Brawl in the hen house.. hen down.. but not out..advice wanted ..

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Wow, I am totaly amazed at the responses here. Makes me heart all warm and fuzzy. Ethel(Zombie) is doing well even managed to wander about the house and hide in my bedroom closet this morning. She has eaten a bit of mush i made for her , is drinking well. Just still a bit quiet and sleeping lots. I have been making "happy chicken" noises at her. played some guitar to her as well.. captive audience fer my singing heh heh. one of my cats like to sit on the coop and watch the birds, he has been checking on her. he does like to go into the chicken pen and sleep around them.. I am thinking she will recover ..

Hoping Ethel does well. It sounds like she will pull through. I have nursed a few girls back to health, and so long as they do not get an infection. Her behavior will be an excellent indicator here. If she is alert and trying to eat and drink, she should be okay. If she is very lethargic, and always keeping eyes closed, puffed up, and laying down, she may be suffering too much. It sounds like she is making a recovery now though.

I have a chicken in an indoor dog crate right now as well. She got nabbed by a fox, but survived. I suspect she got away because she was molting, and she slipped away from the bugger. Because of her hard molt and several gashes, I decided to keep her indoors for a little bit. I am happy to report that I couldn't even find her wounds last night, because they had healed so well.

Hoping Ethel has speedy recovery!

 

[Hamiam]

Thanks for the update on Ethel. Sweet girl. I'm sure she enjoys the music.

 

[Chris Hernandez]

Try putting Neosporin on her and bandaging her wing/ shoulder up, as for the face I would just spray a bit of Theracyn and keep her separated.

 

[Bagdad Chicken Mom]

I had never seen hens viciously pecking another hen before that they killed her and they continued to peck on her after she was dead!! My Girl was pecked on her back, wing areas, and her tail feather areas. They had even pecked at the hens bottom egg laying area too, omg, I guess because it was so bloody. I have put Dr. Naylor's Blu Kote on any reddened or dried bloody areas present on any hens now. So far no more hens have been pecked to death. It broke my heart to see such a situation I put gloves on and had to remove my beautiful dead Barred Rock from others continuing their cannibalism!! I hope everyone else doesn't have to deal with this issue!!


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[Bagdad Chicken Mom]

Kerry heatherington, I hope you find the cause of your hens injury and hope she recovers from her injuries!

 

[micstrachan]

Goooo, Ethel! I’m so glad she seems to be improving. I totally agree with watching for infection and for ensuring no weasel can get into the coop.

 

[Chullicken]

Can you post better pics of your coop and the interior? That just doesn't strike me as a chicken on chicken wound. Unless you're talking some kind of game cock 'event', that would is pretty serious for just hens. Whatever it was, if external, will be back and back again. Really as mentioned, anything over 1/2" you are subject to predator vermin. Little late to the party on this, but I hope she's been sprayed down. Chickens are amazingly resilient, even more so with human help in these situations.

 

[Kerry heatherington]

Can you post better pics of your coop and the interior? That just doesn't strike me as a chicken on chicken wound. Unless you're talking some kind of game cock 'event', that would is pretty serious for just hens. Whatever it was, if external, will be back and back again. Really as mentioned, anything over 1/2" you are subject to predator vermin. Little late to the party on this, but I hope she's been sprayed down. Chickens are amazingly resilient, even more so with human help in these situations.

I will try. it is just 3/4 inchplywood. it is just a box 5 feet by 5 feet by 4feet high sitting 2 feet obove the ground.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi Kerry! I'm so sorry to read about your hen.
Hello fellow Canadian! I live about 3 hours from you. I've been in your area. I don't remember, does Fort Q'Appelle or a close surrounding town have a co-op?
It's good she's eating a bit. If she isn't eating much, depending on the co-op and how good their livestock section is...they may possibly carry packages of 'stress aid." It's an electrolyte/vitamin premix that's fairly inexpensive ($6 range) It lasts a while. The electrolytes will help provide energy to keep her going if she isn't interested in food while providing vitamins.

There's a few different types of vitamins. Poulte-vite is a vitamin premix in a packet. It's meant for chicks and birds under stress. It's also inexpensive. If she's eating, I'd be giving poulte-vite in her water to help her recover.

http://www.domvet.com/poulvite.html

There is another premix that is an antibiotic/vitamin premix you can get that's for chickens if it becomes necessary


Unfortunately, there are several items on the above list that aren't immediately purchasable in our stores. It may be possible to order some of the above from the Amazon or similar...but I've never tried.

Peavey Marts usually have a good selection of books. I imagine the Peavey in Regina does. I didn't make it there on the weekend, so I don't know specifically. I haven't been to the Peavey in Yorton, yet.

The following you'd likely have to source from a pharmacy or possibly a health food store. I'm not sure if the co-op has Epsom salts. I know they carry a strong concentration of rubbing alcohol, much higher than the drug stores.

• Epsom Salt
• Witch Hazel
• Preparation H
• Pediatric Electrolyte
• Calcium Citrate
• Vitamin D3 - 500 IU
• Calcium (elemental) - 400 mg
• Vaseline
• Gauze Pads
• Exam Gloves (I prefer the Vinyl gloves from Walmart for comfort and affordability)

I believe you can get the following at Peavey Mart:

• 3M Vetrap (Probably also at the co-op)
• Syringes 1mil
• Vetericyn Plus Poultry Care Spray for Chickens
• Bag Balm

Corrid, (Amprolium) is only available from your vet.

Hopefully some of this information helps.

Excellent Info!

@Kerry heatherington Hoping that Ethel recovers soon.

 

[Acre4Me]

one of our chicks got her neck pecked open but you can't even see it any more