Chicken's head/neck completely pecked by older chickens--What care should we administer? Graphic pic

[Shawnna R]

We had a young pullet (about 3 months old) that was integrated into our flock along with 5 other pullets. They have been together about two weeks. Two days ago, we separated her when she was pecked and had a small sore on her neck below her head. We cleaned and treated with bluecote, and she has been fine. Last night, we caught the bird that was picking on her, and separated that bird, and put our girl back with her friends in the pen. This morning between 6 and 10, the other birds pecked her so badly that she now has no flesh on her head, and there are two pieces of cartilage like bones that are sticking out. She was in shock at first, and we washed her head and neck, treated with triple antibiotic and she is drinking water treated with "save a chick" vitamin supplement. She was given this by dropper and is drinking all we can give her. She will not drink on her own yet, but did peck at some banana bread and banana, her favorite treat. She is now more aware, although we are concerned about these protrusions from the back of her head, and how to keep her head from infection. We've read on this forum about wet & dry covering, as well as bluecote. I'm hesitant to use bluecoat on this when her skin is all gone. Any suggestion or experience with this would be helpful. I have attached some pictures.

The last one shows these protrusions well, and they move in & out when she swallows.

 

[DraigAthar]

Yikes. I think if you want to save that chicken, you really need to take her to a vet. That's a stunning amount of damage.

 

[jh1013]

I had this happen to me. All chickens will peck on other injured chickens.. to death, so the injured one must be separtated on its own until completely healed & there are no obvious wounds for the others to peck on. I put underwood on my chicks wounds and it healed very fast & all feathers came back. you can probably find it at a local feedstore. It is similar in color to iodine, u apply it with a spray bottle and then put a thick layer of baking Powder, not baking soda, on it and it turns hard and forms a scab. Works great on all animals with wounds. Hope this helps

 

[jh1013]

Oh it says Underwood Horse Medicine on the bottle, but i promise it wont hurt to use it on chickens. here is a direct link https://www.underwoodhorsemedicine.com/order-online/

good luck with your injured chicky

 

[Shawnna R]

Thank you! I'm sure you noticed she has no skin left. We are hoping it looks worse than it is. She is chirping at us, and being less active than usual, and will now drink for us. I appreciate your time in responding! We have looked everywhere with 50 miles and can't find this product...I'm worried putting nothing other than antibiotic ointment on it will not be effective until we can get this medicine...any other ideas in the meantime?

 

[ten chicks]

We had a young pullet (about 3 months old) that was integrated into our flock along with 5 other pullets. They have been together about two weeks. Two days ago, we separated her when she was pecked and had a small sore on her neck below her head. We cleaned and treated with bluecote, and she has been fine. Last night, we caught the bird that was picking on her, and separated that bird, and put our girl back with her friends in the pen. This morning between 6 and 10, the other birds pecked her so badly that she now has no flesh on her head, and there are two pieces of cartilage like bones that are sticking out. She was in shock at first, and we washed her head and neck, treated with triple antibiotic and she is drinking water treated with "save a chick" vitamin supplement. She was given this by dropper and is drinking all we can give her. She will not drink on her own yet, but did peck at some banana bread and banana, her favorite treat. She is now more aware, although we are concerned about these protrusions from the back of her head, and how to keep her head from infection. We've read on this forum about wet & dry covering, as well as bluecote. I'm hesitant to use bluecoat on this when her skin is all gone. Any suggestion or experience with this would be helpful. I have attached some pictures.

The last one shows these protrusions well, and they move in & out when she swallows.

Is a piece of her skull missing/cracked? I would not use blue kote spray,maybe an antibiotic ointment. Rinse wound out really well. Clean several times a day. This is nasty,i would leave open,let air circulate. Watch for infection. Give her electrolytes for shock,keep her warm and quiet. Make sure she is eating and drinking. Keep her inside away from all other chickens. If flies(maggots) are going to be a problem,then you might have to lightly cover this wound.

 

[Shawnna R]

Thank you! I'm sure you noticed she has no skin left. We are hoping it looks worse than it is. She is chirping at us, and being less active than usual, and will now drink for us. I appreciate your time in responding! We have looked everywhere with 50 miles and can't find this product...I'm worried putting nothing other than antibiotic ointment on it will not be effective until we can get this medicine...any other ideas in the meantime?

 

[Shawnna R]

Her skull does not appear to be cracked and there is none of it missing....just pecked to the bone.

 

[ten chicks]

Her skull does not appear to be cracked and there is none of it missing....just pecked to the bone.

Ok better,clean and treat wound several times a day. I would apply antibiotic ointment,(Vetericyn spray is an excellent product)around and lightly over wound. Watch for infection. Healing process should start fairly quickly,it is infection that can be the problem.

 

[jh1013]

If u can, keep her where flies cant get on her. Keep it clean, lather the wound in ointment. Try and order the underwood, if u can get it, it will seal off the wound and speed healing, plus with chickens u will have it for future use. Thats about all u can do for her, sometimes no matter what you do you will eventually lose some for one reason or another.