My hens have ganged up on her

[Millerj23717]

The hens started to be a bit bratty to this poor girl, and now they’ve done THIS to her someone please help how do I treat this? Or is it too severe? It’s literally a flap covering her skull that when she shakes it flaps off

 

[swamphiker]

I'm so sorry your chicken has suffered such a serious injury! Chickens can be so ruthless. Chickens can often recover from quite severe injuries. If you want to give her a chance, here are a few first steps:
-Separate her from the flock ASAP and put her somewhere sheltered and warm. If it's cold, you might consider adding a heat lamp.
-Make sure she is drinking. Injured/sick chickens may not be drinking on their own and can get dehydrated quickly. You can help her by taking a dropper or syringe with the needle removed and dripping the water slowly and carefully into her mouth, taking care that she doesn't aspirate. Save-a-chick is great to add for electrolytes if it's available.
-You'll want to keep the wound clean and dry to prevent infection. Antibiotics to aid with this are usually available at feed stores.

Best of luck to your chook!

 

[PippinTheChicken]

@aart @Wyorp Rock @azygous @casportpony @Eggcessive

 

[PippinTheChicken]

This is awful! I'm sorry this has happened to you and your poor girl. Is the skull broken?
Separate her for sure. Inside, where there's no dirt or anything that can get in the wound.
Is she eating/drinking?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The hens started to be a bit bratty to this poor girl, and now they’ve done THIS to her someone please help how do I treat this? Or is it too severe? It’s literally a flap covering her skull that when she shakes it flaps off

How long has she been injured like this?
Looking at the scab it's several days old and has been reopened by pecking?

Flush the wound well with Chlorhexidine, then apply triple antibiotic ointment.
Keep her in her own space with her own/food water.

 

[azygous]

1. Treat for shock as the number one step. Give warm Gatoraid or mix a half teaspoon of sugar into a fourth of a cup of warm water with a pinch of salt and baking soda. Have the patient drink it all or syringe it into the beak.

2. Flush the wound well with saline. This is better than soap and water as it maintains the PH of the tissues. But warm soap and water will do. You need to wash away the bacteria from the wound.

3. Inspect the wound carefully. If it has a skin flap dangling, keep that. Do not cut it off. Look for bite, tear or puncture marks indicating a puncture wound. If you see this, the patient will need an oral antibiotic such as amoxicillin. Bacteria from the predator’s mouth can be injected deep into tissue and can kill in as little as 24 to 48 hours. You can order this https://www.kvsupply.com/item/aqua-mox-250mg-capsules-100-count/P06184/250mg once a day for ten days. Or you may be able to find this or something similar at TSC or a pet store.

4. Spray with Vetericyn wound treament and let dry. Use a topical antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin or a generic without pain killer in it to coat the wound. If there's a skin flap, lay it across the wound that has just been coated with the ointment. Then smooth on a generous amount over the top of the skin flap to hold it in place.

5. It's useless to try to stitch a wound on a chicken. Don't even try. It's also useless to try to bandage a wound other than on the feet. The chicken will not tolerate it. It will be pulled off faster than you can blink an eye.

6. Clean the wound every day following the above steps. Keep the wound covered with the ointment. Never allow the wound to get dried out or it will not heal.

 

[Allkindsosass]

The hens started to be a bit bratty to this poor girl, and now they’ve done THIS to her someone please help how do I treat this? Or is it too severe? It’s literally a flap covering her skull that when she shakes it flaps off

Im so sorry! We have a poor girl that this has happened to. We feel so badly for her, she keeps healing though. <3