There’s a HOLE on my chicken’s head!!!

[loreligillett]

Hello! While cleaning the chicken coop today I noticed a hole on the top of my cuckoo maran hen’s head!! It seems to have happened awhile ago, as the wound is not bleeding and the edges of the hole aren’t irritated. She’s been acting normal and isn’t in pain when I touch the hole. I sprayed antiseptic spray to clean the wound, but I don’t know what else to do. If anyone knows what may have caused this please respond!!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My guess is someone pecked her, or she got poked by something like wire. It looks to be healing well, and should continue to do so. I would just keep an eye on it, and maybe apply the wound spray occasionally.

 

[Neggative]

Should heal up just fine! Keep spraying it every once and a while with that spray....

 

[layDmcG]

If she is with other chickens.. she probably got pecked. As long as it doesn't spread, she will be fine.


Wait, are you in super cold weather? If so it could be frost bite.

Maybe there is a necrotizing skin disease for chickens.. I've never seen it. And that doesnt mean much because I've had pretty good luck with chickens until the raccoons came and that was a whole different ballgame.

 

[HappyClucker7]

One of my hens had something like this, except she had a hole about ten times the size in her side. I don't know what happened to cause the wound, but it got bigger as the other chickens pecked at it. She healed up just fine.
You could put some pine tar on the wound so that the other chickens don't peck at it.

 

[loreligillett]

If she is with other chickens.. she probably got pecked. As long as it doesn't spread, she will be fine.


Wait, are you in super cold weather? If so it could be frost bite.

Maybe there is a necrotizing skin disease for chickens.. I've never seen it. And that doesnt mean much because I've had pretty good luck with chickens until the raccoons came and that was a whole different ballgame.

I live in Texas so it’s definitely not frost bite .

As for some type of flesh-eating disease, I sure hope NOT!! Fingers crossed it is just a puncture wound that I didn’t catch until now.

Sounds like you had a pretty bad run in with raccoons!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

That's very interesting. Is it dry? Can you get a straight-in picture of it so we can see how deep it is? I'm going to flag a few experts and see what they think, maybe they have seen something like this.
@aart
@Eggcessive
@Wyorp Rock
@casportpony
@ChickenCanoe

 

[cottontail farm]

I'm sorry to even have to suggest this, but do you bot flies in your area? If you watch the hole is there anything in it?
We live in PA and we have them here. It's horrifying.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

That's interesting.
Can you tell if anything is in there? Any more crusty/scabby material?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I agree with others. If it doesn't appear to be a problem, then it probably isn't a problem.