Peep wounded by cat. Need advice about treatment.

[bantyshanty]

Any advice or success stories or hugs would be appreciated!
I've hatched in small batches in these incubators dozens of times. This has never happened before. (Need hugs, not berating here.)
I had 2 Brinsea Mini Advances each with 3 eggs in them.
I had a hatch start this morning of two sizzles (splash & black).
One chick had hatched in each batch.
My office door is always closed, but doesn't always latch d/t door frame not being squared.
I checked & found 2 peeps at 6 am. I checked them again at 7 am.
At 8 am I walked past my door & heard the 'bator alarm going off. I came in & one of the 'bators, which is shut inside a wicker cabinet,
was out on the floor upside down, with two eggs on the carpet and the chick goone!
My dd went upstairs and found the chick on the hallway floor, not moving.

Age of chick:
<6 hours
Breed:
Silkie/cochin (Sizzle)

What happened that may have caused the situation.
Mild mauling by cat. Chick was cold (on LVR floor, about 75 F) & nearly unresponsive. After 5 minutes of holding started moving & cheeping. Eyes remained shut.

Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
Two tooth would marks on back, not bleeding. A little yellowish fluid (yolk or peritoneal fluid?) is leaking from the belly, and the chick is cheeping & dragging itself along.
Legs look fine, but belly seems to be hurting.

What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
After 5 minutes of warming with my hands, in a paper towel, I put the chick under the full-term broody hen I have had in my house for days to brood my chicks.
In a half hour the chick dragged itself out from Mama who ignored it in favor of the other chick (bad sign),
and put it in a clean, dry Brinsea Mini with a paper towel on the bottom, and no water.
I spritzed the chick's belly with a little Brinsea Disinfectant (surfactants & amines) & water, then dried off in a few minutes.
Thought this would be better than Neosporin, as it is a puncture wound and needs to discharge.

If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
I've taken pictures, as the chick is now in an incubator, but they don't show too much.

It's cheeping strongly as I write, so that shows it's got good spirit right now.


Any other suggestions for topical medications? It's not at the eating stage yet, as it's only 6 hours old & in shock.
Could try to give it an antibiotic orally, but that might shock it more.

PS, the Brinsea Advance which was tipped upside down was full of water, and this seems to have damaged the computer & thermostat into not working. It doesn't function at all when plugged in.
Oy!!!

 

[lieselanne]

I'm so sorry! I know you said you wanted hugs and not berating, so keep in mind that almost all chicken owners have made mistakes that they regret. It's easy to say, "Oh, you shouldn't have done this or that," but just the fact that you seem so upset shows that you had the best intentions in mind, despite a faulty door. I will keep my fingers crossed for your chick. I've never incubated before, and have never seen a chicken hatch. I can only imagine what it must feel like to see that little baby pop out that you have already spent so much time caring about, only to have something like this happen. Good luck to you and lots and lots of hugs!

 

[bantyshanty]

lieselanne,

Thanks for your encouragement! I really didn't think the cat could pop the latch open on the wicker cabinet door, let alone get into my office. She's gotten pretty fat & lazy at the age of 1.
The little chick is in the incubator again, alone, and is obviously in pain, I hope she makes it!

 

[yinepu]

please keep a close eye on those punctures.. a cat has a ton of bacteria in it's mouth.. and a puncture wound like that will close up and allow the bacteris to incubate.. cat bites are one of the worst things to deal with as far as animal attacks..
When I worked wildlife rehab i always cringed when we would have an animal brought in with cat bites. they can become very nasty

 

[ReikiStar]

Quote:
X's 2. I'm really sorry this happened. Hoping the best for that little chick.

FYI: For puncture wounds, we've used iodine.

 

[bantyshanty]

Quote:
X's 2. I'm really sorry this happened. Hoping the best for that little chick.

FYI: For puncture wounds, we've used iodine.

Thanks, that's really helpful to know. I just gave him/her a little iodine Q-tip bath on all the wounds. Trouble is now that much of the yolk is leaking out. It's yolk color & smells like yolk. I think she's done

but she's got a little nest of paper towels & tape towels in the incubator & that's the best that can be done.

 

[bantyshanty]

Little peep died this evening. Puncture wound in belly leaked yolk & baby weakened. First chicken to die of a predator here ever, and it was barely even hatched.