Hen injury

[HeatherR525]

My hen got an injury under her Wing when the rooster was mating with her it has sealed I've been keeping it clean I was just wanting to know is she able to go back out with the flock she is eating and drinking normal and has normal poops. not the rooster he is in his separate area. Away from the girls.

 

[Eggcessive]

Is it hidden when her wing is down? Are you cleaning it or using any antibacterial ointment? Some 10% Betadine dabbed on might hide the wound so that the others don’t peck at it.

 

[HeatherR525]

Is it hidden when her wing is down? Are you cleaning it or using any antibacterial ointment? Some 10% Betadine dabbed on might hide the wound so that the others don’t peck at it.

Yes it's hidden under her Wing when it is down and I have been using antibacterial ointment and I have cleaned it with vetericyn antimicrobial spray

 

[Anon112]

So my hen got an injury that I'm 95% sure is from mating, but it's much worse than the one in the original post.

It's like 2 inches where the skin got pulled away from her body. I kept her inside overnight and the wound seems to have healed a lot in that time. Yesterday I cleaned it with a Betadine solution and then applied a bunch of triple antibiotic ointment.

I repeated this (clean then ointment) this morning and this evening.

I'm also wondering how long I should keep her away from the roosters. I'm not too worried about bullying from the flock---the injury is totally hidden by her wing and before I discovered the injury she was doing just fine in the flock and it was a total fluke that I even spotted it.

What I am worrying about is a rooster trying to mate with her and possibly reopening the injury.

At this point she's been in my house for about 24 hours. Normally I'd put her in one of my "quarantine" zones (ie dog crates in the run), but I've had two chickens killed by rats over the last few weeks and I'm too nervous to put her in a vulnerable situation.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

So my hen got an injury that I'm 95% sure is from mating, but it's much worse than the one in the original post.

It's like 2 inches where the skin got pulled away from her body. I kept her inside overnight and the wound seems to have healed a lot in that time. Yesterday I cleaned it with a Betadine solution and then applied a bunch of triple antibiotic ointment.

I repeated this (clean then ointment) this morning and this evening.

I'm also wondering how long I should keep her away from the roosters. I'm not too worried about bullying from the flock---the injury is totally hidden by her wing and before I discovered the injury she was doing just fine in the flock and it was a total fluke that I even spotted it.

What I am worrying about is a rooster trying to mate with her and possibly reopening the injury.

At this point she's been in my house for about 24 hours. Normally I'd put her in one of my "quarantine" zones (ie dog crates in the run), but I've had two chickens killed by rats over the last few weeks and I'm too nervous to put her in a vulnerable situation.

How many roosters?

If just one, he'll fuss, but I'd move him for a week or two until she heals up. It's much harder to re-introduce a hen that has been separated out than a rooster. The rooster is not part of the hen's pecking order, he revolves around it, so he'll just basically come back in with his flock and continue on while a hen may have to battle it out to get back to her place or suffer being picked at.

Alternatively, get a good hen saddle that has some sides that will help cover her and an accidental reopening of the wound. File/smooth/round the rooster's nails too.

I've had a hen with a similar wound too - she was a high ranking hen and older, so actually avoided the rooster's advances while she was healing - he was a good boy and didn't force the issue, so I didn't worry a lot about her being mated too much. She healed up fine and afterward welcomed his advances in moderation

Oh, what are you doing about the Rats? This can be a battle!
How about, placing some traps in the Quarantine cages so the chickens can't get to them? I also use traps and place them where the birds can't access them. You can make covers using hardware cloth. I've also used a couple of old dishpans, just cut out a couple of entry points on the sides or ends and placed on traps.
I don't like using poison, but have in the past - rats multiply quickly! Take up food at night and eliminate water sources if possible. It's a job and you have to work at it - I know...been there, still trying to be proactive to prevent a re-infestation of the darn things.

 

[Anon112]

How many roosters?

If just one, he'll fuss, but I'd move him for a week or two until she heals up. It's much harder to re-introduce a hen that has been separated out than a rooster. The rooster is not part of the hen's pecking order, he revolves around it, so he'll just basically come back in with his flock and continue on while a hen may have to battle it out to get back to her place or suffer being picked at.

Alternatively, get a good hen saddle that has some sides that will help cover her and an accidental reopening of the wound. File/smooth/round the rooster's nails too.

I've had a hen with a similar wound too - she was a high ranking hen and older, so actually avoided the rooster's advances while she was healing - he was a good boy and didn't force the issue, so I didn't worry a lot about her being mated too much. She healed up fine and afterward welcomed his advances in moderation

I have two roosters: Monroe is the dad and Popcorn is his son who is about 16-20 weeks old. They get along relatively well.

What I'm thinking is this: My run has the ability to be sectioned off into a larger part and a smaller part. Both sections have food and water stations. I'm thinking about putting the injured hen (Candy) in the smaller part with one or two of the other hens and seeing if Popcorn and Monroe get along in the bigger section along with the rest of the hens.

Oh, what are you doing about the Rats? This can be a battle!
How about, placing some traps in the Quarantine cages so the chickens can't get to them? I also use traps and place them where the birds can't access them. You can make covers using hardware cloth. I've also used a couple of old dishpans, just cut out a couple of entry points on the sides or ends and placed on traps.
I don't like using poison, but have in the past - rats multiply quickly! Take up food at night and eliminate water sources if possible. It's a job and you have to work at it - I know...been there, still trying to be proactive to prevent a re-infestation of the darn things.

Oh my gosh, it's been a whole saga.

I have treadle feeders and when the chicks stopped having open feed, the rats got desperate and killed two of my hens and attacked one of my roosters (got this on video).

So I spent a few nights camped out in the run with my grumpiest barn cat and have been strategically using snap traps. Like you suggest, I've been putting snap traps in my quarantine kennels (in the run, but closed to the chickens). I've trapped 4 rats so far and I have not personally seen a rat in about a week.

And like you say, my goal is to not create a situation where they will move back in.