SICK CHICKEN WITH HOLE IN NECK

[MadieWestbrook]

I originally posted about my chicken (who is almost a year old) being very lethargic, having yellow diarrhea, and being feather and bone. She obviously hasn't been eating the past two days. After a rectum exam, it's obvious she's not egg-bound. There are no worms. I initially thought it was egg yolk paratonitis. I bought some antibiotics and started syringing that down her throat. After attempting to give her mash (with her normal crumbles, milk, yogurt, and applesauce along with liquid from a vitamin E pill) and tuna, she hasn't shown interest in either. My mom and I resorted to beating an egg and mixing it with electrolytes. We got almost all the way through the syringe when a lot randomly spilled out. My mom made a joke about her having a hole in her neck, BUT SHE ACTUALLY DOES. I, luckily, have some Vetercyn spray and sprayed it down. I need tips on what to do! Should I put peroxide on it and spray it with Vetercyn? Does this require stitches of any sort?

 

[MadieWestbrook]

UPDATE: We have wrapped her neck in gauze. She does NOT like it (not like I expected her to). She's thrashing around, so we're going to cut it off if she continues, just so she doesn't injure herself in the cage she's in (as she is inside our house to be isolated from the others and watched closely). Also, our silkie rooster seems to be losing weight and there's nothing in his crop. I can feel his breastbone. He didn't take treats. I'm not sure if he's just missing the hen (because they were together at 2 weeks and on) or if something is wrong as well.

 

[MadieWestbrook]

PLEASE HELP. She has been sick for so many days and is so lightweight. I'm afraid she will die from starvation. Anything thicker than water that I try to give her comes out of her hole!

 

[Eggcessive]

I would put her close to the silkie--maybe bring him in with her so they will both eat. But is there any way that you can get her to a vet to get the hole sewn up? Does it look like she punctured it or is it a wound that has abscessed? Make sure it is clean. I have seen a couple of other chickens with holes in the bottom of their beaks, or holes in their crops. It may heal up on it's own with cleaning, but you may need to tube feed her for a few days. You can get tube feeding equipment at your vets. They can show you how, or you can read the thread "Go team tube feeding" to learn how with videos and instruction. It is fairly easy to do twice a day to give her liquified food. I don't know if supergluing the edges together would help, but I would want to figure out why the hole is there. Make sure that she is getting water with electrolytes now.

 

[MadieWestbrook]

Alright. Thank you so much. Is the feed in the forum a liquid? I have a dropper, not a tube. It'll work if it's a liquid. https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/7761707/width/200/height/400[/I
[IMG]https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/7761710/width/200/height/400

Also, I think the hole was created by a chicken fight, getting caught on something, or eating something sharp. Their coop is completely enclosed with bird netting, so it wasn't a predator. It looks quite clean. It's not puss-filled or anything, which is good

 

[MadieWestbrook]

UPDATE: No vets in our area will work on chickens. I'm really running out of ideas on how to help my baby girl.

 

[Eggcessive]

How is she doing today? Have you been able to get food into her? You can fashion a feeding tube out of a piece of aquarium air tubing from a pet department, and round the sharp tips off with a lighter to burn it slightly. Connect it to a 35 ml syringe from a feed store. Read the "go team tbe feeding" thread. The tube goes back to her right side back of her throat and is passed don just into the crop. Avoid the large hole in the middle at the back of the throat which is the airway or trachea. I will try to post pics, but there should be some pics of that on that thread.

 

[MadieWestbrook]

I believe she is doing much better. We are able to get the formula down her and have given her a pedialyte liquid in replacement of water for a bit. She's been taking treats, pecking around, and even running/hopping. She still has fits of fatigue. We've been spraying her hole down with Veteracyn. We haven't had another instance of liquid/food coming out. I'm so happy she's doing better. I'll still take any tips on how to slowly ween her back to normal food and such.

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like her hole is filling in. I'm glad that she is doing better. Keep us updated on how she is getting along.

 

[MadieWestbrook]

She is doing so much better. I've checked her crop the past few days, and it's full! She's been eating and drinking on her own. She's even back to establishing the pecking order (as she's our dominant hen).

I do have one question... when will she get back to laying eggs and is there anything I can do to help her? It's been more than a week without her laying.