Momma hen ripped off skin off chick’s head. ;-(.

[Bocktobery 10]

I would just keep those two separate from the rest of them till they are big enough to have a fighting chance, at least 1/2 the size of your others, it would be like what you would do if you'd bought chicks from tractor supply or something. You now know with this momma to be very careful with her. Has she done anything to the ones that hatched earlier? it could have been just a rejection on her part.

Yeah, that’s the thing- she’s done perfectly fine with the others.. no other problems so far. I check on them frequently. She’s even done very well with other hatches. I was very surprised to see this. That’s why I figured it was because of smell or the hen freaking out thinking something was wrong with it.... and perhaps maybe there is (something wrong with it) but I’ll just keep ‘em separate for now. As I type both if them are chitter-chattering and eating.

 

[Shadrach]

Thanks Shadrach... that’s a good article! I’m not sure where to get that product around here. I’m also concerned it would get into the chick’s ears and eyes the rip is quite close.

I have another chick with it right now. They are both doing well in the brooder set up.

You may find it or similar by looking for Pine Tar.
Yup, not good for the eyes or ears, but I've managed albeit with a lot of mess and difficulty on hens here with head wounds.
Failing the above, you're left with the option of just making sure the wound stays clean (Chlorhexidine is what I use for cleaning) until sufficient healing has taken place.

 

[Bocktobery 10]

Punkybrewster, thanks for that tip.. I have a question though- would the good dye end up “tattoo-ing” the skin or flesh underneath? Or does it absorb and break down? Also, does blue coloring specifically cancel out the red color registration in birds?

Relieved to hear your chick made it!

 

[starri33]

Yeah, that’s the thing- she’s done perfectly fine with the others.. no other problems so far. I check on them frequently. She’s even done very well with other hatches. I was very surprised to see this. That’s why I figured it was because of smell or the hen freaking out thinking something was wrong with it.... and perhaps maybe there is (something wrong with it) but I’ll just keep ‘em separate for now. As I type both if them are chitter-chattering and eating.

Strange she reacted like this, but you are probably right that it was from the smell of the other hen.. I love listening to mine making racket..lol.. I've had some really noisy ones out of a couple of hatches.

 

[Bocktobery 10]

You may find it or similar by looking for Pine Tar.
Yup, not good for the eyes or ears, but I've managed albeit with a lot of mess and difficulty on hens here with head wounds.
Failing the above, you're left with the option of just making sure the wound stays clean (Chlorhexidine is what I use for cleaning) until sufficient healing has taken place.

I think I have some of that on hand- will it sting the chick when applied? The wound, thankfully, is quite clean.

I’ll look for the tar.. that’s a good one to add to the chicken medicine cabinet.

 

[CaliFarmsAR]

Oh no is she okay!!!

 

[Punkybrewster]

The blue dye hid the tempting red. It also went away on its own. I have a splash ameraucauna chick (which is almost completely white when young). It is just your average food coloring for baking and does not leave a permanent coloring. Also, i only needed to apply the mixture once and left it alone to heal on its own. Ive had to do this a few times over the years.

 

[Bocktobery 10]

Strange she reacted like this, but you are probably right that it was from the smell of the other hen.. I love listening to mine making racket..lol.. I've had some really noisy ones out of a couple of hatches.

Lol- yes, it’s quite soothing, the tiny quiet peeping.

The chick was under the hen that hatched it for about half a day. Hard to say exactly how long as it hatched overnight. Depending on how early in the night it hatched, it might’ve been longer. The other mother was already at that stage when the new babies had hatched and rested and were up for gathering food. I’ve seen hens freak over chicks that were sleepy and try to wrestle them awake to eat with the rest of the crew. This was my first thought as to maybe what occurred because she didn’t reject the chick when I placed it under her. I stayed and watched fir 30 minutes and she was fine with it, then later checked back a few hours later and all was well. The chick was with this new momma for about 4 to 5 hours before the injury. I should note, the hens and chicks are separate from others, so the culprit leans heavily on “mom”,

 

[CrazyChookChookLady]

I had a similar episode with a 4 week old chick. I now swear by vetericyn spray. I only cleaned the injury once or twice in the very beginning. I sprayed this on twice a day and within 2 weeks she had enough feather coverage to return to her flock.

She recovered completely and now sports a cool little tuff of feathers and the very back of her comb, it's the only way to tell she had any injury there at all.

 

[Bocktobery 10]

Oh no is she okay!!!

It appears it is okay so far. Looks horrific. I know. I nearly freaked when I saw it.