Flock attacked hen

[sincerelyclueless]

Today, my Beilefelder (who is last in the pecking order despite being twice the size as every other hen...) was brutally attacked by her flock mates. A huge chunk of her neck was taken out and, to me, looks like it might need stitching. No vet will see her because of the bird flu so I cleaned the wound with saline and hydrogen peroxide. She is quarantined for now, and hopefully the wound will slowly scab over. Is there anything else I should do? Also, after the wound heals, is it even safe for her to return to the flock? I'm new to chickens so I appreciate the help.

 

[CCsGarden]

I'm not sure what else you shod do besides keeping her inside with clean food and water.
Sorry this happened!

 

[FrostRanger]

I wouldn't stitch the wound, just keep it clean and apply neosporin triple antibiotic ointment without pain relief (very important that it'd be without the pain relief) once or twice a day

What concerns me most is why she was attacked. I would do a full health check on her to make sure nothing else is going on as sometimes chickens will turn on a flockmate if they're injured or ill.
How big are your coop and run in feet, what's their diet like and have there been any major changes or stressors lately?

 

[LaFleche]

Did you purchase all your birds at the same time or was she just recently added?

Do you have a cockerel/rooster in your flock?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Wash the wound with sterile saline, do not use peroxide any more, and as @FrostRanger says, keep it coated with triple antibiotic ointment. Do this twice daily. No stitches, no bandage. Watch for flystrike and protect her from further injury from the flock. You don't want it to scab over.

 

[sincerelyclueless]

Do you guys recommend a brand of ointment?

To answer a few questions from above:

This injured hen was 1 of 6 baby chicks we got back in August. At that time, we already had 3 four month old hens (plus a 4 month old rooster - RIP.) It's these 3 "older" girls who bully the Bielefelder way worse than the other younger girls.

Yes, we had a rooster but it became a fox's dinner a few weeks back. We typically allow the chickens out to stretch their wings for a few hours per day but with the cold and ice we haven't let them out in a few days (because with such conditions we are seeing too many predators out looking for food and don't want to take any chances). I'm guessing a rooster would keep the girls in line? I'm not sure we are up to getting another rooster, at least not yet (due to noise complaints). Perhaps without the rooster, coupled with their inability to get out of the run, this might explain the attack.

Our run is 12' x 10' for 8 chickens (15 sq. feet per bird). Our coop is 8' x 4' (4 sq. feet per bird).

Regarding changing conditions, besides being cooped up more days in a row than normal, the only other new thing is that the younger hens have started to all lay within the past week. I'm not sure if she got attacked because of this or not.

Appreciate the thoughtful responses. Thanks!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Do you guys recommend a brand of ointment?

I use Neosporin Original, but a generic equivalent or anything similar will do.

 

[FrostRanger]

Do you guys recommend a brand of ointment?

To answer a few questions from above:

This injured hen was 1 of 6 baby chicks we got back in August. At that time, we already had 3 four month old hens (plus a 4 month old rooster - RIP.) It's these 3 "older" girls who bully the Bielefelder way worse than the other younger girls.

Yes, we had a rooster but it became a fox's dinner a few weeks back. We typically allow the chickens out to stretch their wings for a few hours per day but with the cold and ice we haven't let them out in a few days (because with such conditions we are seeing too many predators out looking for food and don't want to take any chances). I'm guessing a rooster would keep the girls in line? I'm not sure we are up to getting another rooster, at least not yet (due to noise complaints). Perhaps without the rooster, coupled with their inability to get out of the run, this might explain the attack.

Our run is 12' x 10' for 8 chickens (15 sq. feet per bird). Our coop is 8' x 4' (4 sq. feet per bird).

Regarding changing conditions, besides being cooped up more days in a row than normal, the only other new thing is that the younger hens have started to all lay within the past week. I'm not sure if she got attacked because of this or not.

Appreciate the thoughtful responses. Thanks!

I say neosporin but any equivalent generic brand will work just as well

 

[LaFleche]

Do you guys recommend a brand of ointment?

To answer a few questions from above:

This injured hen was 1 of 6 baby chicks we got back in August. At that time, we already had 3 four month old hens (plus a 4 month old rooster - RIP.) It's these 3 "older" girls who bully the Bielefelder way worse than the other younger girls.

Yes, we had a rooster but it became a fox's dinner a few weeks back. We typically allow the chickens out to stretch their wings for a few hours per day but with the cold and ice we haven't let them out in a few days (because with such conditions we are seeing too many predators out looking for food and don't want to take any chances). I'm guessing a rooster would keep the girls in line? I'm not sure we are up to getting another rooster, at least not yet (due to noise complaints). Perhaps without the rooster, coupled with their inability to get out of the run, this might explain the attack.

Our run is 12' x 10' for 8 chickens (15 sq. feet per bird). Our coop is 8' x 4' (4 sq. feet per bird).

Regarding changing conditions, besides being cooped up more days in a row than normal, the only other new thing is that the younger hens have started to all lay within the past week. I'm not sure if she got attacked because of this or not.

Appreciate the thoughtful responses. Thanks!

Being cooped up in a tight space, losing the rooster and the younger ones starting to lay all shakes up the pecking order and increases the level of aggression.

Identifying the instigator and removinf her out of sight from the flock for a week (thinking large dog kennel in the garage or similar) can help to stop the aggression, but first the victim needs to be completely healed which can take a few weeks.