Roo with partial scalped head....help! (graphic photo)

[FowlFriend]

I found one of my roos with a partial scalp this morning. He does share a cage with another roo, but has done so since they hatched 3.5 months ago. The injured roo is the "dominant" one, although neither have ever fought with one another that I've seen (and we watch them all the time because they're on our porch).

I'm not sure what happened. I did add wire to the outside of their cages to raccoon proof it, so I suppose he could have scraped his head somewhere? I can't find any blood on wire, though.

I put antibiotic ointment on his head. I'm not sure what else to do. He really needs it stitched. I'm considering superglue. Thoughts?

 

[Quail27]

I've had this happen more than once.
Surprisingly, even completely scalped, they always seem to pull through it. I had one with the bones of the skull exposed that healed up and is just fine.
I put neosporin on it twice a day, and brought them inside under a heat lamp (so they could use their energy for healing rather than keeping warm, and to keep them away from dirt/flies/other quail). They were all ready to join the group again in 10 days or so.

To prevent it from happening again, I suggest increasing the amount of room they have and reducing your population of males. If you increase the room enough, you might not have to get rid of extra males. I just increased my guys' space from 20 square feet to 125 square feet, and neither I nor they could be happier! It's wonderful to watch them run and flap about.

 

[FowlFriend]

Thanks for your reply. So you think the other male did this?

I managed to put Neosporin on it and glued the ends together with SuperGlue. He has a mowhawk now! LOL! I have him separate and will find the heater lamp. Poor guy!

 

[JJMR794]

Correction, He Was The Dominant Roo---

Yes The Other Male Did This Most Likely. Seperate Them, Isolate The Injured Ladd And Time Will Heal Him. Just Keep It Clean As Best As Possible And It Will Heal Quickly On It's Own

 

[Resolution]

Thread a tiny needle and sew that scalp back to where it was intended to be. I'd cut open an Vitamin E gel cap and pour some of the contents on the scalp before sewing. Once its sewn up, place more on top of the stitching. You can use one of the children pain sprays on a q tip of you're worried the bird will be in pain during its surgery. Keep the bird isolated during its recovery time (~one to two weeks) and feed an enriched finch or canary seed with quinoa grain if you can find it. If you can't find quinoa make sure you give the bird grated hard boiled egg for the additional animal protein it will need to regenerate its integument cells.

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
STAY AT A HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS LAST NIGHT?

 

[underground chickenman]

Quote:
STAY AT A HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS LAST NIGHT?

Now that's funny, J!

 

[SAORSA]

Quote:
STAY AT A HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS LAST NIGHT?

 

[peewee]

OMG!!!

I needed that!!

 

[rarebreedeggs4u]

Umm, I had 2 hens that looked similar. I sprayed the wounds with Blue-kote and moved their terror roo. They have healed great and the roo, when put in a cage with less light, has been very nice to the 1 hen I eventually gave him