Bloody Bottom and Nest (graphic pics)

[downriverchicks]

Our girl Duck has a messy situation on her hands. We don't know what happened. She's had issues with the other girls plucking her tail feathers. It started before she came to us and has gotten much better but she still is missing a few and gets one plucked from time to time. We don't know if she just took a bad plucking or maybe had a really bad time laying an egg or something more serious. It started in the nest, we know that. The girls have been squabbling over their favorite nest a little more lately, despite plenty of room and enticing fake eggs in the others, so we aren't totally ruling out aggression, but it looks more serious. She's isolated and seem okay, but maybe in shock. Any advice on how to make her more comfortable or if we should be concerned further would be great. We're shaken and surprised. Thanks.

 

[DwayneNLiz]

poor girl, need to clean that up and see how bad it really is, can try soaking in epsom salts

keep her warm around 80*
how does her poop look
when is the last time she laid an egg

once clean see if you can get clearer pictures

 

[downriverchicks]

Here are her cleaned up pictures. I'm horrified. The dark area underneath her tail looks like it may have been hurt for a while? We had a dog attack a couple weeks ago and she got a little hurt, but I'd thought she'd healed. It is definitely mostly peck injuries. I feel so guilty and so want to help her. I have her a dose of Metacam that I had on hand from another bird injured by the dog, but she's in a lot of pain. If anyone has any suggestions for help, I'd be so grateful. I'm distraught seeing her this way.

 

[Isaac 0]

How much chickens do you have?. How big is your chicken run?.I would definitely buy chicken injury spray before that gets infected.

 

[downriverchicks]

How much chickens do you have?. How big is your chicken run?.I would definitely buy chicken injury spray before that gets infected.

I have to say, sometimes it's hard to come on here with a specific question, especially in an emergency, to field responses that are looking to critique my greater general chicken setup. Not that there isn't sometimes a need for that, but I've just had the experience of having a really hard time getting direct answers. I have 37 hens and 3 roosters on an acre pasture. They are not overcrowded.

 

[DwayneNLiz]

I would continue to soak in Epsom salt bath 1-2 times a day and spray with some veterrcyn spray, or betadine

How are her poops
When is the last time she laid an egg
Is she eating and drinking well

 

[downriverchicks]

I would continue to soak in Epsom salt bath 1-2 times a day and spray with some veterrcyn spray, or betadine

How are her poops
When is the last time she laid an egg
Is she eating and drinking well

Her poops are okay, though I imagine taking one is painful. The swelling has gone down a lot and looks way less panic worthy. She's been eating really well and drinking okay . I will get some spray for her today, it isn't something I've had to use before - other scrapes and pecks have been very clean and healed so. I had to make do with what I had last night, which was some antibacterial salve a farmer friend makes. It seems to have gone over okay.

She laid an egg day before this happened, and maybe the same day? She was definitely on the nest.

I will soak her in Epsom salts again - you don't think it will keep her too chilly for her feathers to be damp? She's inside under a warm heating lamp, but I feel bad for them when they are soggy!

I am surprised at how much better she looks today comparatively, though things are still pretty gruesome and she is in pain.

 

[DwayneNLiz]

Her poops are okay, though I imagine taking one is painful. The swelling has gone down a lot and looks way less panic worthy. She's been eating really well and drinking okay . I will get some spray for her today, it isn't something I've had to use before - other scrapes and pecks have been very clean and healed so. I had to make do with what I had last night, which was some antibacterial salve a farmer friend makes. It seems to have gone over okay.

She laid an egg day before this happened, and maybe the same day? She was definitely on the nest.

I will soak her in Epsom salts again - you don't think it will keep her too chilly for her feathers to be damp? She's inside under a warm heating lamp, but I feel bad for them when they are soggy!

I am surprised at how much better she looks today comparatively, though things are still pretty gruesome and she is in pain.

a nice warm soak in epsom salts will help to draw out any infection, and help with the pain (women do this after having babies, it really helps)
you will want her to be nice and warm, she should dry fairly quickly under the heat lamp
the vetericyn will just help it heal

i will try to find the pain med info for you too

 

[HnkyDnkyZZFarm]

Isolation cage! Like yesterday. I would do it indoors so you don't have to have a light on her, and you can sort of make it "night time" for a few days to trick her into thinking she should just roost up and keep quiet till she heals. I would make sure she has a low perch in the cage to be comfy. They wont leave her alone EVER if there are any signs of injury or weakness. They will eat her or peck her till she dies. You can't let her out around the others. I don't think I'd want her laying right now anyways, so I would try to keep her as quiet as possible, keeping her warm and in the dark - try to create a false broody to try to slow down her egg laying. Water and food in the isolation cage with her. Ideally I would put down puppy pads in the isolation cage as bedding to avoid anything that might stick to it while it was healing. She'd probly scratch and shred the heck out of it though.

How much protein are your chickens getting? Is it just in their feed and forage or are you supplementing?

We have 12 in a quarter acre chicken yard and we get pecking and pulling break outs if I don't mind their protein. They do deplete the forage. If there's little to no forage left and your protein is low, they're going to put that effort to foraging on each other. I'm willing to bet you already know that flock members at the bottom of the pecking order get less food and less desirable food than the higher flock members, so how you're set up and how you're feeding can make a difference in these crisis. It's not an attack, and it's not just pointless questioning, but trying to help you prevent this kind of thing.

You can put down straw with a desirable feed/ treats under it. Sometimes and it will break a pick and peck cycle. Boredom sometimes can drive peckers and pickers to going obsessive on flock mates seeking and exploiting injuries. They'll redirect their attention to scratching the straw. With such a large flock, isolating the peckers as well isn't really do-able. You take out one bully, you've got ten more to take their place. If you have any really determined bullies, you can pull them from the flock for a week or so and reintroduce them and sometimes that will work. They will have to start all over from the bottom of the pecking order and it can help tame a bully you might have otherwise had to cull.

Other have given good tips for tending the injury itself, keeping her quiet, isolated and safe from flies is high priority. If it doesn't get infected, or infested, you have a good chance of getting her back on her feathers and eggs without a problem.

 

[Isaac 0]

It is a very reasonable question to ask.Lets say you put your 37 hens plus roosters in a 20by 20 area that would be a disaster leading to pecking from boredom causing blood messes.If you did have that you could give them a better area and there would be no fighting.I would rather ask a for a Ft by ft because some people think chickens don't need space.




Anyway i agree with @DwayneNLiz .