Suggestions? URGENT

[CabritaChicks]

@CabritaChicks

This is very helpful. I admit I go too 'medical' as hubby calls it. He says 'stop being a doctor and be a mom'.

6 weeks with similar injury, that is completely doable. But all the birds get special stuff- it is part of their lifestyle here.

She is not 'peeping' as much as before. It is quiet.

@CabritaChicks

I'll provide a second voice - yes, chickens with that much skin torn off can regrow it all completely, feathers included. Give her about 6 weeks or so, and you'll never know she had an injury. As long as she's eating and drinking, she'll be just fine.

HOPE is what I have now, thanks to your post. She still ate diner- as long as I am around. I need to sometimes convince her to eat (tap tap).

 

[Crazy Chicken Keeper]

This is very helpful. I admit I go too 'medical' as hubby calls it. He says 'stop being a doctor and be a mom'.

6 weeks with similar injury, that is completely doable. But all the birds get special stuff- it is part of their lifestyle here.

She is not 'peeping' as much as before. It is quiet.

HOPE is what I have now, thanks to your post. She still ate diner- as long as I am around. I need to sometimes convince her to eat (tap tap).

I had a hen whose skin got torn off. Applied iodene daily. Didn't even bandage and she recovered here is the link to my article about her.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-turbulent-story-of-marshmallow.80321/

 

[FunClucks]

This is very helpful. I admit I go too 'medical' as hubby calls it. He says 'stop being a doctor and be a mom'.

6 weeks with similar injury, that is completely doable. But all the birds get special stuff- it is part of their lifestyle here.

She is not 'peeping' as much as before. It is quiet.

HOPE is what I have now, thanks to your post. She still ate diner- as long as I am around. I need to sometimes convince her to eat (tap tap).

Glad I could help. On a scale of 1-10 (not worried at all - terrified), this injury is IMO probably about a 2-3. Totally healable, no long term bad effects.

If mine don't eat (shock, or what not) I dribble some Nutridrench (basically molasses water with vitamins) across the side of their beak, or give them a few drops, and that perks them back up. Yea for sugar!

 

[CabritaChicks]

Yea for sugar!

This is really reassuring — she’s eating and drinking like an absolute champ. (but hard to look at-)

She’s a total sugar addict (in the funniest way — my husband and I have been teasing her about it for weeks). She’s always the first one racing to the sweetsop or sapodilla skins, but green sprouts are her jam- she doesnt like the feed as much. High maintenance.

She’s tucked in for the night now, but honestly, she might be doing better than I expected.

 

[CabritaChicks]

Today is Wednesday, and here’s where things stand:
She’s eating reasonably well, but her growth has definitely slowed. Before the incident she was 408 grams; now she’s only up to 413- 420 (she was wringling), while her clutchmates are putting on weight much faster- but she is also a smaller chicken overall.

Her drinking behavior still isn’t quite right. Instead of taking proper sips and lifting her head, she just pecks at the water, so I’ve switched her to elevated food and water dishes. Diet-wise, soaked crumbles mixed with fresh foods and a bit of multivitamin seems to be working best for her right now (more hydrating). Im sure the skin on the back of her neck is uncomfortable. I am keeping ointment on it, but it is still drying out and she keeps scratching it!!!!

This morning:
After breakfast she was noticeably more restless. She has extra energy now and is clearly frustrated that she can’t be with her flock. I can’t reintroduce her yet because the others—especially Kraken (sex still unknown)—keep going for her scabs. Captain (male) joins in occasionally, while Stoli (female) mostly just wants her best buddy back.

Because she doesn’t have her usual level of enrichment indoors, she scratches at her wound and reopened it slightly—not serious, but still not ideal. I added fresh branches of rosemary, mint, lavender, and African basil. They’re woody, enriching, and fun to shred, and once she had them, she stopped picking at her neck temporarily.

As for flock behavior:
The only reason I know Kraken is pecking her is because I witnessed it during a two-minute window when I let everyone out of their enclosures while I ninja-fast changed the bedding in the living room (hubby needed to access stuff in the utility room, and I had to clean the litter box- and two cages are definitely in the way). That was enough—no more group time outside the enclosures for now. I’ll have to clean and rotate them separately.

Interestingly, they all still sleep pressed right up against the wire toward each other, and Stoli is having a rough time with Ouzo being confined.

Anyway—those are the current updates.

 

[CabritaChicks]

So this seems to be her chosen way of eating—she’ll take a few bites of food, then peck at the water rather than actually sip.

One peck food, one peck water.

She looks mildly dehydrated and won’t accept water at the side of her beak, and I suspect she isn’t drinking properly because it’s uncomfortable.

She’s also repeatedly scratching, reopening the wounds, and then eating the scabs, so the struggle continues.

I’m putting her back on meloxicam for pain management. I’m writing all of this down in case someone else comes across a similar situation in the future—maybe it will help.

 

[CabritaChicks]

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you stateside.

She’s actually doing really well today. I put her back on meloxicam, and now she’s drinking normally and eating with a ferocious appetite. The other three are having “recess” outside in the mini dog-fenced area, and she got her exercise by running and fluttering around trying to steal scraps from the parrots’ breakfast on the floor.

To keep her from feeling lonely, she’s in her hospital cage on the sofa—covered in truly ugly towels to protect it from the mess. and the parrots are in their aviary. She’s got plenty of enrichment, and most of her other wounds (there were quite a few) don’t seem to be bothering her anymore.

She actually flew from the sofa to the floor during her 'exercise' (stretch her legs) today- directly to me, and is doing quite well- I think.