Injured chick

[WylieCoyote]

Hello all, I have an injured chick which is about a month old. It has been pecked by the other chicks that are the same age. It has no skin left on the head and bone is exposed. Eyes are shut as well. It does drink some water, but it not eating because it can not see right now. So, my question is, what do I feed this chick using a syringe or dropper? The chick going on two days without food. Any suggestion is appreciated, Thanks.

 

[Eggcessive]

Remove the chick and keep it away from the others until it is healed. Try to dip it’s beak into water to let it drink on it’s own. If giving fluids with a dropper or syringe, give a drop at a time and let it swallow. Mixing water or electrolytes into a little chick feed to make it mushy and get it eating would be good. Use Vetericyn or a similar wound spray on the wound, and coat it with plain antibiotic ointment twice a day. Saline is also good to clean the wound.

 

[BuffloverT]

Use some chick food in water and feed it to the chick in a syringe, also keep the wound clean. Be prepared that it may not make it.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Chickens are incredibly resilient and tend to make a full recovery with skin and muscle tissue wounds. First isolate the chicken so it is not in contact with the rest of the flock. If possible, fill the water dispenser with an electrolyte mix (DIY electrolyte solution) or vitamin solution. Hydration is incredibly important!

It is imperative that the wound is kept moist. Moist wounds heal at a rate three to five times faster than dry wounds. (Imagine trying to move a body part covered in a large, dry, crackly scab!) First rinse the wound with a saline solution or preferably non-medicated wound cleaner like Vetericyn. Next liberally apply an antibiotic ointment (without pain reliever which is toxic to chickens) or my personal favorite, silver sulfadiazine.

If the location of the wound allows it, cut to size a non stick trauma pad and gently wrap the wound, covered by the trauma pad, with vetwrap. It is not always possible to keep the wound covered, in which case keep the wound moist by regularly spraying Vetericyn and covering with ointment. Since the wound is at the top of the chick's head, this is likely not possible for you to do. If you are unable to bandage the would, keep it continuously covered with ointment to retain moisture.

If the chicken is trying to scratch at the wound, you can use vet wrap to form hobbles around feet to keep it from lifting its leg to scratch. Most chickens don’t scratch and exacerbate the wound, but some do!

Normally if the wound is kept clean, infections don’t occur, but if you start to notice a strong odor, redness, swelling, pus, and/or discharge, that means an infection has set in. You can order an antibiotic called Baytril 2.5% (Enrofloxacin) online without a prescription. It is squirted into the chicken’s mouth directly. The recommended dosage is 10-15 milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight. You can also use Baytril 10% administered in the drinking water (3 milliliters per 8 ounces of water), but this is a less effective means of administration. If antibiotics are necessary, make sure you are providing fermented feed or probiotics in the water to ensure the chicken’s gut bacteria is not disrupted. A disruption in gut bacteria can cause diarrhea which is not conducive to effective healing. It isn’t a bad idea to provide fermented feed even to healthy chickens!

Since your chick is not eating, you can try something more appealing like wetting the chick feed or providing some scrambled egg, but again, don't overlook hydration!

All hyperlinks are to either where a product can be purchased or more information on a particular subject.

This was dressing changing time for a chick I had injured just like yours. I had to hobble her feet to protect her wounds.

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[WylieCoyote]

Remove the chick and keep it away from the others until it is healed. Try to dip it’s beak into water to let it drink on it’s own. If giving fluids with a dropper or syringe, give a drop at a time and let it swallow. Mixing water or electrolytes into a little chick feed to make it mushy and get it eating would be good. Use Vetericyn or a similar wound spray on the wound, and coat it with plain antibiotic ointment twice a day. Saline is also good to clean the wound.

Thanks for the info. Already removed the chick from the others right away. It drinking some water also.

 

[WylieCoyote]

Use some chick food in water and feed it to the chick in a syringe, also keep the wound clean. Be prepared that it may not make it.

Thanks. I just cleaned the wound today, and yes I am aware that it might not make it, because still don't know the extent of the injury to the head.

 

[WylieCoyote]

Chickens are incredibly resilient and tend to make a full recovery with skin and muscle tissue wounds. First isolate the chicken so it is not in contact with the rest of the flock. If possible, fill the water dispenser with an electrolyte mix (DIY electrolyte solution) or vitamin solution. Hydration is incredibly important!

It is imperative that the wound is kept moist. Moist wounds heal at a rate three to five times faster than dry wounds. (Imagine trying to move a body part covered in a large, dry, crackly scab!) First rinse the wound with a saline solution or preferably non-medicated wound cleaner like Vetericyn. Next liberally apply an antibiotic ointment (without pain reliever which is toxic to chickens) or my personal favorite, silver sulfadiazine.

If the location of the wound allows it, cut to size a non stick trauma pad and gently wrap the wound, covered by the trauma pad, with vetwrap. It is not always possible to keep the wound covered, in which case keep the wound moist by regularly spraying Vetericyn and covering with ointment. Since the wound is at the top of the chick's head, this is likely not possible for you to do. If you are unable to bandage the would, keep it continuously covered with ointment to retain moisture.

If the chicken is trying to scratch at the wound, you can use vet wrap to form hobbles around feet to keep it from lifting its leg to scratch. Most chickens don’t scratch and exacerbate the wound, but some do!

Normally if the wound is kept clean, infections don’t occur, but if you start to notice a strong odor, redness, swelling, pus, and/or discharge, that means an infection has set in. You can order an antibiotic called Baytril 2.5% (Enrofloxacin) online without a prescription. It is squirted into the chicken’s mouth directly. The recommended dosage is 10-15 milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight. You can also use Baytril 10% administered in the drinking water (3 milliliters per 8 ounces of water), but this is a less effective means of administration. If antibiotics are necessary, make sure you are providing fermented feed or probiotics in the water to ensure the chicken’s gut bacteria is not disrupted. A disruption in gut bacteria can cause diarrhea which is not conducive to effective healing. It isn’t a bad idea to provide fermented feed even to healthy chickens!

Since your chick is not eating, you can try something more appealing like wetting the chick feed or providing some scrambled egg, but again, don't overlook hydration!

All hyperlinks are to either where a product can be purchased or more information on a particular subject.

This was dressing changing time for a chick I had injured just like yours. I had to hobble her feet to protect her wounds.

Was this information helpful?

Thanks for the info, it was very helpful.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Thanks for the info, it was very helpful.

You’re welcome. Keep us up to date! If the chicks starts eating and drinking more, that’s a sure fire sign of improvement, but treating the wound asap and the best you can make help it feel better enough to eat.