Chicken's Vent Ripped Apart, Don't know what to do, (Graphic)

[RidgeCreekFarm]

Hello,
Last Sunday night, I was late collecting the eggs and I discovered this wound on one of our Speckled Sussex's back:

This pic was taken after we Blu-Kote'd it. Her Preen Gland is totally gone! It looks pretty much the same now, but drier. I spray it every day with Vetericyn, made her a saddle, and just replaced my homemade saddle with a Hen Saver I ordered. When I went out to swap saddles, I found a Light Brahma like this:

I'm not sure how to treat this! I sprayed her with Vetericyn and my parents are heading out to get a cage for her ASAP. Will she be able to heal from this?? Should we Blu-Kote it, or would that harm more than help?

Our whole flock of 12 are 11 months old. They were on Flock Raiser, but it was getting really hard to find a decent mill date, so after looking into it, I switched them just shy of 2 weeks ago to a 1:10 mixture of Ultra Kibble and Country Spirit Scratch, because it seemed more natural and more shelf stable. We are wondering could the feed change have caused this? Both times I found injuries it was because I watched one of our Wyandotts pecking at it, and I saw her go after another chicken when I was checking out the Brahma. Could she just have turned mean all of the sudden? Or do these look like some other kind of predator is getting into the run and coop??

I feel totally ill. Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It's hard to know if its from a predator or cannibalism. A chicken is opportunistic and if they see something bloody they are going to pick at it. You may have a predator and your Wyandotte just picked at the tissue or she may be causing that damage by herself, waiting for one to lay an egg and then picking at them. You will have to monitor her, set up some game cameras maybe or even a few traps too. See if you catch any critters. IF you think the Wyandotte is causing this, separate her out by herself to see if any more become injured.

How is your coop/run set-up, do your chickens free range or are they confined all day?
Reading the statement for the Ultra Kibble it says :
"""Farmers’ Helper™ UltraKibble™ is a treat for domestic fowl raised for eggs and protein, backyard fl ocks, and captive wild species kept for enjoyment and increased quality of life. Mix with your favorite maintenance feed for a treat your birds will love!" https://foragecakes.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/BROKIBBLE2.pdf
Scratch is scratch and is really a treat as well, it usually starts around 8% protein maybe a little more depending on it's make up. Neither the Kibble or Scratch are complete nutritionally balanced feeds. IF you free range and there is quality forage, then it's possible that they could be used for supplementation, but most people do provide a complete poultry feed for their free range birds as well.
If Flock Raiser is hard to come by, source a complete layer feed for your hens.

Now, back to the injuries. The vent is damaged, it's hard to know if she will heal well or not. If you have vet care, that is the best way to go.
The 2 that are injured, you will need to keep them separated too so the others don't pick at them. Wash the wounds very well with chlorhexidine (hibclens), diluated betadine or you can use saline. For such a large area, I would probably use Vetericyn spray, but you can also use triple antibiotic ointment to help keep the wound moist.
They need to be kept where flies cannot get to the wounds, that will compound your problem.
Are they eating/drinking o.k.?

 

[staceyj]

Ok first things first. Yes they can heal from this PROVIDING they don’t get an infection secondary to their wounds.

The Brahma -if she is stressed. Bring her inside to rest and calm down before beginning treatment.

Both of the injured hens need to be warm, inside and kept in hospital cages (separately) while healing. This will likely take several weeks and a commitment of your time and efforts.

They will need their wounds cleaned well daily, either under warm running water with an antibacterial such as hibiclens or betadine (store brands are fine) or diluted dish soap.

Cut away any feathers that can touch and contaminate the wound bed.

Dry well (gently) with a hair dryer then coat with triple antibiotic ointment and/or veterycin spray.

The wound needs to be cleaned daily and kept moist with application of antibiotic ointment (2xdaily) or several applications of the veterycin spray gel.

IMHO, you’ll need to assess their living situation.
Two us mire. Please give us an idea of flock dynamics and space.


A shortage of protein can cause cannabilistic behavior in chickens.

At a glance I am unsure about the food choice of kibble and scratch. I’m tagging @Texas Kiki , she has a spread sheet of foods and can tell us before I can even begin to look this up.

I’m reading though . Isn’t the ultra kibble supposed to be a supplemental feed? I’ll read more on that in a few minutes. Help us @Texas Kiki !

IMHO, the Wyandotte who you saw going after the Brahma needs to be separated from the remainder of the flock before she hurts anyone else or they all follow her lead.

I’ll be back in a few.

 

[staceyj]

Hey sorry @Wyorp Rock !

You got this.

I’m not as fast a typist as you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hey sorry @Wyorp Rock !

You got this.

I’m not as fast a typist as you!

I think all us need to look at it, doesn't look too good.

 

[RidgeCreekFarm]

The Brahma just died.

 

[staceyj]

The Brahma just died.

Oh my. I am so very sorry.

 

[Kiki]

I am sorry for your loss.



Your feed, the Ultra Kibble is made for chickens?

 

[Kiki]

Well I see now that @Wyorp Rock already looked the kibble stuff up.

Sorry.

Can you switch to a complete feed... Either back to an all flock type feed or a layer type feed?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Very sorry for your loss