Scalped chick

[SwampFoot]

I was given some chicks that were the same age as an existing clutch with a hen on the yard, (2 month old) so I added the three new biddies into my hen's clutch and all was well.
The next day she had scalped one of them, and I was pretty sure he was dying, but he ended up living.
I immediately washed him up, and put some strong antibiotic ointment on his head. All of the skin on the right side of his face, including around his eye, ear, the top of his head, his comb, and the back of his neck is gone. Some spots are superficially plucked into scabs, while the top of his head is scalped to the skull, as well as the area around his ear.
On the first day, I fed him liquid food, because he wouldn't eat, drink, or move at all. (I had a few cans of human tube feeding formula, I kept spoon feeding every fifteen minutes.) He's stayed in the house in a brooder, but now refuses to stay in there, and will give distress cheeps until I open the door for him.
It's been three days, and he's eating and drinking fine, (actually he gained a lot of weight really fast.)
I want to know how I should go about debreiding the wound? Right now, I rinse him off and clean the wounds, making sure to let him dry before letting him wander. I haven't put any ointment on it today, so the wound is really dry with excess dead skin around the edges of the scalped areas. I'm trying to get him to heal with minimal scarring. Should I trim the excess dead skin away, or leave it be as it is now?
I'm really glad he is doing well, I just want his head to heal up as fast as it can. I felt so bad about how stressed he'd get if he couldn't see me, so I only pen him at night. He pretty much has free reign to the house during the day, and follows me wherever I go.

 

[GitaBooks]

I'm so glad he's doing well! He's lucky to have such a dedicated owner.


How are the other chicks doing with the mother? If she is ignoring them you could try bringing them back in to be near him (they may peck at him so you can put wire between them).
I'm not sure what to do about the wound, the three chicks I had attacked by a broody all ended up dying with-in a couple days. Prevent infection. You might want to try wrapping it? I'm really not sure.

I do hope he gets better soon!


I hope this helps: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-care-for-and-heal-an-injured-chicken

 

[SwampFoot]

I seperated the other two and put them in thier own pen with a nest box that they hop into.
I wasn't going to give her more opportunity. I stay at home mostly, so the wounded chick really thinks I'm the mother. He stays perched on my shoulder or running circles around my feet wherever I go. The main reason he's staying inside is to keep him clean and uninfected. I have had two wounded hens get infected as soon as i set them back outside.
The only other chicken company he has is an Easter Egger rooster that I'm trying to tame.
His nest mates don't recognize him anymore.