Hen with bloody comb

[Haystack5]

I have 5 hens that i got as day olds on August 18th. They have always lived together and recently started laying. We get 4 eggs a day. Today when i was out with them i noticed that the comb of one was bloody and saw another hen attack its comb when it was in run. Is this normal and any advice? She is eating and drinking and the aggression is not constant.

 

[cherrynberry]

I have 5 hens that i got as day olds on August 18th. They have always lived together and recently started laying. We get 4 eggs a day. Today when i was out with them i noticed that the comb of one was bloody and saw another hen attack its comb when it was in run. Is this normal and any advice? She is eating and drinking and the aggression is not constant.

Separate her and get pictures. Chickens are cannibals and will peck at blood. I would coat the wound with some Neosporin that has NO pain killer. How much space do you have?

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

This sounds like normal pecking order. If it seems to happen a lot, give them a bigger run. Also, if that one hen seems to aggressively attack often, she might be a bully and need some alone time in jail.
As far as the bloody comb, I always bring the chicken inside and get a moist paper towel. I pat the paper towel on the comb to clean up the blood. If she's still bleeding, I'll tightly hold a new paper towel on her comb until the bleeding stops. If it's bleeding badly, you might need to move the paper towel to a clean spot occasionally. Then put her back out there.
(If she's white, and/or the blood is obvious on her feathers, you may need to apply some BluKot, but be careful around her eyes.)

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Separate her and get pictures. Chickens are cannibals and will peck at blood. I would coat the wound with some Neosporin that has NO pain killer.

Why no pain killer? Just wondering....

 

[cherrynberry]

This sounds like normal pecking order. If it seems to happen a lot, give them a bigger run. Also, if that one hen seems to aggressively attack often, she might be a bully and need some alone time in jail.
As far as the bloody comb, I always bring the chicken inside and get a moist paper towel. I pat the paper towel on the comb to clean up the blood. If she's still bleeding, I'll tightly hold a new paper towel on her comb until the bleeding stops. If it's bleeding badly, you might need to move the paper towel to a clean spot occasionally. Then put her back out there.
(If she's white, and/or the blood is obvious on her feathers, you may need to apply some BluKot, but be careful around her eyes.)

Doesn't sound like normal pecking order to me, since they have always been together, but I agree with the paper towel thing.

 

[cherrynberry]

Why no pain killer? Just wondering....

I guess chickens just can't have it. Not sure, but I have always been told that. @Wyorp Rock any ideas as to why that is?

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Doesn't sound like normal pecking order to me, since they have always been together, but I agree with the paper towel thing.

I've seen it often before. Often it's a sign of too crowded living, or it's a breed thing. That hen most likely is near the top of the pecking order, and in jealousy and/or in fear of the others, she's trying to keep her spot.

I guess chickens just can't have it. Not sure, but I have always been told that. @Wyorp Rock any ideas as to why that is?

Ok. I prefer the Neosporin with pain killer in it, and often tell other people to use it that way. Hopefully they can let us know.

 

[The-White-Elephant]

Separate her and get pictures. Chickens are cannibals and will peck at blood. I would coat the wound with some Neosporin that has NO pain killer. How much space do you have?

They are. They will ENDLESSLY peck at it. I had this problem with my old rooster. What we did to stop it was put a big “band aid“* on his foot (that is where they were pecking him). Maybe you can try patching It up? I’m not much help here, but I hope she gets well soon!

*it was more like gauze

 

[cherrynberry]

I've seen it often before. Often it's a sign of too crowded living, or it's a breed thing. That hen most likely is near the top of the pecking order, and in jealousy and/or in fear of the others, she's trying to keep her spot.

Ok. I prefer the Neosporin with pain killer in it, and often tell other people to use it that way. Hopefully they can let us know.

I don't think that's normal. That would be a "bad" condition. Chickens do really good with each other if given a correct and "normal" living situation. If they are being affected by a bad integration or a small living space, it wouldn't be normal. At least to me. I guess it really depends on what people consider "normal". I don't consider crowded living or bad breed selection to be normal though. Nor is blood ever normal. I know some people who have told me they "expect" blood when integrating, but I don't.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I don't think that's normal. That would be a "bad" condition. Chickens do really good with each other if given a correct and "normal" living situation. If they are being affected by a bad integration or a small living space, it wouldn't be normal. At least to me. I guess it really depends on what people consider "normal". I don't consider crowded living or bad breed selection to be normal though. Nor is blood ever normal. I know some people who have told me they "expect" blood when integrating, but I don't.

Apparently you've never seen some of my chickens.... The hens go for the head, and they peck HARD. They're always after the head. I've seen several combs pecked badly. I've even had hens missing fingers from their combs due to pecking order. It's chickens in a run. When they're free ranging, and are rarely ever in each other's space, there is never this problem. I've dealt with this problem countless times, with different chickens and flocks and in different runs. I've even experimented with what run has the least amount of pecking issues.