henpecked

[Guest]

  has anyone ever been able to save chicks that have had their heads pecked open by the hen?  I have 2 that are like this, one is pecked all the way across, so that its\' skin is sliding down the neck.  the other isn\'t quite so bad.  I already had to kill a third because it\'s eye was hanging out.  
  is it possible to save them?  does anyone have any first aid tips?  I think the one with losse skin needs to be stitched, but I don\'t know if it could handle the stress.  I\'ve got a heavy coating of neosprorin smeared on right now to try to seal the wounds, but I don\'t know how much doctoring they can handle (they were hatched overnight).  
  any suggestions taken!

thanks

[Mike Gilbert]

I have not hatched under hens for many years, the problem you describe is just one of the reasons.    You could try stitching them back up, but I would get another person to hold the chick still while you do the work.     This spring I had  a large fowl pullet get her back ripped open by the claws of the  heavy male that had been riding her.    It was quite bad, so I expected her to go into shock and die.    I just put her in a seperate pen, didn\'t really do anything with the wound.   It has healed up completely and she is laying again.   It left  scars on both sides of her back but she is fine.

Mike Gilbert

[Guest]

I had a bobwhite quail get the back of her head pecked down to the skull. The wound was about the size of a quarter.

I separated the aggressor and put polysporin on the wound. Now a month later she is healing up nicely and even growing feathers back.

Now, a chick could be a different story.

[Guest]

I spray liquid bandage on wounds and the birds do very well.  Put some kind of antibiotic on the wound (I use a spray Bactine) and spray on the liquid bandage. I have had birds chewed on by dogs and ripped open by hawks. I saved the ones that were alive after the attacks. It will take them a while to heal. The skin will grow back.

Rooster

[Guest]

...and I thought having a hen set the eggs would prevent that from happening....so much for that idea.

Anyway....another thing you could use is Arnica in a gel form. This is a homeopathic remedy that Laura taught me about when one of my roosters -- Junior -- pranged his leg (Junior is no longer in flock for reasons well known, but he is when I last checked happily lording over 20 acres and 14 hens along with his partner, George). You slather this stuff on the wound. It also comes in pill form that you can put in the water.

I say, put on the Arnica, clean and dress the wound as described by Rooster and Msum, and absolutely separate the chick from the hen -- and keep the chick separated until it is at least three to four months old (when it will be at least close to the physical size of an adult hen).

In fact, you might want to go as far as keeping the chick separated from even the other chicks until the wound heals. Chicks spar and peck at each other even as young as a week or 10 days. You might want to put Terramycin in the water to ward off any infections as well.

--Ron

[Guest]

If you have trouble with chickens pecking at a wound put pine tar on the wound. It really works. Chickens will not touch pine tar they hate the stuff. You can get it at a farm supply.

Rooster

[Guest]

Thank you to all for your advice.  I ended up using neosporin for a couple of days, then switched to an ointment made with sweet almond oil and beeswax rather than petroleum-based.  it worked well, and the little ones are healed up now, and there are even feathers growing in on the least damaged of the two.  they and their brooder-light moved outside today and I anticipate they will be normal chickens; though not ever show quality they may make acceptable breeders!

[Guest]

Well I\'m happy your story had a happy ending!! I lerned the hard way how ruthless they can be when I found a baby Silver Sebright after the bigger bantys got ahold of him!