Brooders

[jwankowski]

Two of my hens have wounds on their backs from something but not sure what; definitely not other animals but maybe attacks from the other hens. Anyway, they were also exhibiting signs of brooding so I separated them into individual cages to break them of the brooding habit. I assume a week of separation is sufficient before I put them back in the coop with the rest of the flock. Opinions please. Thank you.

 

[aart]

Do you have a cock/erel?
Pics of wounds would help here.

Was there any bullying going on?
How many birds total?
How big is coop and run?
Dimensions and pics, please.

 

[jwankowski]

Do you have a cock/erel?
Pics of wounds would help here.

Was there any bullying going on?
How many birds total?
How big is coop and run?
Dimensions and pics, please.

I have no cock/ere/ or rooster but a close neighbor does but he is not loose. There didn't seem to be any bullying going on in the coop. The coop is 6ft X 8ft and the run is 10ft X 20ft; enough room for 12 chickens, but I only have 5 hens. A picture of the wound and coop/run is attached.
The wounded Rhode Island Red was staying in the nesting box and covering a quantity of eggs, and the other wounded hen, a Wyndotte, was trying to lay on top of her. The 3 other hens wouldn't go into the coop as the Wyndotte was preventing their entrance.
As I said, following advice from the BYC group, I separated the two wounded/brooding birds into single cages several days ago. The remaining 3 hens went back to a normal routine, used the coop, and laid eggs.

So how long should I keep the wounded birds isolated before letting them back into the coop? How do I tell if the brooding is over? Their wounds have healed a good bit and they seem ok.

 

[aart]

That's a serious wound...how are you treating it?
Beware of fly strike.

Is pic of bird in the broody breaker....or?

 

[jwankowski]

That's a serious wound...how are you treating it?
Beware of fly strike.

Is pic of bird in the broody breaker....or?

Pic of hen was in the nesting box before I isolated her. I cleaned the wound with distilled water and a spray antibiotic without pain reliever and it has scabbed over now. BYC member suggested using Vetericyn along with the antibiotic. Should I get rid of the hen? Or can I re-integrate her with the coop?

 

[aart]

Should I get rid of the hen? Or can I re-integrate her with the coop?

That would be up to you, once she heals up and stops being broody.
Weren't there two broody wounded birds?
Being broody might be why she was picked on.
Finding out who is picking on her/them might be the breed to get rid of.

Where are the isolation cages?
Some closer pics of coop and run, inside and out might help garner suggestions for reintegration.

 

[jwankowski]

That would be up to you, once she heals up and stops being broody.
Weren't there two broody wounded birds?
Being broody might be why she was picked on.
Finding out who is picking on her/them might be the breed to get rid of.

Where are the isolation cages?
Some closer pics of coop and run, inside and out might help garner suggestions for reintegration.

Well, the two wounded hens are gone; they passed away in their separate cages. I went back and cleaned the coop with bleach, sprayed it for bugs and lice, and replaced all of the bedding once I had moved them to the cages. The 3 remaining chickens are using the coop again. They have no injuries and are not being aggressive.

I need to add new hens to my flock. Is there a process to follow to integrate new hens into the coop with the older ones?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'm rather concerned that if you add new birds, that this will happen again. Do you have a closer/clearer shot of your run space? I see some stuff in there but not sure how much clutter is in there, vs things like feeders. Clutter really would help in breaking up the space to allow new birds to hide. You'll still need to take it slow and allow the hens to acclimate to each other without being able to attack each other (see but don't touch), so you'll need to section off part of the run or add on somewhere outside to allow that to happen first, before trying to actually put them together.