Bloody 11week old chicken after night with new flock

[rick24]

I have had 3 birds in my backyard coop for about 1.5 yrs. This spring we decided to get 3 new chicks to add to our flock. We raised the new chicks in a brooding box and then put up a temporary wall in the coop where the chicks could see and smell but not interact with the older hens for 2 weeks. yesterday we removed the wall and had them all outside. it seemed ok so we let it be for the night. this morning one of the chicks has a bloody gash on the back of its head and clearly was pecked at all over.

2 questions. I have put back the separation wall, but does the injured chick need to be separated from the other 2 chicks? they get along fine.

is there anything to do for the cut?

I guess I have a 3rd question, will this flock ever get along?

Feeling like a total failure right now,
Rick

 

[Ihavesomechickens]

First things first you need to seperate the injured chick. I would gently wipe off some of the blood with a damp paper towel to assess the injuries. I would put the wall up at night and leave it down during the day. It wasn’t your fault. With these things there is really no way you could’ve known to stop it.

 

[Eggcessive]

Are the older and younger chickens the same size? Sepearste the injured chicken in a wire dog crate with food and water. Clean the wounds with a disinfectant, such as Vetericyn and when they are healing, spray some BluKote on the wounds to hide them, and place her back with her 2 others. BluKote is not meant for deep wounds. They may need to be kept separated a little longer, but when you put them together, do it gradually for supervised visits about an hour before roost time. If you have pictures of the wounds, that might be helpful.

 

[rick24]

The older chickens are bigger for sure. I would say the younger are roughly 75% of the size of the full grown hens.

I'll have to go out and pick up some Vetericyn and BluKote.

Right now, the 3 younger chickens are together and the 2 seem to be standing guard over the injured one. They are all huddled in a corner :-(

If we see the larger hens going after the younger ones in a supervised visit, what is the best way to respond? Should those visits be inside the coop? When they are all outside, the two groups tend to just avoid each other...

I will post some pictures before I apply the blukote

Thanks for your help!

 

[Eggcessive]

It helps to have some hiding places inside the coop, and enough room, about 4 square feet for each chicken. It sounds like they do okay outside. You don’t need to referee them outside, but just separate if anyone is getting hurt. Pecking order squabbles are common in combining flocks. If a certain chicken is a bully, she may be removed for a few days or a week to lower her status.

 

[DobieLover]

The older chickens are bigger for sure. I would say the younger are roughly 75% of the size of the full grown hens.

I'll have to go out and pick up some Vetericyn and BluKote.

Right now, the 3 younger chickens are together and the 2 seem to be standing guard over the injured one. They are all huddled in a corner :-(

If we see the larger hens going after the younger ones in a supervised visit, what is the best way to respond? Should those visits be inside the coop? When they are all outside, the two groups tend to just avoid each other...

I will post some pictures before I apply the blukote

Thanks for your help!

Properly integrating your pullets to the hens is really a subject for a second thread in the Managing Your Flock Forum.
The two groups will remain as two groups even when the pummeling stops. When the pullets start laying, the flock starts to come together as one cohesive, dynamic unit. It can take months for this to happen.
The 4 sq ft per chicken rule doesn't really help in this type of situation where the flock is not integrated. They need more space. Lots and lots of space makes for a smooth integration.
I would not leave them access to one another inside the coop. Outside where the pullets can get away from the hens is okay but when you lock them up, separate them.

 

[rick24]

Thanks for the advice all.

I cleaned up the wound and it looks pretty bad to me. I've attached a picture below. I sprayed it with antimicrobial spray and then covered the area with blukote. hopefully it heals ok.

I will definitely keep the groups separate for now and try to introduce them outside over the coming weeks. Hopefully by the time the pullets are ready to lay, they can all get along. I like the idea of isolating the bully for a time to lower her status, but I will wait until the pullets have grown larger before mixing them inside the coop again.

 

[rick24]

by the way, the injured chicken seems to be acting normally. eating and drinking and so forth...

 

[Sixandahalfacres]

It’s amazing how chickens can heal from their injuries - hers doesn’t look too bad and should heal up fine unless the other two pullets start picking, so I’d watch for that.