Chicken attacked by sisters

[LafayetteDon]

I found my Speckled Sussex hiding under the door to the coop. She had been attacked by her sisters ( she has always been low girl in the pecking order)

I’ve cleaned her wounds and sprayed with Vetericyn. She is getting lots of water with nitri drench and vetrx

she is alert and resting. Anything else I can do ?

 

[azygous]

The photo of the wound is too out of focus to really see how bad it is. Please try for a better photo as this may be why the hen was attacked, and the wound may be more involved than just superficial.

There is usually a good reason why a low ranking hen has been attacked violently enough to produce such a wound. She may be sick. She may be having reproductive issues and is sick and perhaps prolapsing.

Or she could be a chronic victim of bullying, and that escalates sometimes to the point of serious injury. Here is how to deal with chronic bullying. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

 

[LafayetteDon]

I just cleaned her again been doing it every couple hours.

 

[azygous]

I suspect she's sick. The vent appears somewhat swollen, but that just how I read the latest photo. The white mucous also indicates sickness. She may either be eggbound or constipated, meaning backed up from an impacted gizzard.

Give us the age and status as a layer of this hen, and maybe we can figure out is it's egg binding or constipation.

 

[LafayetteDon]

She is 9 months old. By farrrr my sweetest girl. I noticed the last week or do I’d see her use her wing for balance so I was keeping an eye on her.

thank you so much for the help. She is inside now she will drink but hasn’t eaten but is alert.

 

[azygous]

It's time to do a physical assessment. Start with the crop. Determine if it's unusually full despite her not being interested in food. What is the consistency? Hard and lumpy or full and squishy?

Check her crop in the morning. It should be completely empty. If not, she may need treatment for a crop disorder. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Monitor her poop and any discharge from her vent. Get photos of her poop periodically so we can also monitor.

Note her behavior. Is she squatting and appearing to try to either poop or squeeze out an egg? Get photos of this behavior and post them so we can observe, also.

What is her status as a layer? When did she start to lay? When did she last lay? Is she regular at laying? Has she ever produced a soft or thin-shell egg? Any signs of egg membrane in any of her poop?

 

[LafayetteDon]

Ok will do.

as for her as a layer. I’ve never observed her laying now that I think about it but I’m gone most of the weekdays. I will say during the summer I averaged an egg a chicken a day ( 15 ) so I’ll assume she was laying.

the only discharge poop up to this point has been white

 

[LafayetteDon]

Ok checked her crop. Soft and squishy. Good thing though she actually got up and moved some

 

[azygous]

The squishy crop may be related to the white mucous poop. Be sure to check the crop in the morning before she eats or drinks. Either keep her confined to a crate over night or take up the food and waterer until you check her.

Monitor her behavior as I described. This is all extremely important in order to come up with a treatment plan.

 

[LafayetteDon]

Checked her crop this morning still kinda mushy. She hasn’t eaten but I’ve made her drink some water. Still alert and will move some. Only poop is a white discharge