hen very sick !!..bad injury!!..new mom needs help!

[melissa792]

so we noticed that our rooster was chasing one hen alot...come to find out he torn feathers and a chunk of skin...i have noticed she is pecking herself alot and they are going crazy after her so i confined her..she today has got alot worse i have been putting betedine and peroxide on the wound to clean and have been giving her probiotics when i can in her water ..two days ago we doused her with no more picking solution and as well as DE in case she may have a bug ..she is worse today not really walking hiding in corners and still is drinking just not alto..a little food and noticed when i got her in the field some pecking but she seems very lethargic and just wants to sleep ...am i doing something wrong with cleaning could it be making wound worse?..what can help her heal this wound..its pretty bad no feathers down to the bone..;[..i have her crated now completely away from the others..but i cant understand why shes getting worse..any signs to look for ??.i just need any ones input..it almost seems like the roosters claws have torn into her skin?..i have two other hens that also show some signs of the same damage to them i just don't know how to keep this under control till we find a home for our rooster ...help

 

[QueenMisha]

I would stop cleaning the wound with peroxide/betadine. Make sure it's clear of dirt and debris and pluck any feathers in the immediate area, then apply neosporin without pain medication. Pick-No-More can go around the area, but you should avoid getting it directly in the wound.

I've had a similar issue with a few of my girls before, but if you can, pictures will help to confirm the issue. What I'm guessing it is is torn skin - chicken's have very thin skin, and it splits easily. However, it also heals easily, when cared for properly - I had a turkey hen with 2-3 inch wide splits in the skin on her hips due to a large male, and 2 months later they have scarred over and only very small scabs remain on the surface. She was never caged or medically treated, I only gave her a large saddle and applied non-pain med neosporin daily for about 2 weeks.

If the rooster is gonna be like this, you need to remove him immediately. At this point in time, he is severely injuring your hens. In my books, this is grounds for a one-way ticket to freezer camp, but not all people are willing to do this, and would rather wait to rehome (which, mind you, is a long shot with an aggressive roo like this - but I do applaud you for trying). However, right now you need to get him away from your hens. The flock's safety is more important than his comfort - your responsibility to your birds is to always put the flock at large over a single troublemaker.

Got a large dog crate? Awesome. Throw some bedding, a 1 gallon waterer, and a chick feeder in it, and lock him up. If your coop/run is predator proof, you can also leg-tie. I've done this with dangerous roosters in the past, in the interim when I didn't have time to butcher them. To do this, you need to get rope/string for a tie (hay bale twine works great). Tie one end to a stake/wall/anchor, and attach a small carabiner to the other end. Next, put a large zip tie around his leg above the spur (or anywhere on the shank, if he's young and only has a spur nub), loose enough so the carabiner can be attached but tight enough that it wont slip down over his toes. Clip and done. They get used to the anchor in about a day.

 

[evitachu]

If the chicken looks sleepy all the time, you should be aware that she may have lost appetite. Just like when human is nearing death, so is chicken. I would get a little thin syringe from a pet store or cvs, like the one for baby (human) liquid feeder, and handfeed the hen. She should at least eat. Buy a chick formula from pet store, EXACT, for handfeeding. You mix it with water, just lile baby formula or like porridge. Feed her every hour. If hen is too lazy to drink, it's ok, the water in the baby formula is good enough. I tried this with a hen that was losing appetite due to bullying, i separated her, handfed her, the next 2 days she was round and chubby and happy again. Good luck.

 

[gruffy]

If the gash is a split through the skin completely, healing can in some cases make the skin stretch and open it further. If you can get some surgical tape or bandaids or something that would stick to the skin you can pull it closer together or keep it from getting bigger or tape the skin completely together and close the wound entirely. (you may have to pluck feathers around it to get a good spot to pull the skin back from. it's also good to pluck the feathers so they don't get dirt or carry things towards the gash. Then you can put antibiotics around it so it doesn't go right in the gash to the bone but keeps it from getting infected. I've seen this done on doves and rabbits missing good chunks so it should just work on chickens but you can see what the injury looks like and you know your bird more than we do so judgment should best be left to you. Good luck with your hen

 

[gruffy]

And I agree with Misha aggressive roosters should be dispatched of. I would usually never condone killing a chicken but if it's not nice it may be a better option... A very tasty option too

Temperament in chickens is mostly genetic so if you breed an aggressive rooster all of your offspring will be much more likely to be aggressive and just nasty birds and continue to pass on the genes for bad roosters, but if you get a nice rooster all the offspring will be much nicer and your hens won't get beat up on

 

[melissa792]

Thanks!
She is hanging in there I did bath her stopped bedadine and peroxide I think that made her worse ..I am doing a solution for chicken wounds and neosporn ...she will eat hard boiled egg and is eating some scratch but that's it ..but now she's not walking at all I think it did tear more possibly I'm going to bandage her tonight see if that helps wound looks a lot better and she is now holding her head up so I'm thinking she might have a chance but these points are helpful so I appreciate everyone's help!!!