Neck skin missing on young chicken after attack

[Paladin]

Again, thank you all for your help. I was a bit concerned about flies, but I wondered if the ointment would keep them away from it. I'm gathering that the better plan is to keep the area as moist as possible, rather than letting it dry out, particularly, I would assume, around the edges where the skin is so if there's any growth to be done it can continue.

She really hates being in boxes in the house and she's feeling quite fine, she would be happy to tell you. I can catch her when she goes to bed each night and apply more ointment and a fly repellent. Would good old Vaseline be just as good for the moistening effect? I know it's often not a good idea to keep using antibiotics when they're not strictly necessary since your own body's mechanisms are also affected by them so if it looks good, and seems to be healing I wondered if switching to vaseline might be effective - it's thicker than E, obviously. I wonder, also, about using aloe on it since that's a tried and true healer too.

I'm DEET adverse, so I don't imagine that would be good for a chicken either. How about some of the botanical repellents - which I happen to have due to little kids that come to visit.

Gosh, some of the awful stories you guys have told are heartwrenching and it really does seem a miracle that some of the patients survived. Who cares if they're not as fancy, missing some feathers, etc. Being alive and healthy counts for far more to them, I'm sure.

 

[threehorses]

Honestly as much as I am against using antibiotics until you absolutely have to, I still make a point to use the antibiotic ointment rather than switching to Vaseline. The reason being that vaseline would still cut off some air access, enabling bacteria to thrive. The antibacterial action of the antibiotic ointment will keep that from happening while still continuing to help the area. So I'd just stick with what you have.

On the botanicals, I don't see why not.

On the heartbreaks, that's part of having birds. They're the prey for everything it seems. My mom warned me when, as an adult, I decided to get back into chickens. She warned me about the heartbreak. "Oh you just can't, Nat - they'll break your heart."

When she realized she was getting no where with me, that my (stubborn) mind was set, then I saw another side of her. "Well you'll need some hens to go with that rooster." Of course, she had to come help me pick them out, and carrying them home she had the biggest grin on her face. (She secretely enjoyed them just as much as I did... I guess that's why she knew there's be heartbreak.) It was something we shared til the end of her life, and a little bit of me still dedicates each batch of chickens to her - and her insistence that my rooster just HAD to have some girls!

If the heartbreaks weren't worth it, I wouldn't have had them all this time - that's for sure. But thankfully they give more than they take.

 

[Paladin]

Yes, all of our dear animal friends provide the joys along with the heartbreaks. I've had chickens on and off for quite a few years and some were very dear souls indeed. We also have cats (mostly all homeless) and dogs so we get the joys and sorrows of all.

Maybe someone can give me an idea of who gets at chickens and eats their heads off. It seems there's a very specific mode of attack on some animals. I've had heads eaten and nothing else. Had one hen whose back end was ripped out (coon after the eggs?) and of course hawk attacks are pretty obvious. We also have owls who will pick off a little one if they get a chance, hence the fancy and tight chicken house we built.

Thanks, again, all who have responded to me. I will continue with the antibiotic ointment, as advised.

 

[Judy]

Agree with threehorses on the antibiotic ointment and botanical repellants.

If your injured chicken doesn't get pecked by the others, then you are probably right, she's better off with them.

Missing head usually = coon, I believe. Here's a good thread on this:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=18670

Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

[threehorses]

OMG really on the coon!! Oh that just makes me so mad.

That means I have a raccoon in my barn. I lost a hen a while ago - perfectly healthy, found her on the ground with her head missing. I thought maybe a horse stepped on her. (I always worry about that.) But now I"m not so sure!


Ugh.

 

[Paladin]

Good article you suggested, and thanks for the ideas. I'm guessing this particular raid was foxes, plural, since a couple were missing outright. One was dead outside the pen, but intact, and one was stuck with her head through the fence and her head bitten off. Sounds like one must have been inside and one (at least) outside and when she was scared and flew at the side, the outside one bit at what stuck out.

Just for the record, the pen is 4' high and we had it completely covered (against rain, hawks, and, we thought, predators) but they apparently figured out how to get in the side, uner the cover. We built a wire cage we close them in at night now, so we won't have that during the night again.

Incidentally, other than that ugly missing skin on her neck, our little 'Plucky' is doing just fine and I'm going to smear her up and let her go out with her siblings today.

 

[Judy]

Great to hear that Plucky is doing well!

Thanks for the update.

 

[ChasSquirrel]

Here is my 'Sweet Pea' right after the attack....

and here is 'Sweet Pea' now...

Good Luck with Plucky

 

[Paladin]

Wow, Sweet Pea certainly recovered well! Is that gention violet on her? Thanks for the pics, it gives me renewed hope. Plucky lost more skin than that, but it is on the back of her neck where it's easier to see and keep treated. Thanks!

 

[ChasSquirrel]

I spoil 'Sweet Pea' too.

She always gets the first and last piece of bread and plenty in between. When I found this picture, it all came back to me what I did. Initially I cleaned the wound with betadine and hydrogen peroxide. I clipped away the feathers best I could. The purple stuff is Dr. Naylor's Blu-Kote. Its a antiseptic protective wound dressing. It probably helped keep flies away. After I cleaned it, I covered it with the triple-antibiotic. Over the next couple weeks, I'd just spray some more of the Blu-Kote on it. She stayed purple for a long time even after I stopped putting it on. She was too cute...