My pheasant got loose a few days ago and I caught her out by my drive today, her tail feathers are gone and her head is scalped, you can see her skull in a nickel sized spot, she is acting ok but I am concerned. Working on the ambulance I know that it will not just grow back over the bone, do I tape it the best I can or what?
Clean the wound and make sure she keeps drinking and eating. Also, isolate her from any other birds so they dont peck at it. It should heal even if its down to bone. Birds have pretty good healing abilities.
It will grow back. I've had this happen to 2 chickens. Flush the wound well and apply Neosporin or Polysporin (without pain meds) twice daily. Do not cover the wound. Increase protein and keep her hydrated. Keep the bird in a cage until it closes up a bit. I will edit to add a thread I started when my bird was injured. It is amazing what a bird can recover from. Today this rooster is running around, living the good life. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=501351
I had a scalped hen who healed up. My DH and I cleaned it up with a solution of iodine and put neosporine on it. Then we put in a couple stitches, because there was a flap of loose skin. Tape might work if she doesn't mess with it. We have had a number of wounded chickens, and we were amazed at how fast the skin grows back. I just read the the post above. I know a lot of folks leave wounds uncovered which helps prevent an abcess, and we have done it with some chicken wounds and it worked out.
