Badly Pecked Hen Need Advice

[GaDawgChic]

I noticed my 4 Isa Brown girls weren't outside in the run yesterday and at first I didn't think I needed to go check because they do that from time to time. A little while later I noticed they still weren't out so I went to check on them. Three of them came out and I could hear the other one talking in the coop so I opened up the coop and her back end was swollen, bloody, and skin was torn. I immediately grabbed her (Grace) and put her in an epsom salt bath as I was thinking she may have had an egg stuck. Once I looked at her after the bath I decided to call the avian vet in town. Before taking her in, I noticed the one that apparently did all of or the majority of the pecking, (Dixie) because her beak and head was bloody, was pecking at the same area on one of the others (Terri). I looked at the other 2 (Dixie and Bindi) and their back ends were fine. I grabbed Terri and put her in the coop by herself and shut the pop door so the Dixie and Bindi had to just stay in the run while I went to the vet. Vet said there was no problem with an egg and was unsure what happened but her area right below her vent had been pecked through the skin and into some of her muscle but had not gone beyond muscle. She said she will heal and be ok. They flushed the area really well to make sure it was clean, gave her antibiotics, a pain pill, and cream. She directed me to apply the cream to Terri as well and isolate her until her area heals as well.

Once I got home, I let Terri out of the coop and into the run and put Dixie and Bindi in the coop. I got Grace situated inside in a dog crate and then went to get Terri to bring her in to apply the cream and set her up in a separate dog crate too. Once I got Terri out, I opened the pop door to let Dixie and Bindi out and they both came over to the door of the run like they always do to say hi. Dixie immediately pecked Bindi in the same exact area as the other two and pulled one of her feather's out right in front of me. So I separated them, borrowed another dog crate from a friend, and now have Bindi in her own crate inside as well. Her bottom was not bad at all but I am putting some cream on it just for preventative measures.

I tried out the First Saturday Lime for the first time on Sunday in the run and the coop, and around the outside of everything. I am in South GA so we are doing the sand in the run and the coop. I clean out the run regularly and I clean out the inside of the coop every day. These girls are different and do not sleep on the roost bars at night. They have always slept on the floor in a corner all huddled up together or at least close together. I put a good bit of the FSL in the area where they all sleep to help with the smell/absorption of the poop. I was thinking maybe the FSL could have burned their skin a little when it got wet with the poop at night and started something in that area where they are having a problem and then Dixie noticed it and started pecking relentlessly. Since Terri had it in the same area I really was thinking that it could have been what caused it because it was a common denominator perhaps. I went to check on Dixie this morning in the coop/run and her back end is perfectly fine. I am starting to wonder if it was not the FSL (I won't be using that inside the run or coop anymore regardless) and it was just Dixie deciding she was going to be the leader and start a pecking order. We have had them since they were chicks and they have always been together. They are 5 1/2 months old, have been laying for about 3 weeks now, and I have never had any problems with them. The run is 6 feet wide and about 16 or 18 feet long. The coop is large and they have 3 nesting boxes but they only use one.

So after typing all of this to give you a good explanation of what is happening, I would like to know your thoughts and hear some advice. Grace will be inside for att least 2 weeks, if not a little longer. The 2 that did not have open wounds but had an area of irritation I guess you could say (Terri and Bindi) should hopefully been good to go back into the coop by the end of the weekend/beginning of next week. I am concerned about how Dixie will treat them when they come back. Do you think this was her being a bully or starting a pecking order? Should I put Terri and Bindi back in the coop and remove Dixie when they are ready to go back out? If Dixie decides to keep pecking at them in that same area do I need to look at removing her from the flock all together? I am a first time chicken owner and want to do the right thing for all of my girls. We love them all so much. Please let me know your thoughts.

 

[Kiki]

You mentioned that your coop is large...
What exactly are the dimensions of it?

Awesome what exactly do you feed your flock?

 

[GaDawgChic]

You mentioned that your coop is large...
What exactly are the dimensions of it?

Awesome what exactly do you feed your flock?

It is 8x8. I'll post some pictures.

 

[Kiki]

I do not know what First Saturday Lime is but I would not use it.

The only thing that prevents smell is keeping the area completely dry and cleaning it often.

Do your chickens have access to a roost bar?

 

[GaDawgChic]

It is 8x8. I'll post some pictures.

 

[GaDawgChic]

I do not know what First Saturday Lime is but I would not use it.

