bleeding....HELP!

[blueheaven]

so i just went to the coop and noticed my white leghorn had blood all over her.
never been a probelm - some feather picking on others but never her!
washed her off and put her in another coop to recover by herself for a week or so.

by the eyes and tip of her comb was bleeding bad!

not sure what happened.
she is usually top of pecking order!!!

when i was moving her, i noticed my rooster mating with another hen and 3 other girls pecking at the one johnny the roo was mating with.
not sure if this is what happen to the white leghorn.

any ideas?
what should i do to help her?

 

[RhodeIslandRedFan]

I don't have a rooster so I can't comment on the behavior you observed, except to say that I noticed with my hens when I hold one to check for lice, mites, etc. some of the other hens gather around and peck the head of one I am holding. The first time this happened it took me by surprise but now I'm much more careful when I check my hens over. Hopefully others who know about chicken mating behavior will comment. As far as her injury, from what you describe it doesn't sound too bad. I would just clean it off with some antiseptic (such as diluted betadine), and apply antibiotic ointment to prevent infection. Neosporin is good (don't use anything ending in "caine", such as lanacane). You can also try putting Blu-Kote on to hide the blood and red area, to prevent pecking if you wanted to try putting her back in the flock. I've read that isolating a chicken for too long can cause problems when you try to reintegrate them. Hope this helps.

 

[RhodeIslandRedFan]

I saw your other post. Your first treatment should be aimed at stopping the bleeding and applying antibiotic ointment to prevent infection. Once the bleeding stops, applying Blu-Kote liberally will hide the wound from the other chickens, so it will not attract their attention and cause them to peck the wound open again. It also aids in healing and helps prevent infection. http://www.americanlivestock.com/pc-99-79-blu-kote.aspx