HELP! my hen sunburnt and pecked

[fawkestheman]

so I'm new to BYC and i have a flock of 10 maybe 9 hens and possibly 3 roosters and after my bantam who always got picked on went broody in april, and we removed her, the girls started picking on Dusty. She had a bald back, red and bloody. we didn't know what to do and waited a week until we got tiny, sill less and combo of both eggs. we examined her closely and found a long gash from top of tail to vent. it was deep and we wondered if shed survive. we moved her to my garage and cleaned off her gash and back, applying ointment twice daily for a month. finally the gash healed but the feathers weren't growing back but we figured it was ok to let her forage with the flock and bring her to the garage at night. a month later, june, we moved her back to the coop with shoots of feathers growing. but they got pecked off again and summers are so busy we haven't tended to it. now her back is a little bloody, sunburnt and bald and we don't know what to do if we should let her live inside the house to recover or what. please respond asap as we have to leave till sunday tomorrow and don't know if she should come

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. I'm sorry to hear about Dusty. I would recommend posting this on our Emergencies, Diseases, Injuries, and Cures section at https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures and seek some answers and advice from our experts who frequent that section. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with Dusty.

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your flock.

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your flock.

Sorry, I accidently posted my next welcome post in the wrong place. I do hope Dusty will be okay.

 

[drumstick diva]

Some people on BYC buy,sell,trade forum sell what are called "chicken aprons," it is to protect the hens' backs from roosters spurs and damage. It's also good for covering bald areas- during molt or when hens feather pick, so they have a chance to grow back.

If the others keep abusing this poor hen, I bet she would love to become a house pet. nowadays lots of people keep them inside - especially if they have to hide them from neighbors. There is a very good thread on BYC called "people with house chickens."

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

Sorry about your hen. I would first put this bird in a cage within the flock at all times and allow her to grow all her feathers back. By this time the flock will have seen her long enough and you can mix her in. When you do, figure out who is the bully. The one that starts it and goes after her. I would cage this bully for a while and see if that doesn't help. If after several weeks this bully is still mean, I would use pinless peepers on her. I have a hen that has worn these on and off for 3 years. She was brutally aggressive in her younger years. Usually it is one bird that starts all the bullying and the others follow. So figure out who is starting the aggression. But for now, give her time to heal and grow her feathers back in. I wouldn't use any oils or sprays on her skin, just keep her out of the sun and she should be fine.

Good luck with your hen and I hope you can get all this figured out soon!.

 

[fawkestheman]

Ok thank you! what is pin less peepers and what does it do? should i let Dusty free range with the others while her feathers are still growing back?

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

I love your avatar!!

Pinless Peepers help keep the hen from picking on others as it blocks her view. If she is the only one pecking and you put this on her then yes, you can put the hen with the lost feathers back in.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! here is a thread on pinless peepers, most internet poultry supply companies carry them now, or you can get them on ebay etc https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/144815/pinless-peeper-poultry-blinders when a chicken has them on it can't see in front of it, so they don't tend to feather pick etc, they learn to eat and drink with them on fine.
Can you catch her? If you keep an eye on her and and she isn't getting picked on while she is free ranging no reason not to let her out with the flock... you just don't want her to wind up trapped in the coop.

 

[fawkestheman]

she is friendly and easy to catch. it has been recommended i bring her to live inside until she recovers but is that a wise idea? id definitely separate her at night and probably during the day but want her to have a speedy recovery. I'm leaving this afternoon and will have a pet sitter come so should i remove her, leave her till we get back or bring her with us? any ideas greatly appreciated!