How quickly do you have to remove bleeding hen??

[stllaura73]

Dear Group -
I am new to the backyard chicken movement and have a question about removing a pullet from the flock.

My girls are 5 1/2 weeks old and they were scheduled for move in to their outdoor coop this weekend. But tonight I noticed my littlest bird had some dried blood on her face. I am not sure what happened to her, but do know they were getting cramped in the brooder.

I have 4 chicks - an austrolorpe, an americauna, a Rhode Island Red and A Wyandotte. THe Wyandotte (Lucy) is the smallest of the flock and I am worried she is being bullied. I sat with the girls for awhile tonight and didn't see anyone charging her. But there is clearly dried blood on her face and I am afraid the other 3 will pick on her.

It is supposed to not get too cold tonight, so I thought I would let them sleep in the outdoor coop which gives them more room. I can let them out into the run before I leave for work tomorrow, but I will be gone all day. My question is - do I need to remove Lucy from the rest until her face heals? I don't want to come home and find her seriously hurt tomorrow evening. Any advice for me? I appreciate any advice.

Laura

 

[zatsdeb]

chickens do have a tendancy to pick at another if it is bleeding. 5 1/2 weeks is still pretty young. I would separate her for a few days, maybe you can put a dog carrier for a few days till she heals up.

 

[BrattishTaz]

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[operator16]

Can you clean the dried blood off completely? You could move the others out and keep the one gal in the brooder for a few more days to heal. They are cute and cuddly but will pick each other to death. The more they pick the more blood they'll get. The more blood that flows, the more they pick. It's a horrible cycle and your gal won't have a chance if all of them discover the blood. Let her heal if you want to help her out.

I had a tiny EE chick last year that was picked at by all the other gals. They would pick the feathers off her back and bottom. Each day, I would clean her off completely, put some neosporin on the tender spots, then with a q-tip rub in loads of blue food coloring. Under the red light, the blue made the tender pink areas look bluish-black and nobody cared about that color. After a week or two of this treatment all her little downy feathers started coming in and covering the skin and she was good to go. She is now the most gentle, kind, friendly top hen in the group. She was worth the time. That's for sure! She had a fuzzy blue bottom until she was about 5 months old. It was just as darling as can be. With all that handling, she's as tame as my dogs and cats.

Good luck to you!!!