Hen picking at a wound under her wing.

[Little Lucky]

I found an open wound a little bigger than a quarter under my little hens wing. It doesn't look infected. I cleaned in an put Neosporin on it last night. When I checked on it again today it looked like she had been picking at it. I sprayed it down again with Vetericyn Spray an put Pick-no-more lotion on it right before she went to roost for the night. Any ideas on how to get her to stop picking at it other than the Pick-No-More lotion? A saddle won't work. She could still get her beak under it. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you get some photos of the wound?

You may have to clean it well, trim feathers away from the wound and apply Pine Tar to see if that stops her from picking at it.

Last resort would be to wrap her, but that's going to be annoying for her and she may pick more at the wrappings.

 

[Little Lucky]

Can you get some photos of the wound?

You may have to clean it well, trim feathers away from the wound and apply Pine Tar to see if that stops her from picking at it.

Last resort would be to wrap her, but that's going to be annoying for her and she may pick more at the wrappings.

Thanks for the reply! The wound looked much better today and she hadn't picked at it. I think we have figured out what caused the problem. Our rooster has short but very sharp spurs. We will take those off. I had bought some hen saddles but they don't come under her wing far enough to protect her from getting scratched by the spur. I'll try to keep her separated but she's a bit of a Houdini. It might be easier to put up the Rooster until she heals.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks for the reply! The wound looked much better today and she hadn't picked at it. I think we have figured out what caused the problem. Our rooster has short but very sharp spurs. We will take those off. I had bought some hen saddles but they don't come under her wing far enough to protect her from getting scratched by the spur. I'll try to keep her separated but she's a bit of a Houdini. It might be easier to put up the Rooster until she heals.

Just blunt the spurs, no need to take them completely off. His nails may need to be blunted as well, just file them smooth with a nail file.

Keeping a hen with her flock is always best, so she doesn't lose her place in the pecking order. It's a practical solution to house the rooster separately until she heals up since they revolve around the hens and are easy to just put back with the hens when need be.