Do I really have to separate an injured chicken from the flock?

[micstrachan]

I came home from work to discover one of my girls has an injured comb. It clearly happened earlier in the day and was crusted with blood. She is acting pretty normal. The other three girls seem to be ignoring the injury, so they are all together sleeping in the coop tonight. Assuming the injury was inflicted by a flock mate, do I really have to separate my sweet injured girl? She is very easy going, and doesn't seem to mind being lower in the pecking order; she typically avoids confrontation. Since the other girls seemed to avoid her injury tonight, should she be safe with them tomorrow? I worry separating her will make her lonely and possibly result in her being ostracized down the road. My heart is breaking for this gentle soul! Thanks for any advice you are willing to share.

 

[LRH97]

Comb injuries often look worse than they are because they typically bleed a lot, but are usually not too serious, as long as the bleeding stops. You should apply Blue Kote or some other kind of anti-septic. The darker color from the Blue Kote also makes the wound less noticeable to the rest of the flock, which will minimize picking. The red blood, however, can attract attention and if the flock starts picking, can make the injury much worse. If the bird is acting normally, I simply apply the Blue Kote and leave them with the flock under close supervision. If you don't have Blue Kote, I would probably separate her to eliminate the risk of wound picking. That's just me being more safe than sorry. Hope your girl heals well!

 

[Justagurllll]

When you check on her in the morning .. if it's worse then yes separate her .. if it isn't then I wouldn't worry about it. It may not be a big enough injury for them to pay attention to it .. I've added hens back into the flock with MUCH larger injuries and they weren't bothered .. just keep an eye out

 

[micstrachan]

Thanks for the replies! She looked the same in the morning, so I kept her with the flock. Had hubby check on them throuhout the day. When I got home tonight, she looked MUCH better. I'll have to be careful, though, as two of the other three like to put her in her place. Bossy girls! And I only have four who are well looked after and not hurting for resources whatsoever. Anyway, part of her comb is tuning black. Should it be fine and eventually fall off?

 

[Justagurllll]

I would leave it alone for now .. it could be anything from bruising to loss of circulation ... just keep an eye on it and see if it gets better or worse .. as long as she's eating drinking and not being picked on I'd just let her heal naturally