Hen attacked, by what, I don't know

[MarlaMac]

So, my girl, LC has been separated from her flock mates since her attack on Jan 14th - a full 28 days today. She is healing great. She sleeps in the house in a dog crate with us and spends days outside with the flock, but separate from them. This is the only feasible arrangement that we can make.

The day of the attack she laid an egg and then nothing until today. When we moved her outside at 8am there was an egg in her cage; then at 3pm my husband said that LC laid another egg in the quarantine coop we have attached to her outside run in the grass. I told him he was crazy and that was the fake egg I put in there with her. He went and got the egg and sure enough, she laid another egg. No one else has access to that coop so it had to be LC.

Two eggs, 7-8 hours apart. Both were hard, well shaped eggs - not as dark as normal, but that happens sometimes with our girls. Should I be worried?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I would not be worried if she's acting normal.
If she's not laid an egg since she was attacked, then she's likely well enough to come back into lay. Sometimes when the cycle has been interrupted there may be a few glitches.

 

[MarlaMac]

I would not be worried if she's acting normal.
If she's not laid an egg since she was attacked, then she's likely well enough to come back into lay. Sometimes when the cycle has been interrupted there may be a few glitches.

Awesome. She is acting completely normal.

Thank you for always lending your advice and experience!

 

[MarlaMac]

Update.

LC is doing really good. She is getting out of the house on a daily basis and into her portable pen and coop. She is laying daily.

I took these pictures today. Her skin looked a little red when I looked at the picture and I am wondering if she got a sun burn. It was sunny all day today and I feel badly if this is what it is.

Can I put sun screen on her? It is suppose to be partly cloudy for the next several days, which usually means it will be mostly sunny in the hottest parts of the day around here.

Also I am wondering if I should clean her feathers with something that will de-grease them.

Thanks.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm glad to hear she's doing well!

I wouldn't clean the feathers, once she really gets to dust bath, the dirt will absorb the ointment and oils and it will wear off. Or that's been my experience.

Could be a bit of redness from the sun. I don't know if you can use sunscreen or not! It probably wouldn't hurt anything, but I don't recall ever seeing it brought up.

 

[MarlaMac]

I'm glad to hear she's doing well!

I wouldn't clean the feathers, once she really gets to dust bath, the dirt will absorb the ointment and oils and it will wear off. Or that's been my experience.

Could be a bit of redness from the sun. I don't know if you can use sunscreen or not! It probably wouldn't hurt anything, but I don't recall ever seeing it brought up.

Thanks @Wyorp Rock. I simply put a very small amount of zinc oxide on the red area to soothe and to prevent more sun damage.

 

[MarlaMac]

Another update on LC. Her wound is healing greatly. I expect the scab to completely fall off soon. It seems to only be attached by that little bit of active healing in the middle.

I don't see much feather regrowth. I hope it comes soon. She is a trooper, but she definitely wants to be back with the flock and cannot understand why she is stuck in her little run while everyone else is out foraging in the new grasses and weeds coming up.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She's not feathering in is she.
Hopefully she will, but if not, then you can put a hen saddle on her to help protect the skin.
I do suggest that she not be the only hen wearing a saddle since this could make her more of a target.
I've used them in the past, I have saddled all the hens or at least several, making sure to saddle some of the higher ranking and maybe even the top hen as well.
You know your flock best - every flock is a bit different, some are laid back, others not so much...

Wound looks great. I know you can't wait for the day for that scab to fall off. You've done a wonderful job taking care of her. I know it takes time and patience (and love)

 

[MarlaMac]

She's not feathering in is she.
Hopefully she will, but if not, then you can put a hen saddle on her to help protect the skin.
I do suggest that she not be the only hen wearing a saddle since this could make her more of a target.
I've used them in the past, I have saddled all the hens or at least several, making sure to saddle some of the higher ranking and maybe even the top hen as well.
You know your flock best - every flock is a bit different, some are laid back, others not so much...

Wound looks great. I know you can't wait for the day for that scab to fall off. You've done a wonderful job taking care of her. I know it takes time and patience (and love)

That is interesting on the saddle. I currently have one in a saddle b/c of aggressive mating by Cogburn. She has a hard time submitting to him so he makes it a point to stay on her longer. Yesterday I noticed that she was readily squatting for him and he was on and off quickly. She still needs the saddle though, b/c her back is bare. He certainly does target her out. I will put another one in a saddle and see if that changes things. Thanks for the advise.

On LC, however, I don't know if the saddle will help any b/c the wound is right at the end of the neck and my saddles don't cover that area (I use the ones from the Chicken Chick). I will search around for other saddles that might work for that area. Thanks.

Edit: Just looked at the saddle and where it lays on the hens and I think it will cover most of the area. I will actually put one on her tonight when we bring her in an see how it covers. Hopefully it will do the trick and when that scab comes off she can readily return to the flock.

 

[MarlaMac]

Yay, LC. Scab is gone, just a little bump now. Need feathers now!