Yikes! Large wound on hen.

[FlyingNunFarm]

A little up close and personal but I wanted to show how quickly these tough birds heal. Just over 24 hours and she has a new scab. You can also see how much it has shrank from the original wound.

 

[cindiKS]

This thread has been so helpful to me, thank you! My 4 week old Lavender Orpinton was brutally attacked today by our 8 week old Ameraucana rooster. We made saline solution to clean the wound, then treated with neosporin. We're keeping her inside for now. I'll try honey and coconut oil, but how can I protect her head? It's as if she's been scalped, so will the skin and feathers ever grow back? Poor thing just wants me to hold her.

 

[mobius]

Hi so sorry to hear! Using @FlyingNunFarm 's approach, can you fashion a head wrap out of a small tube of material? I am thinking like the finger of a cotton glove. This will help keep a little bandage on her...just a thought...seems like many injuries like this are caused by roosters...

FlyingNunFarms, what would be your advice?

And make sure she is eating and drinking, very important!

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

@cindiKS
Darn Boys! I still don't know who or how they injure my girls.

I would clean it up as best you can. Trim feathers close to the wound so they don't get stuck in it and you end up having to pull them out. As awful as it sounds you may need to trim some of the skin too. Once it's clean if any skin looks dead you should trim it off. Clean sharp scissors will work.

@mobius I like your thinking on the cotton glove finger! As long as it's not bothering her or too warm on her head I think anything that will hold bandage on is good. Even a baby sock with the toe cut off.

I can't tell exactly where the wound is so my only caution is make sure nothing melts into her eyes or ears. Honey is great for wounds but melts...why I used sugar. I was worried the honey wouldn't stay put. I still got some of that melt effect but not to bad. You can oil her feathers all around the wound to help keep them from clumping. My poor girl had dreadlocks till I wised up and oiled her feathers. Some of them are still funny.

Möbius is right. Make sure she eats and drinks. Scrambled eggs are a chicken favorite but I know some people don't feed any eggs. I make what I call a pancake. Chicken feed soaked in water. They seem to think it's a great treat and eat it over dry food. You can always add some nutri drench for good measure. May entice her to drink if she doesn't seem overly interested in water.

Other then that warm and quiet with snuggles and tlc. I'd keep her inside until you see how bandaging goes. Unless she gets really stressed away from the flock. She may appreciate the break but it is a fine line. To long away from the flock and they see her as a new arrival. You could always bring in another lower ranking hen to keep her company and make reintroduction easier if she will be away for a while.

I think I answered everything but please feel free to ask more, post more and keep us updated!

 

[Ninjachicken276]

I have the same problem. I think you should get a poultry saddle and use athletic tape on the roosters spurs

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

@Ninjachicken276 My girls do have saddles and the boys get pedicures frequently. My current problem is not enough girls. I lost several of my older hens and have not been able to add to the flock again, yet. (Eggs in the incubator) But I know they won't be ready for a while.

I will get some athletic tape though. That's a great idea. Thanks.

 

[cindiKS]

My poor lavender orp is recovering nicely now. I brought his buddy, a presumed female chick, into the dog crate with him and the two chirp happily all day. He sure didnt like being alone in the crate.
One thing that concerns me is his comb went from red to white. I don't know how much blood he lost. Will the comb go back to red eventually? He acts like he feels fine and lets me wash and treat the injury.
I'm not quite sure how and when to reintegrate him with the flock. The big bad rooster is gone, so there's 2 hens, 1 cockerel, all 3 months old. All Ameraucanas. In our brooder, we have 16 2 week old chicks, hopefully all female. They are a mix of Red Stars, Buff Orps, Welsummers and Australorps. THe 2 lavender orps are 3 or 4 weeks old. Eventually, i hope to keep all in the same large henh I use and run. Suggestions? Is this a topic for a new thread?
Oh, do I need to hide the injury somehow when i reintroduce the injured chick? I'm guessing that he's a cockerel, don't know that for a fact. HE got along well with the younger chicks when he was with them, acted like a mother hen. Im so sorry i moved him up too soon...

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[mobius]

So glad your little one is doing better. Reintroduction that I don't know, but I would wait til there is more healing to keep the others from attacking....how are you doing with wound management? What are you using? So good you put two of them together, very wise!

 

[cindiKS]

We first cleaned the wound using a saline solution i made from the directions in Gail Damerow's wonderful book THE CHICKEN HEALTH HANDBOOK, then we trimmed the feathers that were touching the bare head. I have applied Polysporin twice daily. I found the spray saline mentioned here and we've used that for rinsing after the first day. My husband really thought we should pull the skin together, stitch it, but I read somewhere that chickens can grow new feathers. I hope that's true!
Kinda funny...a newsletter I get mentioned, just yesterday,that chickens have "best friends", and that is certainly true with ours. Having your BFF with you when you don't feel well makes a huge difference!

 

[mobius]

In this thread @FlyingNunFarm mentions her chickie regrew feathers. Also as far as the comb being white, you know, i am thinking that may be a stress reaction and will change as your baby heals. Best of luck...I would just keep them separated for now...as it heals....and nice job BTW!! I have some saline made up in my first aid kit...and that is a great book too!