Feather picking injury

[GHFarmGirl]

Our Eloise was injured a day ago by a hen who has taken to feather picking (that hen is in chicken jail awaiting trial). I washed her wound with warm water and peroxide then lathered her in antibiotic ointment. She is inside in a dog cage and doing well. She is eating, drinking and even laid an egg yesterday. My question is how long will she need to be separated from the others? How long does it take for a wound like this to heal ? Is there anything else I can do?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Till she's healed. It could take 4 or 5 days or much longer. It's a play it by ear situation.

What makes up their total feed intake every day?
What feeds (protein percentage) and what grains/treats and percentage of the total intake for each.

 

[GHFarmGirl]

They eat Southern States layer pellets and have a flock block in their run. We have some overcrowding and are in the process of expanding their run. Thanks for the info on her healing time.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Alleviating the crowding will definitely help. If I'm not mistaken the flock block is pretty low in protein. It could just be crowding or it could be a need for more protein. I'd up the protein till the feather picking stops. The injured bird will heal faster with a bit of protein too. Perhaps some tuna or a starter feed.

 

[GHFarmGirl]

Would starter feed help the big birds too or should I supplement with another protein source? What would you suggest? I'm new to chickens.

 

[mtchickengal]

Hi. I'm new to the chicken pen, too. Today when I went out to check on the chickens & check for eggs, I noticed blood on the sidewalk. Once I identified who it was coming from, I caught her and looked her over. She has been picked a lot on her tail & neck areas. There must have been a large tail feather plucked out that caused a lot of bleeding. I got a large wire type dog kennel & set it up in the house for her. She is not particularly happy with being in there. I am thinking that now I need to identify the main picker & put her in chicken jail outside. I did see 2 different ones picking yesterday. I have 1 other one that has a lot of her neck picked. Could the stress of the rooster chasing the hens be a contributing factor? About 2 weeks ago, I took pics of them, and I'm pretty sure they were all good. Those pics are on my profile. I have an idea of what to do, but I'm not entirely sure. I let them out into the yard to free range the majority of the day, as long as it's over say...15-20 & not super windy. Maybe they are eating too much treats & such...things like kale, bananas, mealworms, & scratch when it's real cold. There are 2 flock blocks out there, too. 1 in the run & 1 in the yard. I is higher than GH Farm girl's pic. like it is a tailbone or something. it is a hard area. I will take a pic tomorrow after work.