Picking in 3 week old chicks. How do I fix this? *WARNING - ICKY PICS*

[chiknlittle]

On Friday my husband went to work, and I went to town for just the afternoon. The chicks were fine when I left, but when we came home we noticed that one of the chicks had been pecked at by the others. The feathers were nearly gone around its neck and it was bleeding too. We cleaned the wound and put some antibacterial ointment on it. Unfortunately as soon as I set it down it does its best to get the ointment off. I've tried to put gauze around it so that it won't scratch and reopen its wounds, but it just freaks out. Now the wounds are still open because of the scratching, but the skin has turned black. Is this a normal progression in wound healing because it looks more like necrotic tissue (without the smell) to me. Should I try a different treatment method? It's seems to otherwise be thriving in the dog crate / emergency room and eats and drinks just fine. Does anybody have any ideas?

 

[kinardmommy]

Chickens love to peck at the color red. You need to get an antiseptic spray that is blue. The sell it at feed stores and other livestock supply stores like Tractor Supply Company. There are a few different brands to use but I myself use what is called Blue Kote. The chick will not be able to wipe this off and it will discourage the other chicks from pecking him. Before you spray it clean the wound with maybe iodine or sterile water. Until you can get this done you need to seperate the chick b/c they wil kill it if they keep it up.Hope this helps.

 

[chiknlittle]

Thanks for the suggestion. Our closest Tractor Supply was out of Blu Kote when I went to look on Sunday, but I will try again in hopes that they got more in. Maybe Southern States might have it too. The chick has been isolated from the others in our biggest dog crate complete with her own waterer and feeder and lamp. I think she's pretty comfy in there, but I'm just concerned about how the wound is looking. I clean it every day and add the antibacterial ointment, but I think it is annoying the chick since the first thing it tries to do is clean it all off. After I put on the Blu Cote will I be able to reintroduce it to the others, or should I wait until it heals more?

 

[Farmer Kitty]

I wouldn't worry about the coloration yet. It looks like what I've seen before and will be okay. Just watch for signs of infection.

Oh, and don't use neosporin with pain killer or anything else with the -caine ending. It can be fatal to chickens.

 

[chiknlittle]

Thanks! This is my second batch of chicks ever. The first were meat birds, and it was exausting keeping up with the sticky bottoms and keeping the brooder / coop clean. I was mentally steeling myself for another batch of mutants, but these little girls have been a delight. Well, at least up until the time where they all jumped on their sister and visiciously tore out her feathers and proceeded to go for her throat. Now the others are still in the kiddie pool, while she lives the good live in the dog crate / emergency room which is complete with easter egg basket nest. She's really sweet and I hope she does okay. She likes to perch on my finger like a parakeet!

 

[kinardmommy]

The neosporin is greasy and that is why she insists on getting it off. She can feel the weight of it on her neck so she knows it is there. Once you put the spray on I would wait a few days and let it heal pretty well. However, chickens are very social so she probably misses her peeps. You also do not want to keep her out too long b/c introducing her back into the group may pose a problem.

 

[chickenfever]

I agree that the wound looks OK at this point, I would just leave it alone, especially if she doesn't like anything put on it. She may irritate the wound more trying to get it off.
I recently had some picking in my 3 wk olds. I think it was a matter of not enough room. Do you know why yours are picking?

 

[RoyalHillsLLC]

I am convinced sometimes they don't need a reason. They just want to pick.

 

[mmajw]

You need to keep her seperate until she heals or they will continue picking.
Some peck if they are over-crowded, if they need something in their diet or just because.
I would try and get the blu-kote but becareful when using it will stain everything it touches.

 

[Opa]

Having experienced similar problems myself I concur with the advice that everyone has provided, however, it would be wise to wait as long as possible to insure the wound is healing before introducing her back in with the others. What I have done is pick the smallest looking chick to add with her to help with the socialization issues. Good luck, the effort is worth it.