badly injured hen

[barnevelderbean]

anyone out the who can give me some advice quickly?
i have 2 salmon faverolles hens, and they are such sweet things, but ive just been down to check on everyone and found that one of them has been really badly pecked on the rump by the other, i cant understand why, as they get on so well...... anyway. its really nasty, i can see the bone of the spine and everything. she is in a seperate cage right now, and looks pretty bad, but still walking about. i really dunno what to do? anyone think i should try to save her? or would it be cruel, i mean, is she too badly injured to heal? if anyone has any thoughts, or has had a similar experience, please let me know what you reckon. ive had them recover before, but not this bad (i have had to dispatch ones that have had their whole back ends pecked out in the past) sigh, im angry and upset

 

[CMV]

I think I would let her try to recover if the area in question is small in size. If she's all chewed up over a large area then I would likely cull. Clean the wound out with soap and water/ peroxide/ betadine tea- whatever you have on hand. Apply neosporin after a good cleaning and then be prepared to wait. She'll take a while to heal. Add some protein to her feed regimen to aid in healing. Once the wound starts healing I would alternate between using Neosporin and Blukote- one is very moist and the other is quite drying, so between the two of them they do a decent job of cleaning up a wound.

Sorry you are dealing with this. Are your birds too crowded? Too bored? I have been dealing with some picking issues this winter, but not to the extent you are dealing with them. I am having some success using the pinless peepers to stop the behavior. You may want to try them out.

Good luck.

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
Sorry this has happened to your hen. I recommend you mix a solution of half betadine/half water and cleanse the area as best as you can. Then apply neosporin to prevent infection. It will heal in time, keep her seperated til it heals. Increase her protein intake by mixing scrambled egg in her feed. You can also add poultry nutri drench to her water. It is loaded with minerals and vitamins to help keep her strength and immune system strong, discontinue after 5 days because it can cause diarrhea.
You mentioned you've had issues like this before, there must be something causing this: Examples would be not enough living space (overcrowding,) improper protein intake or improper feed/something missing in their diet, lice/mites....these are the most common reasons for picking/pecking.