Chick just hatched by hen. The back of its head looks like an open wound?

[mycritter]

I have a hen that just hatched a baby. The chick it chirping and feathered except the back of its head. Is this the yolk or exposed brain??? The mom is pecking at it.

 

[GitaBooks]

Get it inside and get it warm! You have to help this chick. I had the same issue with three of my chicks and they all died. They were attacked by another mother and the skin was torn off.


This chick eventually died, even with medication and good care



I really hope it heals up! Best of luck.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would remove the chick and place it under a brooder lamp in a brooder. Is the hen pecking any other chicks? Put some plain antibiotic ointment on the chick's head. Some broodies will attack their chicks, and some chicks must be removed. The chick might have something wrong with it, and she might be trying to cull it, but I would remove it for now.

 

[mycritter]

She stopped pecking at it and looks like she's trying to care for it. The only other chick died. This is do depressing. I'll put some antibiotic ointment on it. Does anyone know what this is? Is it exposed brain?

 

[GitaBooks]

She stopped pecking at it and looks like she's trying to care for it. The only other chick died. This is do depressing. I'll put some antibiotic ointment on it. Does anyone know what this is? Is it exposed brain?

I know, its really sad. I felt so bad for Eagle (my mother chicken) who kept trying to help them. She asked me to bring them back to her but I couldn't.

Mothers sometimes peck at injuries to try and help their chicks, so keep an eye out.

I think its just torn skin. It gets all wet and sticky because its exposed flesh, but if the brain were injured I don't think the chick would be alive.

I hope it gets better!

 

[emmaie892000]

It's most likely just torn off skin, it looks a little low for brain.
If you have blukote, I would cover the wound with it if you're planning on leaving it with the mom. She could still pick at it and kill it.

 

[One Chick Two]

I would remove the chick and place it under a brooder lamp in a brooder. Is the hen pecking any other chicks? Put some plain antibiotic ointment on the chick's head. Some broodies will attack their chicks, and some chicks must be removed. The chick might have something wrong with it, and she might be trying to cull it, but I would remove it for now.

2X Remove the chick from the mom. This looks to me like a wound from pecking. She is not the mama hen for this chick. Place in a stuffed animal and a small mirror for company.

We had a BCM SQ pullet develop from some expensive hatching eggs, so that when reaching maturity, the pullet hatched out chicks that had their brains exposed (from top), missing an eyeball, missing toes, etc. At the same time, we concurrently also discovered her brother was expressing yellow skin in his slate shank skin, so we realized all the young from that line were all a cross-, and none could be used for breeding anyway. It was sad, she's a lovely girl... however, even without the yellow skin, the pullet suffers from line fatigue from too much in line breeding. She lays a beautiful, very dark brown egg, so she went in with the laying flock.

Best of luck with the chick.

 

[mycritter]

Thank you everyone. I brought it inside & it is sleeping. The wound was getting worse, so I know y'all are right about the mom pecking it. This is my first hatch. I put food and water in its brooder, but it's not eating nor drinking. Is this normal for a newborn? All my other chicks came from the feed store.

The mother is really upset. She is the only chicken I've ever had go broody. Does this mean I shouldn't let her hatch eggs again?

 

[GitaBooks]

As the skin dries the wound seems to grow, so that might not only be because the mother was pecking at it.

Help it drink electrolytes by dipping its beak into it. Let it rest and keep an eye on it. They don't have to eat for the first couple days, but offering a tiny bit of food nearby wouldn't hurt.

I'm not sure about your mother hen. Could it be another hen attacked them?


By the way, when getting it to drink, hold it in one hand and put the water in front of it and then gently push the tip of the beak into the water until it is finished drinking. Don't just place it in front of a waterer or it may be too weak to drink.

 

[mycritter]

They started hatching yesterday, and I removed the other chicken from the coop, so I'm pretty sure it was the mother. She didn't look like she wanted to attack it. It was more like she was trying to clean it. I've never had a gem hatch an egg, so I could very well be wrong though.