Should it be culled? HELP PLEASE!

[Rainstorm]

I found one of my female coturnix quails in her pen today with the feathers/skin on the top/back of her head COMPLETLY gone, clean skull on the whole top and back, it starts just right below the dip of the skull at back and ends right above her eyes, like a big circle, She's up and moving around just fine, I put her in a pen to herself and shes eating and drinking, its not bleeding anymore, her eyes are damaged, She doesnt seem to be suffering but I cant tell either. None of the other quails were pecking at her or anything and theres no way anything could have gotten in the pen and theres nothing that she could have hurt herself on, would one of the roo's have done that to her? What should I put on it, will it even heal? or should she be culled? I hope not out of my 5 quails she's 1 of 2 hens and my favorite

 

[Emzyyy]

I had the same thing happen to a duck of mine. I cleaned him up kept him away from the others and he was healed up in about a months time. I think if you separate her and keep it clean it should heal up just fine. I don't know about her eyes. I wouldn't use wood shavings they will stick to the wound. Goodluck.

 

[SilverPhoenix]

I agree with the previous poster! Keep the wound clean, make sure she's away from the other birds so there aren't any pecking issues, and keep her away from dirty situations. If you have a separate cage you could put her in by herself (preferably where she can still see her friends), she'll most likely heal. If you need something to clean out the wound, there's some stuff called nolvasan that, when diluted, is wonderful for cleaning out wounds. Clean it out once a day with a little bit of nolvasan, let it sit for a half-hour (that's how long it takes for it to take full effect), and then apply some silvadene to the wound. This is the type of thing we do with wild birds, as I'm rehabber, and it works quite well. If you can't find nolvasan, ask your local feed store if there's something else you could use. Silvadene should be fairly easy to find. Good luck, I hope she heals nicely! I think she has a pretty decent chance at making a nice recovery.

 

[Rainstorm]

ok, Thanks all! ill see if I can get that medicine tomorrow when I go into town with my bro, (cant drive on my own)

 

[silkymom]

hey, ive raised alot of the quail, they are mean to each other, the male did it. kep her warm and let her heal . but, she may not be accepted after, they are flighty and beat each other up alot, they need room .
silkymom

 

[chickenzoo]

Yep the male did it most likely or a very mean girl. Clean it up and apply neosporin(no pain killer type) or furizone if you have horses. Keep her seperated but if at all possible where they can still be next to her, so it's not like she left the group..... should heal up in no time. I had a couple pheasants do that, only a small scar left.

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

You can put any antibiotic ointment on it same as for yourself, like Polysporin or the no-name brand equivalent. I keep a few tubes of that handy, something here is always hurting it's self. When you see the no-name stuff on sale stock up, it seems to really speed healing. Cleaning can be done with a saline solution, make it yourself fresh and then you know it's bug free. I add the salt then simmer in the microwave in a coffee cup, let it cool then use it.

I have had chickens and turkeys totally scalped that healed up fine, but sometimes they don't get feathers back in that area, just bare skin grows over. In that case they are best kept separate for life, they will get picked on again for being bald.

 

[Rainstorm]

Ok thanks all! I couldnt get the medicine from feed store they were closed. I have neosporin So I will try that, the cage they are in is off the ground and i have no other that can be put next to it high enough, I have her inside now to keep her warm