Help! Young pullet brutalized by young cockerel

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SassysMom

SassysMom

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I have a 5 mo LF Red Orpington pullet, and same age, breed cockerel. They've been together since birth and one doesn't go anywhere without the other.

Today I was out doing the weekly physical exams on everyone and picked this little girl up, turned her over, and all of her tail feathers are plucked off and the skin around the vent is red and nasty looking. The vent, itself, is very swollen, and it looks like it might be impacted with feces, or something else. She's shown no symptoms. When I was feeling around the area she was very upset. I'm sure it's painful.

I'm about to wash the whole area with diluted Betadine Scrub and spray it with Vetricin wound spray. I don't want to lose this little girl. Anyone ever seen this in one of their chickens or have advice for me.

Thak you, in advance...

~Connie
 
Unfortunately young cockerels at that age are just too overcome by hormones, and without more hens in the flock, she is in danger. I hope you have more? Make sure that she doesn't have a vent prolapse first, since that red tissue sticking out of the vent is a bullseye for pecking. Vent pecking can lead to cannibalizing, so she needs to be separated and treated . It sounds as though you are doing okay there with first aid. Below is a picture of vent prolapse. If yours has a prolapse (other wise ignore the rest,) it can be cleaned with epsom salt baths or sregular baths, and honey or Preparation H can be used to help shrink the prolapse. First though, it should be lubricated and you should try to push it back inside if possible to prevent the tissue from drying out and dying or swelling more. It may come out repeatedly, but keep trying to put it back in.

15563_chicken_butt_011.jpg

picture from BYC--Whatsupchickenbutt
 
Eggcessive said:
Unfortunately young cockerels at that age are just too overcome by hormones, and without more hens in the flock, she is in danger. I hope you have more? Make sure that she doesn't have a vent prolapse first, since that red tissue sticking out of the vent is a bullseye for pecking. Vent pecking can lead to cannibalizing, so she needs to be separated and treated . It sounds as though you are doing okay there with first aid. Below is a picture of vent prolapse. If yours has a prolapse (other wise ignore the rest,) it can be cleaned with epsom salt baths or sregular baths, and honey or Preparation H can be used to help shrink the prolapse. First though, it should be lubricated and you should try to push it back inside if possible to prevent the tissue from drying out and dying or swelling more. It may come out repeatedly, but keep trying to put it back in.

15563_chicken_butt_011.jpg

picture from BYC--Whatsupchickenbutt
Click to expand...

Thank you SO much for your quick reply and picture. For the most part, this is exactly what my pullets rear quarter looks like. I didn't even think it could be a vent prolapse as well.

There are 3 younger chicks that came with this pair and I thought it was strange the younger (maybe 4-6 wks younger) chicks' backs were/are featherless. The (reputable) breeder who I got them from didn't seem to be concerned about this. Now, I will pull all of them away from the cockerel and isolate them until they can recover.

I'm feeling like a very bad chicken mom right now
idunno.gif
I'm so grateful for your help!

Connie
 
SassysMom said:
I have a 5 mo LF Red Orpington pullet, and same age, breed cockerel. They've been together since birth and one doesn't go anywhere without the other.

Today I was out doing the weekly physical exams on everyone and picked this little girl up, turned her over, and all of her tail feathers are plucked off and the skin around the vent is red and nasty looking. The vent, itself, is very swollen, and it looks like it might be impacted with feces, or something else. She's shown no symptoms. When I was feeling around the area she was very upset. I'm sure it's painful.

I'm about to wash the whole area with diluted Betadine Scrub and spray it with Vetricin wound spray. I don't want to lose this little girl. Anyone ever seen this in one of their chickens or have advice for me.

Thak you, in advance...

~Connie
Click to expand...

If those are the only two you have, I'd suggest getting more pullets. I keep no less than 10 hens per rooster. If picking is a problem, take an auto cigarette lighter to the offender and burn back 1/8" of the upper beak. Make sure you have control of the bird's head before attempting this. That way there will be no bleeding. It may sound cruel, but you aren't hitting the nerves, you are merely reducing the point of the upper beak's cuticle. The bird can still eat, just not tear at material items.
 
Update - Rosie is much more alert today. The wound area looks a little better but still nasty. She's in sick bay snuggled down and away from any disturbance (she's in the shower stall). She's eating a little and drinking a little. I don't want to give her too much food but she did poop last night so I know that part of her is working. She seems to like the chick food mash with water and a little yogurt.

I'm still perplexed by the way her rear end looks. If I were try to describe it, there is her swollen vent above and damaged tissue and/or bone below that. It was seeping what looked like caulking---white with a loose, chalky appearance. It seems gone, so far, today. Will continue to give her Epsom salt baths. The area around the vent appears black. I'm concerned that there is some necrotizing tissue there. Any advice/info on that?

I'll still try to get a picture from my phone to here.

Connie
 
This may sound cruel, but you may have to take a rough rag and try to scrub away any necrotic tissue. If she has started laying eggsm, you may want to keep her cage dark for 16 hours a day to prevent her from laying. It may take a few days to help. Neosporin or bacitracin ointment may help if the area is looking bad. The honey is supposed to be good for swelling/infection. Get her on some probiotics or give a small amount of buttermilk or plain yogurt in her diet.
 
Thanks for the pictures. It will probably take some time to get her healed. Flies and flystrike can be a real problem during warm months, so be aware of the need to keep her inside away from them because maggots can kill when they invade a wound. Products like Swat can be helpful to prevent the flies.
 

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