Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[knoturavggrl]

Fluffy Butt Friday.

Poppet
View attachment 3675935
Judy
View attachment 3675938
Spooky
View attachment 3675939
Owly say's her butt if off limits, instead here is a lovely shot of her beard.
View attachment 3675940

Love Owls coloring, she reminds me of a sunset.

 

[BY Bob]

I can't really do any cleaning without help, because holding her take 1 hand, moving the feathers apart takes the second, and tending the wound takes two more! Husband works til 9 pm tonight, but tomorrow I'll have him help so I can check it out better.
For now I cleaned out the little brooder area that we still have up and put in fresh shavings, sprayed her with the vetericyn, and put her there. Poor little thing barely protested at all.

I know chickens will peck at other chickens wounds. I should isolate her, right?

I really think Manny is not long for the coop. Sheba's looking pretty beat up as well, but I couldn't catch her to check her over.

Something to remember is that chickens are NOT solitary creatures. You need to at least keep her where the others can see her. The purple or blue (I can't remember which right now) dye of the vetricyn will keep the other chickens from pecking it. Once you have her cleaned up you should either place a partner hen with her or try putting her back with the others. Their support is key to her healing quickly.

You do need to figure out how this happened and prevent it from happening again if you can. Observation without interference of how they interact is key to uncovering what is going on.

 

[featherhead007]

IF:
I have two feet, that makes me a pedestrian.
I have an automobile and makes me a motorist.
I have an airplane and that makes me an aviator.
Finally: I have 8 chickens and that makes me crazy!

 

[Lilion]

Just remember, chickens are tough little suckers, and you are doing a great job. Also remember sometimes a wound looks worse than it is, dried blood always looks bad until you clean it away and can see the wound.

Mr P had a blood feather break on his head a few weeks ago - all that blood on his white feathers!! Gawd! For minute I didn’t know what was happening!

Just another note, if the blood is dried then it creates a sealed ‘bandage’ for a wound. Might be better to just leave it in situ and wait for it to dry i and fall off naturally - that is what I did with Red hen and her necrotic belly tissue from her flystrick. In fact it just fell off there a couple weeks ago.

If it is leaking though and draining that is a sign of infection or the wound not healing. In that case I would debride the dried blood, just soak it with warm wet water, for about 15 min. Then gently work the dried blood away - you can do this in stages you don’t have to do it all in one go. Eap since your gal isn’t used to being held.

I have to do this with my Arab mare when I pick scabs off her ankles and legs from her falling over in the stall all the time (ya she is still doing that), I just do a couple then she gets all bothered and mad and tries to nail me with a kick so I let her be. Then later in the day I pick some more off her.

Just go slow and do a bit. Rome wasn’t built in a day! And chickens sometimes do not want to be picked at too much. The only time I didn’t stop for a break was with Red hen and her fly strick - that was an emergency and had to be done asap (gross ).

Remember you are doing a great job! Your chooks are wonderful

I will know much more tomorrow. I think she literally has no skin on her neck, but I couldn't get the best of looks.

It’s up to you about rehoming. Do you know the actual cause of her neck injury? Rooster grabbing and then the hens pecking where it’s bald and red? Is she low in the pecking order? Are you able to observe them very much?
Maybe the other one, Sheba, could wear an apron in the meantime?

Well I only have 3 hens. Eenie, Meanie, and Sheba. Meanie is clearly top hen. Sheba and Eenie are kind of a toss up. I think she's lowest. I'll try to get a better look at Sheba's back tomorrow.

You need to clean the wound perhaps trim some feathers to get a good look at it. Once you done that you can see if it is big enough to need stitches. You will likely need to flush it. Applying vetracyn or something like chlorhexidine will help to head off infection.

If you can post pictures after you have cleaned and can see the extent of the injuries we may be able to provide more advice.

I'll absolutely do that and post much better pictures tomorrow.

Something to remember is that chickens are NOT solitary creatures. You need to at least keep her where the others can see her. The purple or blue (I can't remember which right now) dye of the vetricyn will keep the other chickens from pecking it. Once you have her cleaned up you should either place a partner hen with her or try putting her back with the others. Their support is key to her healing quickly.

You do need to figure out how this happened and prevent it from happening again if you can. Observation without interference of how they interact is key to uncovering what is going on.

I'd love to put her and Sheba together, bur that means Manny will just have Meanie and the pullet Uno and of course Tres, the cockrell.

The vetericyn I bought has no color! Did I get the right stuff?

I also got this to wash the wound with. Good? Bad?

 

[Ponypoor]

Even my little Coco? View attachment 3675926

Yup and those wattles and combs!

 

[Ponypoor]

Fluffy Butt Friday.

Poppet
View attachment 3675935
Judy
View attachment 3675938
Spooky
View attachment 3675939
Owly say's her butt if off limits, instead here is a lovely shot of her beard.
View attachment 3675940

I love those fuzzy legs of Spooky Haahaha too cute!

