Help! Injured hen!

[SarahInAlaska]

I just went out to check in the girls and found one of my marans with an injury. I just got her last night. When I got her she was pecked clean to the skin on her neck and had wing and tail feathers pecked out. The previous owner had 6 hens in a 2' by 3' coop with hardly any run. She said these two were the "mean" ones and suggested the bird was pecking herself, but she's pecked all the way to the ear. I thought she'd be fine since there was no blood but I guess I was wrong. I found this wound on her wing. What do I do? I pulled her and the other one I got out as they were both getting pecked. What do I do!?

 

[ChickenRaiser95]

seperte them. if they are being pecked by the flock then put the marans in a dog cage or sommething of the sorts inside the coop for a couple days to weeks until theflock incorprates them

 

[SarahInAlaska]

Should I keep the injured one inside until she heals then do the dog crate with them?

 

[Haveandtohold]

The injury doesn't look bad enough that she would need to be inside but if she's your baby then by all means keep her in. The more exposure she has to the rest of the flock especially where they can see her but not get to her will let them size each other up and figure out their pecking order without having to come to blows...or pecks lol. Hope your big lady starts feeling better soon!

 

[SarahInAlaska]

I'll see how she's doing in a bit and if she's doing okay we'll move them back out to the run.

 

[SarahInAlaska]

The hen has healed up as far as the wound goes but she still has some large bald spots. We kept her in the garage the last few days. We don't have a huge coop so the I ly way to separate her was in a dog kennel. We thought instead of doing that we'd try to reintegrate her since if had been several days. We let her out of the kennel into the coop and our Jersey Giant went bonkers and immediately attacked her and wouldn't stop. She went back into the kennel. We put the kennel out in the run for today since its a nice day. All the chickens are huddled around it and she making this mournful clucking noise. Do I give it a few days of her in the kennel out with them? Do I try and cram the kennel into the coop at night or leave it in the run? It's still getting down to about 35* at night and even though that's not really cold for us I don't know if it would be too cold for her.

 

[janelle18]

Blue Kote is really handy for these kind of injuries. I had it for my horses, but use it for my chickens all the time now. I spray it on my barred rocks who feather pic of their naked area's and it seems to make it less attractive ( plus hides that bare pink flesh ). But if I have a hen that get pecked like this by the tail i put on blue kote and seperate. It is very important that you watch them when you re-intergrate because once they see the blood a small wound can get large very quickly. I have lost a hen to being over pecked before and it's horrible!

 

[ellie32526]

Blue Kote is really handy for these kind of injuries. I had it for my horses, but use it for my chickens all the time now. I spray it on my barred rocks who feather pic of their naked area's and it seems to make it less attractive ( plus hides that bare pink flesh ). But if I have a hen that get pecked like this by the tail i put on blue kote and seperate. It is very important that you watch them when you re-intergrate because once they see the blood a small wound can get large very quickly. I have lost a hen to being over pecked before and it's horrible!

Yes, I agree I had to separate my white rocks because of pecking injuries. I didn't have Blue Kote, going to get some but that time it caught me unprepared so I used Povidone Iodine. It will kill germs and act as an antiseptic. But Janelle is right if they see blood the other will attack. You should separate an injured hen until it is healed. Integrate at night when they are less likely to attack each other. But you should watch them until they settle in for the night.

 

[SarahInAlaska]

Ill see if I can find some Blue Kote and see if that helps. Thanks!

Will she be okay in the run in the kennel overnight?

 

[ellie32526]

Ill see if I can find some Blue Kote and see if that helps. Thanks!

Will she be okay in the run in the kennel overnight?

Not sure how protected from the weather she is or how old. As long as she is fully feathered, a tarp to protect from cold winds should keep her warm enough if it doesn't get too cold. Try to put the kennel where it won't get cross winds.