The only thing that prevents smell is keeping the area completely dry and cleaning it often.

Do your chickens have access to a roost bar?

First Saturday Lime is safe for chickens and I've seen a lot of folks use it so I thought I would try it. It is cleaned a good bit. The coop is cleaned every day and the run is routinely cleaned as well, just not every day like the coop. They do have access to a roosting bar, they just prefer to not use it at night. I posted some pictures to help give a visual of what I attempt to describe.

 

[GaDawgChic]

You mentioned that your coop is large...
What exactly are the dimensions of it?

Awesome what exactly do you feed your flock?

I feed them Purina Layena with Omega 3 Pellets that is mixed with Lisa Steele's natural supplement of Brewer's Yeast and Garlic. Occasionally I give them weeds from the yard, tops of strawberries, meal worms, and cut up squash and zucchini. They don't get that very often. The weeds maybe 2 times a week and the others 1 time a week.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Pecking order doesn't take place at the vent.. that's bad habit, possibly boredom.

Pinless peepers might be one option.

The FSL.. has a lot of non toxic claims on it. The active ingredient is citric acid and the inert part is calcite. To me ANY acids has the ability to burn.. but I doubt it caused vent area problems.. the vent shouldn't be in full contact even though they huddle on it.

Looking at your set up.. I'd say add in some enrichment stuff. Some hanging cabbage or corn on the cob to jump at. Some other things to break up the line of sight, Some roost bars in the run, a flock block, or whatever ideas you can come up with. Boredom breeds issues always, even for humans!

I personally think it's crazy to use bug repellent in the run.. they need to scratch and look for bugs. It's one of the great joys in their life.

Yes, I would be removing Dixie and let the other gals have the coop. Then reintroduce Dixie once things are settled back down/healed up.

 

[Kiki]

I feed them Purina Layena with Omega 3 Pellets that is mixed with Lisa Steele's natural supplement of Brewer's Yeast and Garlic. Occasionally I give them weeds from the yard, tops of strawberries, meal worms, and cut up squash and zucchini. They don't get that very often. The weeds maybe 2 times a week and the others 1 time a week.

I definitely stop that lime stuff and I would also stop all treats for a while too to make sure they are getting enough protein with just the balanced complete feed...the Purina.
Have no idea what Lisa Steele's supplement is but I would stop that too.
If you feed a complete balanced commercially made poultry feed you shouldn't need to add anything to it.
Extras are not always a good thing and garlic is possibly toxic to birds.

 

[GaDawgChic]

Pecking order doesn't take place at the vent.. that's bad habit, possibly boredom.

Pinless peepers might be one option.

The FSL.. has a lot of non toxic claims on it. The active ingredient is citric acid and the inert part is calcite. To me ANY acids has the ability to burn.. but I doubt it caused vent area problems.. the vent shouldn't be in full contact even though they huddle on it.

Looking at your set up.. I'd say add in some enrichment stuff. Some hanging cabbage or corn on the cob to jump at. Some other things to break up the line of sight, Some roost bars in the run, a flock block, or whatever ideas you can come up with. Boredom breeds issues always, even for humans!

I personally think it's crazy to use bug repellent in the run.. they need to scratch and look for bugs. It's one of the great joys in their life.

Yes, I would be removing Dixie and let the other gals have the coop. Then reintroduce Dixie once things are settled back down/healed up.

Oh my goodness you are so extremely helpful! I can't thank you enough for all of this! I didn't put much of the FSL in the run since I put it around the outside. I may have made that unclear in my post. I'm frazzled by all of this. One minute I'm good and think I've got it under control and the next minute I'm bawling my eyes out because I don't have a thing under control! My husband is a saint.

I've never thought about them being bored but now that you say that I'm sure that they are. Do you have any suggestions on how to hang the cabbage and corn? Do I just hang it raw without cooking or boiling or anything? I have added one roost bar in the bottom right corner of the run since those pictures were taken, but I am thinking it is probably a little low so I will put in another one on the other corner a little higher up this weekend.

I have seen the pinless peepers online today but I really wonder it they really work and if it's really worth it. Would removing Dixie for a few days and reintroducing her be as efficient as those? Also, when I do reintroduce Dixie to the flock how do I go about doing that? Is there a certain way I should do that? I am sorry I have so many questions. I just want to do what is best for them and not by trial and error if I can avoid that.