Injured Pullet

[Chilali]

A few days ago, I tried to integrate two young (approx. 4 months old) speckled sussex pullets into my main flock. Everything was fine for the first couple of days aside from a few minor dominance pecks... until today. I went out to feed this afternoon and found one of the pullets with a bloody cut on the back of her head. It was pretty gory when I first saw it, but once I got her cleaned up a bit it wasn't much more than just a cut. It is pretty deep, though, so I'm a little concerned. So far I've cleaned it with clean, warm water and a soft cloth and then applied a polysporin gel to help prevent infection. I left it open to dry with the gel on it, but that can be changed if absolutely necessary. She doesn't seem to be scratching at it and I've had bad experiences with trying to bandage chickens, so I just left it for the moment... I also separated her and her sister out into a pen on their own. I'm fairly certain the sister won't peck at her and they get extremely stressed when separated, so I think it's better to avoid the stress and just keep the two together unless the little one starts pecking at the wound. Is there anything else I need to be doing?

 

[goldfinches]

I wouldn't count on her sister leaving her alone. Even though they love each other, chickens pick where they see blood. I would try to keep the injured one alone, but in sight of the others. I've had a girl get her back sliced by the rooster twice. I kept her in a kennel in the garage until she healed, then put her in a run next to my main run until she got along again with the flock. I'm sure yours will heal nicely!

 

[Chilali]

I'll see what I can do about getting separate pens. The main reason I'm less concerned about picking in this particular case is both because it was the more dominant of the two that was injured and because the uninjured one is a runt that's barely bigger than a bantam of her age. Other than her size she's perfectly healthy, though.

I certainly hope she heals up. She's the tamest pullet I have. I certainly won't be putting her back with the adults for a while, and maybe not at all. I'm working on getting the materials for a second coop/run setup for my gentler girls.

 

[Shabana]

I usually pop mine in a run bang next to the flock I wish to integrate them into and leave them there for a few weeks. By the time I let them roost together they are common place to the flock and most of the pecking order chesting has been done with the safety of the wire between them.

I too wouldn't cover her wound. Just keep it clean and make sure her sister doesn't pick at her.

I do keep a flock of docile or special chickens (those that have had issues or perhaps have never fully healed). It works really well for me.

 

[Chilali]

I think the main issue I'm having is that most of my flock is currently a bunch of half-feral gamefowl hens who were given to me... even careful integration sometimes goes very wrong very fast. That's why I want to split to two separate flocks, so the laying breeds and a few of the gentler gamefowl don't have to deal with the older ornery girls. The last integration I did went quite well, so this one going so wrong was a bit of a setback. I thought I had gotten the majority of the more aggressive ones out. I'm not entirely sure who did it, either, so I'll just avoid introducing more youngsters until I get the other run ready.

Thanks for the positive feedback. I've patched injuries on other animals before, but I'm still learning proper procedure with chickens and haven't had to deal with anything more than nicks and pulled feathers until now. Most of what I do know is only from reading since most of my family sees chickens as expendable and not worth saving...

 

[subhanalah]

A hen who can come back from an injury and thrive again is a hen you want to breed! (Provided antibiotics are not necessary.)

 

[Chilali]

Well, speckled baby is looking pretty good today. No pecking from the little sister (I've been monitoring them all day) and the wound is fully scabbed up. She lost the little flap of skin that was loose, but it's only a spot about the size of a dime. Should I risk disturbing the scab to try to close it?

 

[subhanalah]

I would just use vetericyn spray, blue kote, or iodine to put on it. But I wouldn't try to take the scab off.

 

[Chilali]

I do have some iodine on hand. Thanks for the suggestion. Next time I'm over at the specialty store I'll pick up some blue kote. I wish now that I had purchased some before.

I'm still building up my chicken pharmacy on a tight budget and with the nearest store that has a decent selection being almost 40 miles away. The local feed place has a few things, but their selection is minimal.

I really do appreciate advice.

 

[subhanalah]

No problem she'll do most of the work lol