PLEASE HELP- new chick with scalp injury (warning- graphic pics)

Rena

In the Brooder
8 Years
Sep 30, 2011
59
4
41
Colorado
I have a 1st time broody bantam hen about 19.5 days along on 4 standard eggs. Came home today to find three chicks had hatched within the last 4 hours. Two are normal and healthy, but one appears to be missing all of the skin on his head. The best I can guess, he was stuck in the egg and the skin tore off upon hatching. There is no active bleeding.. I tried to clean him off but it just seemed to traumatize him and didn't make it look any better. I don't think the hen did this to him as there is no blood in the pen, just inside of the egg.

The rest of his body looks normal, he is eating and drinking. Initially I thought he didn't have eyes but he does and they seem to be normal. I took him away from the others and put him in a separate area because I could only assume the mother would either kill him or isolate him because of the injury.

What should I do? Is there anything I can do to treat him and help the skin grow back, or at least make him more comfortable, or should I cull him? Is it best to keep him away from the mom and the other babies?



 
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Put neosporn on it. Chickens have a very high pain tolerance, so if you can clean it without putting him in pain that you can tell is truly bothering him, do it. It'll raise his chance of survival quite a bit. Make sure he is eating and drinking, and if you can tell that's he's suffering, you should end it. With luck, he'll live! Or she, sorry I just refer to most chicks that I don't know the gender of as boys
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Though be prepared that the chick will scar over on the head and be bald. Keep the chick away from other chickens at least until it's healed enough that there are no chicken visible wounds, they will peck.
 

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