Back of hen's head degloved?

[Jmckinnc]

I went out this morning to find one of our hens in their enclosed run with the back of her head like this! It almost looks degloved. I can't find any other injuries and none of the other chickens are injured or missing. The back of our rooster's legs do have dried blood on them so my suspicion is that he was the cause. I don't know if there is anything I can do for her, the area is pretty large.

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

that is disturbing. keep it clean and off the ground should be fine

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

also de- spur your boy

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Keep her isolated for now, and make sure she's eating and drinking. You can clean it with some warm water (not hot, not cold) if you see debris.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

also de- spur your boy

Why would you assume that the spurs are the issue?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I haven't had a hen get this injury, but I have had pullets and chicks get it from older birds (or in one instance, who knows what she did to herself) and they usually heal up just fine, apart from a line where it finished stitching together with no feathering.

It honestly usually looks much worse than it is. I don't see any nerves or brain matter, so odds are its just the skin that was removed.

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

Why would you assume that the spurs are the issue?

cause it says the rooster had blood on his legs

 

[Jmckinnc]

Why would you assume that the spurs are the issue?

He is actually still fairly young and his spurs have not even developed yet.

I haven't had a hen get this injury, but I have had pullets and chicks get it from older birds (or in one instance, who knows what she did to herself) and they usually heal up just fine, apart from a line where it finished stitching together with no feathering.

It honestly usually looks much worse than it is. I don't see any nerves or brain matter, so odds are its just the skin that was removed.

I've seen other pictures of similar injuries, but this just looks horrible. The rooster is still pretty young and his spurs haven't even developed yet. I just saw dried blood on the back of his legs.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

cause it says the rooster had blood on his legs

Spurs leave puncture wounds, typically on the sides where hes mounting, this is almost always from a bird continuing to peck and eventually pull. He easily could have just brushed his leg against her head at some point.

Either way, you can't just desperate a rooster. Dull them, yes, but you can't actually remove the spurs entirely

 

[Eggcessive]

How are her eyes? Have you witnessed the rooster trying to mate her, and her refusing or not being old enough? Separate her, in a wire dog crate with food and water, and bedding is best. Keeping her near the other hens will make reintegration easier. Spray her wounds twice a day with saline or a wound spray. Then apply plain triple antibiotic ointment twice daily, so it doesn’t dry out. It will take weeks for this to heal. Let us know how she gets along.

Watch the rooster for aggressive behavior with the others. He may need to be separated for awhile. Is he young? I don’t tolerate a rooster who harms any hens. Trim and dull his spurs if they are sharp.