Help with my hen - possible egg bound but appears that her skin is split

[Evart Chickens]

My hen who is a year old Partridge Cochin was on the roosting bar this morning and didn't get down to eat when I came in. I went to check on her and noticed that she had blood on her rear end under her vent. It appeared to be a lot and I brought her in the house to check it out. I felt her gently and thought maybe she was egg bound. I got online to read about how to treat her and followed these instructions. First I tried to clean up the blood so I could get a good look and thought her rear end looked strange almost as though she has split her skin from the vent down. I cleaned her up a bit and there isn't any fresh bleeding. Next I got a glove and Vaseline so I could check to see if there was an egg I could feel. When I inserted my finger in about 2 inched straight in, She strained a bit and pooped, so no egg is there. Next, I tried to give her some calcium that was broke up. She pecked a little of it but not a lot. I made a warm bath in my sink and put her in it for 15 minutes. She almost went to sleep and enjoyed it. I made sure to dry her off with a towel and hair dryer. Upon looking at her rear, it does appear that she has split her skin so I placed some antibacterial (Blue Kote) on her and put her into my clothes basket with more calcium mixed with a little food and some water. She laid down and and has not moved since. She doesn't appear to be uncomfortable, but I am very concerned for her. Any Advice is GREATLY appreciated.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you have some plain triple antibiotic or neosporin ointment that you could put on her vent wound? That would help keep it moist and help to prevent infection. BluKote is good for hiding her wound when she goes back out to join the flock when she has healed, but it contains alcohol which stings. She has probably been vent pecked by one or more of the chickens, and that can lead to cannibalism, and pulling out her intestines. If it were me, I would continue the daily warm soaks with Epsom salts, antibacterial soap, or betadine. Then place her back in the coop in a wire crate with food and water in full view of the chickens. She will need to heal, and then you will need to monitor their behavior together before leaving her alone outside of her crate. Look for bullies and separate them. Causes of this vent pedking can be from over crowding, not feeding enough protein in the diet, not getting outside to roam , boredom, and other rasons. What feed do they eat, and do they get other treats?

 

[Evart Chickens]

Thank you for your response. I currently have her in my laundry room to ensure that she is going to make it. I managed to get her to each some oatmeal, a little bit of tomato and some feed. I have not seen her drink yet though. I don't think I will place her back outside with her flock (in a cage), until I know that she is eating and drinking good. I am nervous about her trying to lay another egg. Any suggestions there?

They get layer feed 16% protein, both the crumbles and pellets (2/3 of the bucket) along with some scratch and sun flower seeds in the morning. When it is very cold, I give them some oatmeal for extra nutrition and warmth. They have a flock block in their pen and they get fed extra in the evening (just layer feed) when I go to collect eggs and put them to bed.

My issue right now is that it seems that she has split her skin from her vent right down to her tummy (about 3-4 inches). I will put neosporin on it to help ward off infection. I am wondering if she was egg bound and ended up splitting herself trying to get it out and was actually successful in getting it out but in the process wounded herself. I do not believe that her wounds are from being pecked on by the other hens in the house.

They have a house that is 10X12 along with a fenced in pen that is 12X12. They have 13 nesting boxes and two long roosting bars inside the house. I have a total of 26 chickens in there. Two of them are roosters which get along with each other.

Any other help you can suggest would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for commenting

 

[Eggcessive]

How is your hen doing? Are the daily soaks helping? Have you had success with the ointment?