 

[Ponypoor]

I’m sorry that I’ve been out, I’ve just not had time for my BYC family lately. All of the chooks are doing well. My grades were good but now they aren’t. I’ve never had anything lower than high b’s so I’m super mad at myself.
I have my championship horse show tomorrow, and there’s 13 other people in the class. I’m really nervous. Lenny is an awesome horse, but he is not the best at dressage. One of my close barn friends wants to buy him, but she’s thinking about splitting the price with me. She just told me today because I saw her at the barn when washing Lenny and cleaning his tack. I’ve not introduced the idea to my dad yet, but he’s convinced that I’m not ready for a horse. Lenny might be leaving soon, and I don’t want him to leave. I know that they are livestock, and that’s what happens, but I hate the fact that’s what happens. If I were to buy him, I’d need to get my grades up. My math is a b, but I’m failing Spanish (because I didn’t turn in a project, stupid Pastel) and I have a c is GA studies. Both grades should go up, because I turned the project in, and because I got a 95 on a mastery test in Ga studies.

I’ve not buried Madame Pearl yet, so I just have a dead Guinea in my freezer still

The chicks are HUGE! I let them and their momma out for the first time since I got them, and they were so happy. They got to run around the big pen and got to see grass.
Eli’s settled in nicely. She has been chasing the chicks, but BBQ chases her.
Well, I have to go to bed, because I have to wake up at 3:50 in the morning, and it’s 11:14. Night! I hope that I can be on here more often. Wish me luck in my show!

Good luck with your championship class, remember it’s all about having fun.

As for Lenny I seem to remember you having the same worries about a ‘new horse’ when you went from the pony to Lenny, you will get more experience with a new horse. That is what life is all about - and how you grow.

As for Mdm Pearl ( may she rest in peace) set an alarm on your phone for a time to bury her. Make a plan and stick to it.

Ok, now once you get a chance post some photos of the chicks

 

[Ponypoor]

The vetericyn I bought has no color! Did I get the right stuff? View attachment 3675978
I also got this to wash the wound with. Good? Bad?
View attachment 3675979

I think that is fine, be careful with cleaning the wound, if there is no skin and has a scab, it might be best to leave it undistirbed, as Bob suggested cut away the feathers to get a better look. Be careful of blood feathers! You will know them, they have a thick dark shaft and base, not the flaky thinner shaft of a mature feather (ask me how I know this sorry Mr P).

Do this in stages so as to not stress her too much, trim the feathers let her rest, check and rinse the wound next, let her rest. If indeed there is no skin don’t disturb the scab (dried blood). To rinse the wound just use some cotton swabs or paper towel soaked in warm water and dab at the wound, don’t scrub.

You can take peak at the edge of the wound if you can see the wound margins to give yourself an idea of what you’re dealing with, being the neck area the wound scab will likely flex and crack with the movement of her head. So it may actually weep.

You can spray with vetericyn to help with any surface bacteria.

I would also give some pain meds if you have a vet to get some Meloxicam; if not then some Tylenol, I wouldn’t give aspirin as it acts like an anticoagulant. If I remember correctly the dose is 10mg/kg, I have baby Tylenol that dosage is is “80mg per ml” so I give a quarter (0.25) ml to an average chicken (assuming 2kg of weight which is 4.4lb).

And sometimes the best course of action is to do nothing. If she is freaking out and not letting you see the wound I would just leave her be, put friend with her also so she doesn’t fret. If you don’t have a friend that doesn’t peck at her, then I would keep her by herself where she can see the others at least.
Ok well remember chickens are tough and they will heal with a little help. You will do fine just take your time go slow and break up the task into small bits so you don’t stress the hen or yourself. Good luck!

 

[Ponypoor]

I will know much more tomorrow. I think she literally has no skin on her neck, but I couldn't get the best of looks.

Well I only have 3 hens. Eenie, Meanie, and Sheba. Meanie is clearly top hen. Sheba and Eenie are kind of a toss up. I think she's lowest. I'll try to get a better look at Sheba's back tomorrow.

I'll absolutely do that and post much better pictures tomorrow.

I'd love to put her and Sheba together, bur that means Manny will just have Meanie and the pullet Uno and of course Tres, the cockrell.

The vetericyn I bought has no color! Did I get the right stuff? View attachment 3675978
I also got this to wash the wound with. Good? Bad?
View attachment 3675979

I had to check out his vetericyn
https://vetericyn.com/our-technology/

There is also a hydrogel which adheres to wounds - I wonder if I can get these products here.

Edit - ok approved in Canada

https://vetericyn.com/vetericyns-story/

 

[Lilion]

put friend with her also so she doesn’t fret. If you don’t have a friend that doesn’t peck at her, then I would keep her by herself where she can see the others at least.

I'd like to put Sheba with her, since she could use a break as well. I don't know if she'd peck. Best bet would likely be Uno. She's a little thing like Eenie and still does her best to stay with Mom. She's the last to run up for food, tries to stay clear of Manny and Meanie mostly. A meek little girl really. Altogether the gentlest next to Eenie.