Hen has red raw bum.

[jlfunnell]

Hi, I’m a newbie to chicken keeping. I rescued 3 hens 2 weeks ago and everything has been going fine until I let the girls out of the coop this morning. This hen (Cupcake) is definitely the bottom of the pecking order and is missing a few wing feathers (she was like this when I got her) and there is a small amount of squabbling when I put them to bed for who’s sleeping where but they settle fairly quickly. What I don’t know is if this has been caused by the other hens or something else? I have bathed her with lukewarm salty water and have ordered some violet spray to deter the others. I’ve also separated her in an old dog crate within the same area as the other chickens free range. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[coach723]

That looks like cannabalism by the others, or possibly flystrike. Did you see any maggots anywhere? If she had a small wound then the blood would draw worse pecking. You will need to keep her separated until she's healed so that it doesn't happen again. I would flush it well with chlorhexidine (hibiclens - any drug store or walmart) and then apply plain neosporin, or plain triple antibiotic ointment to it at least twice a day. I would not use blu-kote or violet spray on a wound that large. You may want to use it later when reintegrating her if she has a bare spot, to prevent pecking. You may need to clean it more often if droppings stick to it, it needs to be kept clean. The ointment will help with that, and will keep it moist and help it heal. She needs to be kept where flies cannot get to the wound or she could get flystrike which will just make things worse. As long as there is no infection, and the vent or intestine has not been damaged, then she should heal with time. Some info below on flystrike, so you know what to look for, and another with some pictures of wounds healing, so you know what that is going to look like.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wounds-pictures-of-how-they-heal.1325817/
https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/flystrike-a-chicken-killer-cuddles-beats-the-odds-again/
https://the-chicken-chick.com/flystrike-in-backyard-chickens-causes/

 

[jlfunnell]

That looks like cannabalism by the others, or possibly flystrike. Did you see any maggots anywhere? If she had a small wound then the blood would draw worse pecking. You will need to keep her separated until she's healed so that it doesn't happen again. I would flush it well with chlorhexidine (hibiclens - any drug store or walmart) and then apply plain neosporin, or plain triple antibiotic ointment to it at least twice a day. I would not use blu-kote or violet spray on a wound that large. You may want to use it later when reintegrating her if she has a bare spot, to prevent pecking. You may need to clean it more often if droppings stick to it, it needs to be kept clean. The ointment will help with that, and will keep it moist and help it heal. She needs to be kept where flies cannot get to the wound or she could get flystrike which will just make things worse. As long as there is no infection, and the vent or intestine has not been damaged, then she should heal with time. Some info below on flystrike, so you know what to look for, and another with some pictures of wounds healing, so you know what that is going to look like.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wounds-pictures-of-how-they-heal.1325817/
https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/flystrike-a-chicken-killer-cuddles-beats-the-odds-again/
https://the-chicken-chick.com/flystrike-in-backyard-chickens-causes/

Thank you! I’ll hold off on the violet spray and get what you suggested. No flies or maggots (I’d definitely notice those!). I feel so sorry for her