HELP....chick wounded....need expert advice

[crookedcreekranch]

I have 20 chicks 4 weeks old in a 6 x 4 brooder box. A couple of days ago one of the EE's suddenly had her tail feathers pulled out and a wound about the size of nickel. A little blood but not a deep wound. I don't know what happened. No problems with any of the other chicks. I separated her in a separate box and she is doing fine. No signs in the brooder of any attack. I had checked on them about an hour before discovering her so it happened very fast. No other signs of any picking. Can I safely put her back in the brooder? Should I wash off the blood? Feathers appear to be starting to grow back. She is doing fine, but I worry now about the other chicks going after her again, especially since she has a wound. Any advice? If I keep her out of the flock until she completely heals, will I be able to get her back in? Also, no signs of the feathers in the brooder. Did the chicks eat them? THANK YOU!!

 

[teach1rusl]

Definitely wash away the blood! You can TRY blue kote...spray a LOT over the spot. It's supposed to repel picking at an area. After coating the area with that, you could try putting her in while sitting back and observing for a while. Because they love to pick at areas that stand out...like scabs and such. If I was in your shoes though, I'd take some wire and section her off a little area inside the brooder until the scab (is it scabbing?) area had completely healed. Because they will go after a wound. That way they're still exposed to one another, but the others can't get to her.