Need help in figuring out how to protect her neck

[alessadry]

I have a chick that has been scratching her neck since she was three days old. Today she is 4 weeks old. Before she was doing little damage but now with her nails longer I hate seeing her neck bloody every day. I will tell you I have tried almost everything: antibiotics, anti-mite products, neosporin, olive oil..all things told me on this forum..it just seems that it has to happen..I am afraid she will scratch herself to death... I need a great idea to cover her neck and protect it from further damage.. I already trimmed her nails, but you get to the quick fast and this leaves them still pretty long... any ideas on how to protect her neck? I already tried a bandage around her neck but her scratching and rolling over her back, loosens it within minutes.. I need a great idea that will stay on her neck.. ideas?

Ps: I also tried tying up her legs like they do with spraddle legs but she panics and is unable to walk..

 

[Miss Lydia]

sounds almost like an allergy. why not get in touch with Nettie she makes all kinds of items for chcikens ducks etc. maybe she can come up with something. did you ever try benedryl {childrens} heres the link http://www.indoorducks.com

 

[chickenzoo]

I would make her some type of soft shoe for that foot so she can't hurt herself until you can find out why she is scratching.....

 

[alessadry]

Hubby came with the idea of using a rubber band tight enough not to let her scratch but loose enough to allow her to walk..she is keeping it on so far but started pecking on it

I need her wounds to heal!!!!!!!! sometimes she rolls on her back and is still able to scratch a bit..

 

[Miss Lydia]

did you ever try a tad of childrens benedryl? the reason i am asking is back in the winter my little dachshund had a rash on his inner leg and he is a licker, I would dr. it and he would lick so it would never heal up finally had to take him to the vets, she put him on a course of antibiotics and childrens benedryl, I think between the 2 but mostly the benedryl because it wasn't itching any more he started leaving it alone and finally it healed up. So was thinking if you could use a tad of CB with your chick it might be enough to stop the itching and the scratching and break this cycle. just a thought..

 

[alessadry]

I must confess that is one thing I did not try yet, I am not sure on how I would give liquid medicine to a chick..add it to the food? open the beak and pour a drop in? also, when handling her I noticed lately her crop is hard and swollen, whereas it is barely noticeable in the other chicks.. can it be because she is scratching a lot and then in between fits eats a lot all at once? can the scratching be somewhat connected to the swollen crop? she is eating well and pooping as usual..she only eats chick starter with amprolium I have never allowed treats...

 

[Miss Lydia]

Not sure about her crop unless swollen, but if she's eating and drinking and pooping without any problems might just be from eating too much at once.. If you try the CB I'd take a dropper and just dribble it on the side of her beak where her mouth opens, it's sweet tasting so more than likely she'd drink it. try a couple of drops to start with then increase some if that doesn't relieve the itching.. poor thing to be having this at such a young age. Maybe you should try sprinkling some chick grit around in the brooder, they'll only use what they need.

 

[alessadry]

Purchased the children's Benadryl this morning. I came home and was upset that the bottle did not come with a dropper

So I had to improvise..I put a couple of drops in the small plastic measuring cup that comes included but she would not drink it voluntarily.. I did not want to put up a struggle so I added what looked like a couple of drops to her food and she really liked it! She was actually looking for more sweet flavored crumbles! however she continued to scratch about every minute or so, first her left side of the head then her right side of the head..then after two hours she started getting drowsy I guess, or it started taking effect and she has been sleeping since..I am not sure if I want to give another dose tonight.. I am afraid of over dosing. I also found a post of a guy saying you can cull a chicken by over dosing with benadryl, so I am not sure how much is too much.. there is not much literature out there about benadryl and chicken even though there is lots of info about giving it to dogs...
so far so good.. anything to make my poor chick relax a little bit and get those wounds to heal..my chick thanks you, and by the way.. even though she is sick and this upsets me, I must admit that something good came out of it all.. she is bonding a lot with me, chirps when she sees me and no longer fears being picked up or touched..I am afraid I will get attached to this little Jersey giant gal.. but I would hate if things would go down hill..

 

[Miss Lydia]

Maybe you might have an old dropper in something your not using,wash real good.. then just try the couple of drops.. I sure hope it helps, but if you have any doubts at all please don't continue, I wouldn't want anything to happen to her because you followed my advise. I just thought maybe just small amt. might help the poor little thing get this cycle broke. Please let me know how she is today.. Thanks.

 

[alessadry]

She was scratch free from 4 pm until 8 in the morning about 15 hours of peace! I gave another couple of drops this morning since she was starting to scratch again, and is doing already better..if I can continue this for a few days I think her wounds would heal and her feathers over her neck may grow back...if she is responding well, you were right about it being an allergy..but it is hard to understand to what since it started at 3 days old and all she was exposed to was baby chick starter with amprolium, pine pellets and the plastic water and food dispensers..wondering if some chicks may be allergic to amprolium.. or maybe the brooder light may dry up her skin or something..only time will tell I guess..my chick thanks you again for a very restful night..she has not slept like this for a very long time