Bloody Hen - Picking/Fighting

[farmgirls]

Thank you! 1pm and all is well. Hope it stays that way. So far, so good.

 

[jerseygirl1]

When mine get bloodied like that, last time was from a fox, I blukote then put her in chicken hospital, which is a large dog crate in the basement for a week or two. Sometimes even with the blukote, they will still peck at it

 

[cowinthebarn]

I am only 5 months old in keeping chickens, and have just had my first experience with one hen pecking another cagemate. The first thing I did was look here at BYC to find out what others have done to help their girls out.
My only Barred-Rock was the worst victim, and I'm not sure if the wound is so bad that we need to euthanize her: the skin is opened up on the back of her head, 1" square, so badly that the neck muscle is exposed. This happened within one day while I was at work. I have a feeling that the pecker attacked the peckee from stress: a raccoon had attacked in the night and killed/ate two of my little ones I kept in a separate cage; found a way to get in by opening the cage...

I separated her, cleaned the wound with diluted Betadine, and layered Betadine ointment and petroleum jelly thickly on the wound to hopefully prevent infection and protect it from flies. Put Terramycin and vitamins in her water. I hope I did the right thing, as I saw suggestions such as this in the forum (THAAAANNNNK UUUUU!)
How long will a wound like this take to heal? She's eating and drinking. What do I need to watch for? Anything else I need to do/be aware of?
(PS: We've set a trap for that dang raccoon, but nothing so far.)

 

[dawg53]

cowinthebarn. Welcome to BYC, sorry though under these circumstances. Dont euthanize your Barred Rock. Excellent job using the diluted betadine! Now all you have to do replace the petroleum jelly with regular neosporin (no pain reliever in it.) Neosporin will heal the wound quicker. So far, you're doing everything right and dont make any changes except the neosporin. Give your hen time to heal, and it will take time. Make sure her environment is clean, has plenty of food and water, and as long as she's eating and drinking, you have nothing to worry about. If you wish, give her plain yogurt (probiotic) with scrambled eggs (extra protein) mixed in her feed to make a mash. This will help build up her strength and immune system. Again, give her time and she'll be ok.