Help with hen! Quick PLEASE!!

HickoryHollow

Songster
7 Years
May 28, 2012
423
54
113
Bolivar, Ohio
What is going on with her??? I found her like this in the morning when I was feeding and watering the flock. It wasn't bad enough until now that I noticed it!







That isn't blood, but very red and irritated. She also looks like she is loosing feathers on her back like she is going into molt. The rest of the flock looks fine. I feed 16% layer crumbles and have never had a sick chicken in 5 years of chicken raising. What is going on with her? I put Vicks on the injured area so nobody else would peck at her. I know, controversial, but I have done it for years on chicks, never lost one and it stops the pecking instantly. Anyway.....any ideas what is wrong with her? She does seem active and alert.

Here is a pic of some of the other hens....they look fine.

 
I would say that looks like it has been caused by feathers being pulled out....whether that was by her coop mates or whether she has been got at by something else, I wouldn't like to say. I would check for parasites, just in case....clumps of eggs round the base of feathers, lice crawling on her or red mite activity in the coop....but I would be more inclined to be keeping a very close eye on her interaction with the flock and see if she is being picked on by anyone.

In the mean time, the Vicks is great if you know that works as an anti-pecking aid but it is also vaseline based so the air will not get to the wound to dry it up. I would clean it up, spray it with antiseptic and apply the Vicks around but not on the wound.
 
Looks like her feathers are being pulled out/scratched out. happyhens1972's advice is good: check for parasites and watch for picking by other flockmates. If the picking continues, I'd isolate her so the wounds can heal, or at least cover the red spots with a colored wound spray, like blukote.
 
Looks like her feathers are being pulled out/scratched out. happyhens1972's advice is good: check for parasites and watch for picking by other flockmates. If the picking continues, I'd isolate her so the wounds can heal, or at least cover the red spots with a colored wound spray, like blukote.
Thanks everyone. I don't see any sign of parasites, and I haven't witnessed any "picking" but that is what I suspected too. Maybe in the evening fighting over roost spot. I might not see them do it then. I will keep an eye out and get some blukote. Thanks again!
Tim
 

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