Chicken injury scabbed -- but when can she go back with flock

[LUVMESUMCHICKNS]

One of our RIR got attacked through by a dog. They pulled most of her tail feathers out and lots of blood. I got her quickly separated and we washed the injury down with saline -- then some antibiotic spray. Still bled profusely so use syptic which seemed to get stuff under control. Its 36 hours later and the wound is scabbed over. She is in an airconditioned garage in her own private suite. Eating well and drinking. Looks like she'll make it. My question is when will it be safe to put her back with her flock. Should the scab be completely healed and off or is it ok to place her there with the scabbed over wound. Help would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[TwoCrows]

Chickens tend to "work on wounds" on other chickens, especially if it looks very different. You might want to keep her separated in the same run so that she can see the others but they can't get to her.

You could also try "blue cote", a salve that tastes really bad to other chickens. Apply it to her wound and watch her with the flock for a few days to see if the other try to fester with it. Good luck!

 

[LUVMESUMCHICKNS]

Thanks for the help. Don't have ability to have separate pen so think I will keep her in for a few days then use the blue cote and see how it goes. Again, thank you.

L

 

[cyn050608]

I had a chick that was scalped by the other chicks after receiving a small scratch on top of its head. I walked out that morning to see the chicks grabbing and pulling the chicks skin in all directions. Needless to say, they did a pretty good job at tearing that poor baby up. Long story short, after a few weeks I decided to put that chick back into the flock. The scab was completely gone, and feathers mostly covered the area again. Only a small amount of pink skin showed through. Well, it didnt take long for those chicks to start pecking on it again. That chick is isolated once again, and Im not sure if I will ever be able to reintergrate it. So in my opinion, i would wait until the area is completely healed, or if you absolutely have to return it to the others, i would keep a close eye on it because it doesnt take them long to do some damage.