My first injury, need some advice please....

[nono]

As I was loading my 9 pullets (five 4 week/four 5 week) into their transport box to move them from their brooder (a large dog crate) for some outside time, I found one of my 5 week old Arau's with a badly injured back. This was not there last night, so it must have happened this morning. From the looks of the blood stained beaks on several of the other chicks in the flock, this was not a one bird bully...and everthing I've read is true, that when chickens smell blood they quickly jump on the bandwagon. I'm not sure how to treat this wound because it's so big. Will a antibiotic cream be ok? Or peroxcide be better? Or both? Up till this morning, I've had a very harmonious flock, although I've been anxious to get them moved to their coop because their brooder is becoming a bit too crowded in my opinion. Their coop/run is being finished this weekend, and coming week. I know I should isolate this chick so she stays safe and can heal...but how should I do that? With a crate next to the other chicks? Or maybe with only one or two as companions? Thank you for any medical advice you can give me...as well as thoughts on how to segregate her while she is healing...and how long that might take.

 

[86121]

Oh dear, well make sure you stop the bleeding an clean the wound. Just keep putting antibiotic ointment on it, no peroxide!
If its not deep just keep it clean, keep her crated separate from the chicks like you read, and if you like keep her next to the others. Do not put anyone in with her or else you will risk them making it worse.
The healing will take as long as it does im afraid. No wound is the same, or heals the same :/

 

[tlsmpsn]

I just had a huge gang up on one of my youngins while they were all outside foraging together... it has a huge injury on it's wing/shoulder area and done it's back, with exposed bone in the wing. I spent hours here, reading post after post on here to find out the best way to treat it. I thought for sure this little one (4 weeks old) was a goner.

First I gently washed the wound, then I applied a heavy coat of Neosporin (don't use the kind with pain reliever). I did this twice a day for 2 days. I tried to put gauze on and bandage it, but it didn't tolerate that well at all, so I just left it open to the air. On the third day, I washed gently again and began using Wonder Dust (I bought at TSC). I've been applying that daily. It's been 7 days and the difference is remarkable. The little guy has a nice scabbed area forming and is eating, drinking and generally doing well. Once I'm sure it's a solid scab and nothing exposed, I'm switching to BluKote.

I've got it isolated from the others, in a wading pool in my laundry room and will continue to keep it there until fully healed.

Good luck! They are incredibly resilient!!

 

[nono]

Thank you WhiteWinterWolf. I just cleaned it with some warm water and put some Bacitracin on it (which is what I had in the house.) I'll make up a smaller brooder just for her now, and get her settled into it. I'm so glad we've been handling them as much as we have. She was so patient with me (no one else is home right now, so I was a solo medical attendent) and just sat on my hand quietly as I cleaned it, and gently rubbed on the meds. I'm going to hook up a heat lamp to her brooder, just to keep her a bit warmer for the next 24 hours. I had weaned them down off the lamp early this week because the temps had warmed up so much, and their feather have really come in nicely. Have you had experience with this reoccurring once they are reintroduced into the flock? In other words, will she always be the brunt of attacks because she was this time? Based on my reading (this forum and reference books) this is the age that they all start figuring out their pecking order...so I'm wondering if it was based on that...and it got out of hand because they drew blood and are in close confinement. Our coop is going to be large (8x8) along with the run (20x15), so hopefully once they have more room, the dominance will not be as blood thirsty? I hope. ugh.

 

[nono]

Thank you Tlsmpsn, I'm going to try the Wonderdust...I already have that in the barn for my horses. I'll do like you said, and give it a couple of days then apply that. I'm encouraged to hear that you little guy is doing so well after it's injury. I had read about the possibility of this happening, but imagined it as a much smaller occurance (like the size of a quarter, or silver dollar.) The shear size of this injury, in such a short period of time really shocked me. Again, thank you for your help.

 

[shober]

Blue kote works very well and helps stop the others from pecking at the wound.

 

[nono]

Can I pick that up at my grain store or is it a human med? I'm not familiar with it. Thank you!

 

[CowgirlJules]

Seconding the Blue Kote. Besides being an antiseptic, the other birds no longer see blood and stop picking. Yes, it's a feed store thing. Mine has it over by the horse medications.

 

[nono]

Thank you Cowgirl Jules. Is it a powder? Do you recommend putting it on now...or waiting for a day or so, till it's not so raw?

 

[CowgirlJules]

It's a spray. Put it on right now, it helps prevent infection.