Warning Graphic...Feathers and skin missing from chicks neck. How do I treat it?

[Peach2u]

I have a 2 week old Olive Egger chick. It looks like it got stuck in the chicken wire. I brought it inside, put it in a quiet place heat lamp food water ect.. How do I treat this? Thanks

 

[MaineGigi]

I don't think I would put anything on it. I have read that this skin can re-grow if the conditions are favorable. Probably antibiotics to the water to help prevent infection and add vitamins also. Its quite a large injury for a chick. Definately keep it separate from others. Hopefully it can recover but it doesn't look good. Also you can look up that type of injury and get more ideas than I can give. Keep us posted!
~Cathy

 

[Peach2u]

How about an antibiotic cream like Neosporin? Is there a product like that for chickens? Can I use the human stuff on chickens?

 

[cafarmgirl]

Yes, you absolutely can use Neosporin on chickens, just be sure to use the kind WITHOUT pain reliever as their systems cannot process that.

 

[Whispering_Raven]

Owie! Poor little thing! Definitely keep her separated. I would not put anything on it right now. You'd be amazed at just how tough chickens are, but since she's just a youngin, you'll want to watch her. Give it a couple of days (1-3) to air out and dry, make sure it's clean by taking a lint free cloth in warm water and just squeeze to "rinse" the area ONE TIME! Meaning you don't want to repeat it day after day. You want the skin to stay dry. And she should heal fine after a couple of weeks.

*OPTIONAL* To Expedite Healing:

Once the skin starts to dry out, you can make a Calendula tea. Boil a couple of cups of water and turn off the heat. Once the water has settled to a steam, throw in about a handful of Calendula flower petals and let sit for about 25 minutes. If you have Aloe Vera JUICE you can add some of that too. You can then take a (lint free) rag and then rinse the skin with it for a few more days and she should start to heal very well.

Make sure you only use Calendula Officinalis. It's common name is Marigold, but only the flowers with the Bright Orange flower heads contain healing and soothing properties. I'm an herbalist and have raised many a critters and always run for the "farmacy" before the drug store.

Keep us posted on the little one! May she get better real soon!

Many Blessings!

Tracy

 

[psimons2004]

I had a roo who lost huge chunks of skin in a fox attack. Couldn't believe he lived through it. Bag Balm is an antiseptic vasaline type substance. That is all I used on him and it worked beautifully. Also - I fed him lots of scrambled eggs! ;0) great protien and they love them!!! Good luck!

 

[Peach2u]

She is still alive! She is eating everything in sight. I put antibiotics in the water. For the first 24 hours I did nothing else. Last night I sprayed Vetericyn on the wound. I will be doing it 1 time a day till it heals over. Found out she loves cooked Quinoa and cornbread! Now to tackle my other problem. I have a few adult Maran and EE's that have smelly,runny noses and puffy eyes. Having 4 days of rain hasn't helped the many. I put the antibiotic powder in there water as well. If I don't see improvement in 3 days I will step up to Tylan50. I am hoping it isn't something real bad. I have too much time and money invested in my project birds. Losing everything would be awful. I would lose 3 years of breeding. Yes, I got 2 new roos from 2 different farms over a 100 miles apart. I had them in isolation for about 10 days. They had no symptoms. Two weeks later My birds started getting sick. So here I go again. I never had sick chickens before. If they get over this I will not be buying or bring home chickens again. No chicken shows, swap meets, auctions, ect.... humm I ranted sry lol

 

[apostoliclady]

Ok, my heart is in my throat about your sick birds!! I hate to say this, but the puffy eyes, runny nose and all doesn't sound good! Sounds a lot like MG (Mycoplasma). I just put down my WHOLE flock 2 weeks ago due to MG! It was one of the worst experiences I've ever gone through!

I took one of my sickest birds to the state vet and they tested and did a necropsy on her. It was a confirmed case of MG

As far as the new birds you brought in...one of them was a carrier! If you kept him separate for 10 days, he wouldn't be sick if he was the carrier, but he would spread it. Here is the best way for quarantining birds...keep them alone for 2 weeks. If it seems fine, put 2 birds in with it that you wouldn't mind "sacrificing" if they come down with something. If after 3 weeks with all the 3 birds together, if nobody is sick, the new bird is fine to put in with the rest of your flock.

I hope you don't have to go through what I went through

 

[Peach2u]

Lil Peep is healing well. I used Vetericyn on the wound. Twice a day just to keep infection out of it. She is very loud never is quiet. At night she makes a soft peeping sound. I'm thinking in a few days giving her back to mom. She may not take her back. We will see.

 

[Peach2u]

Yesterday Lil Peep moved back in with mom and siblings. The first thing she did was jump on her mama's back. She ran the yard with them and went to bed with them. I was worried mom wouldn't take her back. She is behind the others as far as the basic stuff. She hasn't mastered getting out of the coop in the morning. Nor has she started to use her wings to get around faster. So she is always running to catch up. But she lived through an awful accident. Tough little things.