Help needed - chick attacked

[eggmandoo]

Hi. I've just come home and found my 16 week old leghorn with blood down his neck. He was in my chick pen with 5 others (3 are 24 weeks and two are 16 weeks ). On examining her neck I found an open wound. This has been caused by pecking or being attacked by another. I have seen one of the older ones asserting herself in recent weeks. I tried cleaning the dried blood on the neck. As soon as I put her back in the pen two of the older ones went straight for the wound. I can't stay with them as I have to return to work. For. Now I have put the injured one in the coop on her own and locked her in.
What can I do about this all. I am planning on keeping the leghorn seperate till the wound has healed. I don't think a vet can do anything.
Another big concern is that no matter what I can't allow all 6 to stay together anymore

 

[Wyatt0224]

I think eventually they'll all be able to stay together again. It's best right now to have her separated. Chickens are attracted to blood and open wounds. Give it time to heal up. How big is your chick pen? And what are the two other chickens breeds that are attacking her?

 

[chickens really]

Buy Blu-kote spray......As long as the Birds do not see red...They will back off.......

Chickens are Cannibals....With eat other Chickens to death.......


Cheers!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Crowded bored birds will often start pecking each other. How big is your setup? What do they do all day? Growing birds get mentally bored and need to keep busy. You will need to figure out why it's happening.

 

[eggmandoo]

The pen is 5 m x 2.5 m. The coop can house 10-12 chicks. The aggressor is a speckledy hen. I have a blue bell, a black rock, a Orpington and a rir roo. I'm sure it will have happened in the coop overnight. The injured one has been seperated since i found the injury. It will stay that way till it's healed. I'm not sure if they are bored. I think it's just that I have an aggressive chick.

 

[centrarchid]

What are you feeding them?

 

[aart]

Hard to manage a flock when you're gone all day.

Nice sized coop...so crowding might not be an issue, but wonders about the 'chick pen'
Can you make a wire wall to temporarily separate them but so birds can all still see each other?
Integrating a single bird later might be easier if they stay in view while recuperating.

Have these birds always lived together....or have some been added recently?

I've found that blukote on a light colored bird attracts just as much negative attention as blood does.
Where was the wound, to the comb, or face, or neck or....?
How bad a wound is it?

 

[eggmandoo]

It was at the top of the neck just under the head. I added three about a month ago. There was a pecking order issue but this only lasted a day. It's been fine since. Today I am putting chicken wire across the pen to keep seperate. I have had the 5 in the pen and the injured one in the garden. She has been near the pen all morning. I've swapped them around now so the 5 are in the garden and the injured one is in the pen. I'm constructing a temp home for night so they remain seperate.
I feed them all growers at the mo due to the younger ones being too young for layers.
I'm off to get some antibiotic cream

 

[aart]

It was at the top of the neck just under the head. I added three about a month ago. There was a pecking order issue but this only lasted a day. It's been fine since. Today I am putting chicken wire across the pen to keep seperate. I have had the 5 in the pen and the injured one in the garden. She has been near the pen all morning. I've swapped them around now so the 5 are in the garden and the injured one is in the pen. I'm constructing a temp home for night so they remain seperate.
I feed them all growers at the mo due to the younger ones being too young for layers.
I'm off to get some antibiotic cream

Make sure you get one without any pain reliever ingredients.
Swapping them around should help...maybe mix and match the 6 until things balance back out.
Would be good to have at least one with the injured that won't attack her.
Best of cLuck with your chicken juggling!

 

[eggmandoo]

Very grateful for the advice.