Chicken attacked by flock

[cmom]

Hi,
I wasn't sure where to post this since I have questions on why it happened and then the care of the injuries after.

I went out to my coop this afternoon and found 1 hen out of 14 with a bloody head. Nobody else had anything wrong with them. She was missing feathers from her head and as i cleaned her up she had some bad cuts on the side of her head. There was splattered blood on the coop walls as well as the roosts. I was just out there about 3 hours prior and everyone was fine. They live in an enclosed run and coop so no free ranging. This flock of birds has grown up together as I bought them all from Meyers in one order. There haven't been any issues previously. I have one rooster that also came with the initial chicks.

Is this normal? Do I need to worry that they will turn on another hen? Am I doing something wrong?

As far as the injury goes. I cleaned her up with Vetricyn and have her in the house in a soft crate with food and water (with electrolytes). From what I have read, I should not put her back in with the rest of the group until she has healed or they will just pick at her. I also wasn't sure if I should keep her in a dog crate inside the coop so they don't forget her. I was just worried she would get cold as it is in the mid-low 20s at night and I don't heat my coop.

Any thoughts, suggestions, help would be really appreciated.

I think you have gotten a lot of good advice. I hope your girl is doing better.

 

[sagehound]

thank you all for your help. I thought I would share how I have her setup in the coop to make sure it looks ok. She is definitely not very happy but I did get her to eat some egg and she took some feed out of my hand. She also ate some mealworms. Overall though she is very upset and pacing back and forth wanting to get back out with the group even though they beat the shit out of her. go figure. If you think I need to do anything else please let me know. I appreciate everyone's help and support.

 

[sagehound]

 

[cmom]

Does she have a flock mate she hung around with that maybe you can put in with her. I have a special girl that has her own coop and pen. Before I go and let her out in the mornings, she paces back and forth along her fence. She has had some coop mates in the past but now she is alone but when I let her out she goes around to the other coops and visits the other birds.

 

[MissChick@dee]

@sagehound this morning Dottie had a “episode” while I was feeding her. She perches on a dowel rod for me to feed her so she gripped (rather than running backwards on the ground) she shook the perch so hard I thought she was going to fall off. I just watched...wanted to see how long it would go. Probably was a good minute (seemed longer). Afterwards she acted as if nothing was wrong. I asked my husband to come out with me to try and get a video next time.
Other than this she functions fine. She’s adapted certain behaviors. She’s smart she knows where to get feed up and away from others. Where to hide. But she’s not truly accepted by the others they run her off and bully her. It’s heartbreaking.
Until you came along I really didn’t have someone to share this with. If it’s okay with you let’s keep each other posted.

 

[Eggcessive]

That looks good. In the daytime, I would raise the flaps up on the sides as well. That way, she may feel more a part of the gang. For your top, I would use an old feed bag on top of the blanket or cover, since the others will constantly be jumping up there, and leaving little “presents.” You can just clean it off daily with a kitty litter shovel, and eventually change it. Once her wounds have healed somewhat, you can let her out some for supercised visits.

 

[MissChick@dee]

This is what Dottie does. Today she had frequent episodes had two on this video... in a minute and a half. Does your girl do this?

 

[aart]

This is what Dottie does.

Wonders if something is in her ear(s)?

 

[MissChick@dee]

Wonders if something is in her ear(s)?

No don’t think so. Not that I could scope her ears. She never scratches them. At first I thought she had a vision problem I was forever trimming off her muffs. I did the dialate the pupils with a flashlight thingie and although they expanded and contracted the same her left one was slow in reaction. Hum. I thought to myself either injury (which I highly doubt) or neurological disorder. She misses so much when she eats. She’s gotten better but there’s times when I hold a kernel of corn and she’ll tilt her head under my fingertips and peck. To her credit she’s intelligent. She knows for example that when I throw out mealworms (which she could never eat before) that I stand in front of a square bowl that I casually drop some in for her. But again it takes her forever and she doesn’t get them all. She knows too to jump up on her perch (seen in video) and I’ll hand feed her. I hold the feed or grains in my hand with a opening by my thumb and she’ll peck deep into my fingers (this is how it’s best for her to eat any volume of food) The other day when she had an episode while gripping the perch it was the worst I’ve ever seen. Like a grandmal seizure. I’m going to try and get a video but dunno yesterday was the first time it happened while feeding. Seems like I always have to have one with special needs. It is what it is. Thanks

 

[HeyHo]

FWIW, what Dottie does in the video looks exactly like what my cockerel did when he crowed with the no-crow collar on. So much so that it is creepy for me to watch. Perhaps Dottie's backing up is unrelated to her vision issue and is instead a separate physical response to something, like pain while swallowing? Maybe it depends on what she is eating at the time or how she swallows it? Does she do this only with dry things (straw, feed, grain, mealworms, etc.) and not wet mash or yogurt? And perhaps when she had the episode on the perch it was pain/discomfort issue because she knew she couldn't back up and was holding on for dear life?