Backyard Farm First Aid

There's nothing quite like waking up to find one of your chickens was partially mauled in the night. How is that I care so deeply about "livestock?" Well, when you raise them by hand, you get attached, and I haven't even named this batch of chicks yet!

We took home six Barred Rock Chicks at the end of February this year, so they're roughly 7 weeks old. All the "chick" fuzz is gone, and they essentially look like gender-neutral mini chickens. We just introduced them to the rest of our flock the other week, and it was a rough transition for all parties involved, but for the first time Sunday evening, the newbies went into the coop at night all on their own. It hadn't happened yet because they're as kiddish bunch, and it doesn't help that the older hens are eager to establish the pecking order.

Part of our coop is just covered by chicken wire, but it's sloped just enough that a chicken could sit on it if it wanted to. The newbies especially like it since the bigger gals don't hang out there.

Last night, when I was making sure all the chickens were inside the coop--which they weren't--I noticed one of the barred rocks sitting on the sloped wire, at the highest point she could reach. It's kind of like having a glass floor for them--there's nothing below her but the ground. Unfortunately for her, she didn't pick the safest place to sleep.

I've come to the conclusion that something must have grabbed her in the middle of the night and tried to pull her through the wire. When I went out to let the chickens out of the coop this morning, I was absolutely shocked to see her bloody head, and immediately knew she must have been the one roosting on the wire last night. I checked the back of the coop, and sure enough, there was blood on the ground below the spot she had chosen to roost.

After successfully catching her, which was pretty easy since she didn't run quite as fast with her injury, I inspected the damage. It was bad. She was missing most of the skin on her head and neck, and the muscle was fully exposed. Now, I would have to do something, but what? There's no way I could put her out of her misery. The bleeding seemed to have stopped for the most part, but I'm no vet. I have no experience with first aid, especially not for animals. So, I googled it.

At that point, I had a better idea of what to do. Armed with q-tips, paper towels, water, and neosporin,  I cleaned the wound, which she didn't particularly like. I applied a generous amount of neosporin to her head and neck before wrapping it in a makeshift bandage. She's currently nestled on a towel in our bathtub in a bathroom we never use anyway because we have to keep it locked at all times or our child plays in the toilet. I've turned into a temporary recovery room, so at least it's getting some use now.

Now, we play the waiting game. She ate this morning when I fed the hens before I noticed her injury. I'll make sure she stays hydrated throughout the day until Jay gets home, and hopefully then we can come up with a better solution to her injury than my temporary first aid attempt. Until then, hang on pretty girl! You've got someone pulling for you.