Help

[tvandkc]

We have three hens and they are molting....Our one easter egger has a wound on her back right by her tail feathers - it looks awful and is bleeding and in other areas the skin is red. I cleaned it and put a healing salve on it as the skin is torn apart and bloody....

 

[Judy]

You will probably need to separate her from the others to prevent their pecking and even eating at it.

 

[Wyandottes7]

We have three hens and they are molting....Our one easter egger has a wound on her back right by her tail feathers - it looks awful and is bleeding and in other areas the skin is red. I cleaned it and put a healing salve on it as the skin is torn apart and bloody....

If you put her back in with the hens, they may peck at the wounded area, making it worse. I'd keep her seperated if possible to keep the wound from getting worse, until it heals. You may also want to get some BlueKote antiseptic spray (should be able to be found at a feed store/livestock supply store) and spray that on. It will coat the wound and red area blue, and will make other birds less likely to peck at it.

To help with your molting hens, give them some higher protein foods. You can try switching to a game bird feed, or give them some scrambled eggs, cat food, mealworms, or sunflower seeds.

 

[BantamLover21]

I would isolate her from the other hens, as most chickens will peck at wounded flockmates. Cleaning the wound and apply the healing salve were both good ideas--exactly what I would have done. If it is still bleeding, stop the bleeding with cornstarch, styptic powder, or flour. Other than that, just keep the wound clean and watch for signs of infection, and she should be fine. Chickens have a remarkable ability to heal quickly and completely.