# First Aid Kits for Chickens



## GPS1504 (Dec 10, 2013)

GPS1504 submitted a new Article:

First Aid Kits for Chickens



> Animals by nature seem to be accident prone at times. It could be due to their curiosity or it could be because they do not always connect the dots between injuries and danger. To a chicken, it may make perfect sense to cross the road but we may never know if they look both ways first to see if cars are coming or worry about what might be lurking on the other side.
> 
> The ability to injure one's self is not species specific. Any animal you own can become injured at any time. Because of this,...


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## Samin Afshari (May 13, 2020)

Hi, my 4 week old polish chick has got a scar the size of a pea on their head. I'm not sure mainly whether to separate the chick with the scar from 4 other chicks, because none of the other chicks have noticed it yet. How long should it take to heal up? 

Also, I wasn't sure, beacause it is on the head, how to treat it. I have already applied some tcp antiseptic to clean it and make sure that there are no infections on it. The feathers on the chick's head seem to have come off in the area of the scar. Please could I have some help with this.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It sounds like so far you don't have a lot to worry about. 

This is usually caused by another plucking the feathers from the head, I had a hen that was attacking her chicks after they hatched she scalped one peep to the bone. 

I'm guessing you don't live in the states because of the tcp antiseptic. Do you have an antibiotic ointment where you are? If you put a dab on the area it will help feathers to regrow in the area.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

TCP is another name for Betadine, it's here in the States, doctors use it before surgery to make sure they get all the germs on their hands off before starting the operation. It is commercially available at pretty much any pharmacy.
Antibiotic ointment is great to use but I would suggest watching the interactions between the chicks, make sure that it is actually pecking that's caused it because if it is, you don't want the other peeps eating that antibiotic ointment. (it's made with all kinds of chemicals and petroleum by products). The Betadine will do the same thing but doesn't stay on their skin like an ointment does so the other peeps can't eat it.

There is a product called Blue Kote that you can spray or apply to the area that helps it heal and also is colored to disguise the wound so the other peeps won't keep pecking at it. You can find it at many feed stores or online.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

If there is raw skin keeping the area covered with ointment will encourage feather growth. My scalped chick ended up regrowing the missing skin and had feathers fill in the area. 

And for whatever reason the chicks don't mess with it. I removed all of the chicks that hatched from the hen and kept them together.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

Oh really? I heard they love to eat it. Weird. I've never used it myself, I make my own with coconut oil etc that is okay if they eat it so I can't say for sure on that, you would have more experience so...disregard my comment


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Huh, coconut oil would work too. It's something about keeping the wound moist to allow for granulating in of the new skin. Don't ask me where I learned that bit because I don't remember.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

yep  coconut oil is fantastic for skin, I use it A LOT for people and animals. It's also super good for brain function


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Do the birds ignore it the way they ignore antibiotic ointment?


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

I don't know about ignoring it the way they do antibiotic ointment because I have never used it but generally speaking, yes they ignore the coconut oil. If they smell it and want it, they might take a taste but they don't do damage to the chick because they are after the coconut oil at that point, not the chick.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It's a little late now for me to try it since I'm not raising chickens anymore.


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## Samin Afshari (May 13, 2020)

Thanks everyone, this has been very helpful. The injured chick scabbed over yesterday, but at around midday one of the chicks pecked him and it started bleeding again. I've just separated him. Would there be any way to calm him down, because he has continuously cheeped for about 2 hours after I had separated him. If I turn off the light he eventually calms down but can't see and doesn't ear or drink. If I turn it on, he makes the noise but the real problem is that he jumps around, and hits the box I've separated him in, worsening the scar. 
Thanks for your help again, Samin.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Try adding a buddy. Watch, if it goes after the wound, remove it and try another. 

Did you put ointment on the wound? That would be a way to keep them from going after it. Don't use Blu Kote, if it gets in the eyes it will blind the peep. The red color is what is causing them to peck at the wound.


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## Samin Afshari (May 13, 2020)

Hey, yeah I did use ointment but they found it again because it got absorbed pretty quickly. Before I put another chick with him to calm him down but it just ended up with the buddy pecking away at the scar. I didn't have any blue kote anyway.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Got any blue food coloring? At least if it gets in the eyes it won't blind the baby. The attempt is to cover the red of the wound so the others will leave it alone. 

You know what you could also try, changing bulb colors. Red is good.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

yeah I didn't think about Blue Kote getting in the eyes, stupid of me since the wound is on the head, I apologize for missing that important bit.
blue food coloring would work, like Robin said and yeah, if you change to a red light bulb that might help also.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

And the only reason I knew that is because of something that happened years ago. A woman came here, her rooster had a head injury, she used Blu Kote on it. It got in his eye and it turned milky.

She had already rinsed his eye copiously with saline rinse but was still concerned so she came here. It took me a whole lot of digging to find the information, I had to track all of the ingredients. Chances of his eye ever healing were very slim. That's why I remembered it, the amount of work it took me to find the information. 

Do they even warn on the bottle not to let it get in the eyes? I've got an old bottle in my garage, not sure the label is readable anymore.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

I don't see anything on the label but I looked at the MSDS on it and all it says is that it may cause irritation in the eyes, nothing about blindness


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Yeah, one of the ingredients can cause permanent blindness. Don't ask me which one. I did an ingredient by ingredient search to find the answer.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

I think they need to...first, label the bottles, not just the MSDS sheet, second, accurately label the warning as possible blindness, not just irritation.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It's entirely possible the bottle you have no longer has the ingredient in it. I'm serious, the bottle in my garage is really really old. Tomorrow it gets dumped. It's part of the garage clean out.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

I don't have a bottle of it, I looked online


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

OK, so there is still the chance what I have is different. Guess now that you've brought this up I'll have to see if I can read the ingredients and compare to today's ingredients. That's if I can read the label.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

lol, how did this become my fault?
Oh wait, because I suggested Blue Kote in the first place? I am not responsible for my stupidity! hahaha


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It usually is your fault because you get me thinking in a circular fashion. 

I know the stuff has tannic acid in it but I don't think that's the one that said could cause blindness.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

hahaha.

yeah I don't think tannic acid would cause blindness but who knows in a chicken's eye, maybe their eyes have different make ups than ours, I've never studied that.


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## TomC (Apr 9, 2020)

I looked up the ingredients for Dr. Naylor's Blu-Kote. It has "Gentian Violet" and "Acriflavine" in it. Both of those ingredients warn about getting into eyes.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I did a little looking last night. It does appear that it depends on which Blu Kote you buy for what ingredients are in it.

It's been too many years I don't remember if she posted the label or not or the kind she had.


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