rather than pecking..

It has been raining here all day and now I have one of my White crested polish running around looking like that too..

 

[robinaggie]

Could it be that they have skin problems that are aggravated by humidity?

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
Please don't worry about them. They will be fine. I have 5 Polish, 3 silkies, and 4 Polish chicks and one half polish chick. Some of mine went thru a phase where their scalp was bright red. I was thinking sunburn because their head feathers are sparse. And when Polish poofs are wet, they really do look abnormal. Don't be terrified, just enjoy them, they are cute little buggers.

 

[TexasJoe]

As long as there is no infection or direct open wound, i would apply PICK-NO-MORE to the afflicted area, and hopefully the other chickens will quickly learn that it's not good to pick at eachother.

 

[dlhunicorn]

you need to separate that bird till fully healed...there is no anti-peck I know of that is guaranteed to work and in the case of silkies and also polish the peck can initiate crook neck caused by brain inflammation.