pullet got pecked quite badly- missing skin on head, bleeding, what to do?

[andreamunroe]

my black australorp chick/pullet/chicken (8-10 weeks old) just got the hell pecked out of her by my 3 older hens. She's missing a layer of skin on the top of her head about the size of your fingernail. She's doing OK at the moment, but I don't know when they pecked her, if she's lost too much blood, etc. I poured some peroxide on it initially because I didn't know what to do, then rinsed that off after a few minutes. Do you think there is hope for the little thing? I can't afford to take her to the vet. I remember when my old cat Mr. Orange got in a fight and had an abscess (I think thats what they called it), he was missing a LOT of skin, as he'd debrided it really well himself- they got me to use betadyne on it for a day or two and then this powder, which I can't remember the name of but which supposedly helped support the tissue as it grew back (maybe had sugars in it or something?) Can you let me know what you think? i have her in the bathroom at the moment but will be setting up a space for her in the basement. i've offered water, and she had a drink. i'll put food out as well. is it helpful to make a light available as a source of heat to help with shock? would clean wood shavings be OK for bedding?

i'm so sick over this- we lost one of her mates last week to my parents dog, then 5 more to a racoon- just this one and my 3 older hens survived the racoon attach, not sure how. so i've been locking them up at night. they've been together for about a week now with no pecking issues- the big hens will sometimes run her off the food but welcomed her on the roost at night- but that was when i was leaving the pop door open and they could just come and go as they pleased. i've been locking them up at night now because of the raccoon, and so the poor little girl had nowhere to run. i hope she makes it. any advice is appreciated.

 

[CMV]

Cover the wound in either Neosporin or Blukote, and keep her separate until it heals. She should be fine. A heat lamp is likely not necessary, but if you have enough space for her to move away from it, she may like the warmth. Just be careful you don't cook her. Shavings are fine for bedding. The wound looks worse than it is. Don't worry overmuch about it. Maybe give her some high protein snacks to aid in healing. BOSS is always a favorite.

Good luck.

 

[andreamunroe]

THanks so much for the quick response. I have her set up in the basement, she's got a 40W bulb at one end but lots of room to move away from it. I offered food and she attacked it like she'd not eaten in days: those old hens must have been keeping her off the food more than i thought (even though i put out 4 piles of food in their 15 x 30 run). i'll put some poysporin on the wound for now. i've heard of blukote but don't have any. i used to have some red "stop-peck" and i think i gave it to a friend but she might still have it- perhaps a good idea to put on her comb when i reintroduce her, which will likely not be for a while.

i had planned on going to pick up a few more similarly-aged (8-10 weeks) chickens this weekend so she'd not be the only one, since between the dog and the racoon i've lost her mates. do you think it wise to hold off on that for now? for how long? i think next time i want to increase the flock i'll just wait till a hen goes broody and then see if I can pop some fertilized eggs under her. this introduction thing is not easy.

i'll go dig the little lady some bugs and let her be. thanks for the reassurance!

 

[CMV]

I don't usually let my birds interact until they are about 14-16 weeks old. I start introductions at 12 weeks- letting everyone see and be seen, but no contact. By 14 weeks I let them start to interact on a limited basis- free-range. If all goes well then by 16 weeks they are placed together permanently. At 10 weeks there is still a pretty great size discrepancy, so it is just a matter of time before the elders injure the newbies. By 16-18 weeks the birds have all reached their full size, so they can better fend for themselves. If there is a scuffle the newbies can often take on the elders, or at least high tail it out of danger.

The red stuff is not appropriate for use on chickens. They attack/peck at the color red. I would recommend the Blukote. You find it right next to the red stuff at the feed store.

 

[MollyAngel]

Blu-Kote will help her, and keep her away from the meanies!