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

[RidgeCreekFarm]

Thank you so much.

My parents are bring home Flock Raiser right now. Is it okay to switch them over cold turkey?

All the other chickens must have attacked her while we were getting things together and made the wound worse. We brought her in and put her in our puppy's cage. But she was really out of it, then had a spasm and died.

All the chickens have some blood smears on their heads from the attack. I went out and wiped off the ones with the most. Will they attack each other over the smears?? They are all really wound up, so I (or maybe another family member) am going to try to systematically check them over tonight when they are calm and make sure there are no more cuts, scrapes, etc.

I'll try to load up some new pics of the Sussex.

 

[RidgeCreekFarm]

The Sussex has had her wound since Sunday night. The whole spot is about 2"-2.5" around with a dime-sized spot in the middle where you could see muscle tissue. We Blu-Koted it the night we found it, but she kept picking at it, so I made her this saddle out of fleece:

I didn't like that it occasionally flipped up and left her exposed, so I just got this stiffer one from Hen Saver in the mail today:

While I was out cleaning heads I grabbed a new pic of her wound:

The black is from the Blu-Kote, it's mostly dry and scabbed with the edges and the center dime area just starting to de-scab and moisten up a bit today.

She's our friendliest and most laid back chicken, and acts, runs, hops, snuggles, eats, drinks, and tugs my clothes for attention like nothing is wrong. I've been going out and spraying her with Vetericyn at night so it will have longer to sit undisturbed and so she doesn't get super annoyed with me messing back there. Is it okay to leave her with the rest of the flock as long as her wound is covered? It's still pretty cold up here, should flies be an issue this early in Michigan?

 

[RidgeCreekFarm]

Also, I noticed when I was washing the chickens that some of their feathers seemed kind of brittle and looking at their skin it looks like they are missing some individual ones here and there- they are 11 months old and have never moulted- could they be doing that now?

 

[Kiki]

Also, I noticed when I was washing the chickens that some of their feathers seemed kind of brittle and looking at their skin it looks like they are missing some individual ones here and there- they are 11 months old and have never moulted- could they be doing that now?

Probably not. It's the wrong time of year for molting.
Double check them tonight when they go to roost with a flashlight.
Look for bugs crawling on them around that area.

 

[RidgeCreekFarm]

I checked for bugs just last week, but I'll check again and see if I can get a pic of what I'm talking about .

What should I expect the Sussex's wound to look like?

Should I keep her in the coop with the flock since she is doing well; or put her by herself in a little cage in the run?

On the one hand, she'd definitely be safe from the other chickens, but I'm worried she'd get too cold at night, and if it's some sort of predator, I think the coop would be safer. Unfortunately the coop isn't tall enough to put a crate in .

Will this episode give our chickens a taste for blood?

Their feeder is now full of Flock Raiser.

P.S. Will she be OK without a Preen Gland?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The Brahma just died.

My parents are bring home Flock Raiser right now. Is it okay to switch them over cold turkey?

All the chickens have some blood smears on their heads from the attack. I went out and wiped off the ones with the most. Will they attack each other over the smears?? They are all really wound up,

I'm so sorry to hear you lost her
It's good that you got the flock raiser.
If you think the Wyandotte is causing the damage, separate her. Cage her.

If she is separated and this happens again, then I would assume you got a predator problem. In the meantime, look around your run are than any tiny holes, spaces or gaps where a predator can get in.

How much space does your coop/run have?

 

[RidgeCreekFarm]

@Wyorp Rock Thank you for the condolences! Yesterday and last night were rough.
I would try to separate her if I knew which of the 3 Wyandottes it was. I can usually tell them apart by their combs, but both times I was rather panicked and didn't notice. I just know that both times I found a wound, a Wyandotte was picking at it. If I did ID one as a potential culprit, would she freeze all by herself in the run at night (Our night temps are forcasted to be around freezing till April)? Or should I just cage her during the day, and pop her in with the rest in the late evening?

Our coop and run are less then the recommended 4ft/ and 10ft per bird. They are right around 3ft/ and 9ft respectively. Our setup was meant to be a temporary transition phase from the brooder until the large coop (the platform to the right) was built, and the run extended underneath it. Unfortunately a blown transmission on my Dad's work vehicle toasted the coop-building budget and then winter set in. They did fine all winter though, and have had more space the last week, because we removed the straw bales that had been stacked in the run around the coop for insulation.

Currently, the whole run is covered in hardware cloth, with 18" of skirting covered in pavers surrounding it. My brother has been over the perimeter multiple times and hasn't found an "in" yet. We are thinking about scraping out the deep winter litter in the run, just to make sure we aren't missing anything.

I found a 1.5"-2" bare and oozing spot on the back of another Sussex today, so I immediately sprayed the area with Vetericyn and put the saddle I had made for the other chicken on her. The skin doesn't look broken, just a little raw. I'll be able to get a better look (and pics) later with some help. Everyone else seems fine and the Original Sussex's wound was looking less irritated around the edges today!

 

[Ms Clucky]

 

[RidgeCreekFarm]

@Texas Kiki
I don't see any signs of bugs, but we are planning to order Elector PSP tomorrow anyway.
Is it okay to spray everything and everyone down even if there potentially aren't any bugs? Just as a way to check that off the list of possibilities?

Like I told @Wyorp Rock I found another, slight injury today. I'll try to get pics later when it's not just me, a phone, and a grumpy chicken!

 

[Kiki]

You have 12 birds in this red coop?
Is that right?

I am thinking part of the problem might be there don't have enough room.