Frustrated - my hen is injured

[Hoover67]

Out of 22 chickens I have 4 hens (2 definite b/c they are laying, one silkie-unconfirmed hen, and one other that is not laying yet!)! When my daughter ran out to see if there was an egg today there was blood in the run. My hen has a cut just above her beak. There are drops of blood throughout the run. There is no sign that an animal got in. Everything else looks okay. You can see the cut in the picture below. I am just so frustrated. ..... to tears actually! My poor daughter is upset...she loves the hen. Since she have five brothers the girl chickens are important to her. She is convinced that one of the boy chickens did that to her! I agree. Could this have happened during mating? What should I do? Please help! She seems okay and it is not bleeding as far as I can tell now.

Thanks!

 

[spookyevilone]

Quote:
How big are the holes in your fencing? Could something have reached through and grabbed her? Have you seen the other birds pecking to establish their pecking order? Could be that. It'd be odd for a rooster to be mean to a hen and peck at her face. Usually mating injuries occur on the head/neck/back, from what I've read.

Sorry about your birdie, but it looks fairly superficial. All cuts on the head bleed like heck.
-Spooky

 

[Nif]

Hoover67
My cochin rooster just got beat up pretty badly by another roo (who's going back to his original home to live)
and my cochin looked really bad for a day or two. I just rinsed it for 2-3 days with some saline solution, and made sure his nostrils were not covered with any dried blood.
Don't worry, she'll be just fine! Chickens are pretty tough, and that cut looks pretty superficial.

 

[Hoover67]

Thanks. She is looking better. She even laid and egg! Poor girl! Hopefully she will make!!!! We really love this chicken! *(plus we need her!)

 

[FarmerDenise]

Don't worry, that cut is not so bad. I also recommend just a cleaning with saline solution. Make sure you don't get it into the eyes and as Nif stated, make sure the nostrils are not plugged.
It could easily be from a hen or rooster giving her a severe peck. I've seen worse. much worse. It is amazing how easily they recover.

 

[Nif]

Hopefully she will make!!!!

I really think she'll pull through just fine. Give her and her friends some chopped up apple tomorrow, they love it and it has good vitamins. (I always remove the seeds, apple seeds contain arsenic)

Forgot to mention, I usually use a clean paper towel to dab dry(gently) when I do a saline rinse, especially if there is blood that needs to be cleaned up. The saline will disinfect and help it to heal faster.​

 

[Hoover67]

Thanks! She is looking a lot better! I was so worried!

 

[Hoover67]

Her injury is looking better but now she has a lot of feathers missing at the back of her. I guess this is from mating. Should I remove the rooster? I just do not know why I am having such trouble!!

Michele

 

[Nif]

If you have seen the rooster hanging out on top of her longer than he needs to, sometimes you can teach them to develop a little manners just by knocking him off of her. Or if you think he is mean, take him out. I don't think mean roosters deserve to have nice hens. How many hens does he have? She also could be molting.
I have a hen that is bare on back, I think it is a combination of her molting, and the rooster just "hanging out" and taking his good old time. He's not a mean rooster, but he could learn some manners! He's actually really sweet, and handsome, but I got him from my brother and he said he would take him back because he keeps attacking my sweeter (and favorite) cochin rooster.
Good luck with your hen. If you think she is not happy you could put her and another hen in a separate pen, or just take the rooster out, follow your gut instincts!