bloody comb & beak: injured, or sick?

[h c hennery]

Do you think our hen looks sick, or do these look more like wounds from being picked on?

Our 18-month old Barred Rock started molting in October. Her feathers seem mostly in now, but she's still acting sluggish, and isn't laying. Yesterday we noticed (black scabs?) on her comb, and today we noticed her beak is bloody (see pictures).

Meanwhile, her two flock-mates are acting as healthy as ever. I thought maybe our BR was bullied . . . but not sure how that would explain her beak injury. The prospective bully is the Buff Orpington in the foreground in the last photo.

Any ideas?

 

[ChickNanny13]

You may want to give her some vitamins & extra protein, molting is a draw on their nutritional resources. I'm thinking those are "injury" wounds. Looks like the tip of her beak has been broke off? Can you take a closer look at it, possible she was pecking at something, broke the tip off her beak & got her comb caught?

Or it is possible she's being bullied. You'll need to watch & observe them for a sometime to figure out if it's bullying. If it is time out for the bully (wire cage in the coop)

 

[Eggcessive]

They can injure themselves on cage wire or fencing if they are being bullied as well.

 

[Rhodeislandsilkie]

That looks like she got in a fight with another chicken. Hope she gets well soon!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Do you think our hen looks sick, or do these look more like wounds from being picked on?

Our 18-month old Barred Rock started molting in October. Her feathers seem mostly in now, but she's still acting sluggish, and isn't laying. Yesterday we noticed (black scabs?) on her comb, and today we noticed her beak is bloody (see pictures).

Meanwhile, her two flock-mates are acting as healthy as ever. I thought maybe our BR was bullied . . . but not sure how that would explain her beak injury. The prospective bully is the Buff Orpington in the foreground in the last photo.

Any ideas?

She may have gotten her beak caught in fencing, a feed/water station or possibly got into a tussle with another member of the flock.

It looks to me like she has lost a few layers off her beak. On one side it looks like it might be split(?) Some of that may peel on off and be lost, time will tell. I don't think I would try to repair it.
The scabs on the comb are minor.

Molting birds can feel terrible and sometimes they are bullied. With her beak injury I would make sure she is eating/drinking well. The beak may be painful and hurt when she pecks at food, so offer her some wet feed along with some scrambled egg.
I agree with giving her a boost with poultry vitamins. Poultry Cell or Poultry Nutri-Drench would be good.

Most hens stop laying during molt. It would be worth examining her for lice/mites, check to make sure her crop is empty in the morning before she eats/drinks and feel the abdomen for any bloat/swelling.

Hope she feels better soon.

 

[h c hennery]

Thank you all for your input! Rocky is still subdued today, but no fresh blood, so that's good. This afternoon I hand-fed her an entire scrambled egg, which she enjoyed.

I think she was attacked by our Buff Orpington. My husband pointed out that it coincided with us repairing their normal feeder (5-gallon bucket feeder). They're used to feeding individually out of PVC tubes, but the day in question they shared a small dog dish. Rocky is used to being the top bird, so she may not have responded appropriately to the new "boss." Anyway, now their normal feeder is back in place, and we're being careful to minimize any reasons for competition. Hopefully she'll heal quickly!