Hi there, needing some HELP (please help) with my girls :)

[RI BY Chickenlady]

Good day, I'm new to this site, i often read the threads and forums for info but have never registered until today.
I'm having an issue with my 2 white leghorns, I also have 2 RI Reds and a barred rock. (5 total) They are all just under 1yr old and all are laying wonderfully and were until this weekend all healthy.
It has been crazy cold here in Rhode Island (like -5 with -25 wind chills) and of course on the coldest night of this bad stretch something terrible went down in the coop...
We had a massive snowstorm here last week (14-16 inches of drifting snow) followed by the coldest temps on record for this area. The girls ( I call my chickens the girls) have been staying in for the most part. I leave their coop door open during the day and close them up at night. However, with the snow sooo deep, there were major drifts in the coop like waist high on me, I was afraid they might get stuck in a drift and not be able to get out, so we kept them "cooped up" for friday and sat.
I'm not sure exactly what happened, but when I went to check them sunday morning their lamp was busted (like the bulb was busted out of the fixture) water frozen solid, feathers everywhere of all colors and my 2 white leghorns look like they got their butts kicked... one has a torn crown right around the base of it and blood all over her, the other one has one eye that is not opening. I don't know if it was pecked out or if its still there, just swollen shut. They have dried blood on their feet and feathers. It was like Mad Max out there... Also, they appear to have frostbite on the points of their combs. My white leghorns have massive crowns that flop way over. The other hens have smaller crowns and no frostbite that I can see.
Normally we have zero fighting with these girls, they have been together since the brooding box and get along well. All i can think is they were fighting over the warm spot and somehow broke the lamp. The leghorns are the smallest of the group, but I'm not sure if they fought each other or were beat up by the bigger birds. Maybe they were cooped up for too long?? They have lots of feed (and the appropriate table scraps) available inside and out, and I check and change their water 2x a day. It sits under the lamp so it wont freeze.
So,We fixed the broken lamp Sunday, added extra straw to pad the inside of the coop walls, and shoveled out part of their run so they could come out. All was quiet last night, everyone seems happy this morning and the one with he torn crown came right out and was acting her normal self. The one the closed up eye however is not acting right. Shes just sitting on the roosting bar in the coop, not eating, not coming outside. I'm going to try some ointment for the eye but not sure what to get. I heard Vaseline for the frostbitten crowns if that sounds reasonable let me know.
My family and I have never had chickens before, this is our first winter caring for them and its been brutal so far... We love them like family pets, they are not just chickens to us. I'm worried about the white ones recovery, especially the one with the eye not opening. I will post pics as soon as I get home and can take some. Thanks for listening...

 

[Granny Hatchet]

Almost sounds like a predator got in .

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Sorry that happened sounds horrible. How large of an area were they locked into for 2 days?

 

[Cynful481]

I am new here, and have only had my girls since May. I can not offer you any advice but I know there are great ppl on here that can give you very helpful suggestions. I hope your girl recovers please keep your post updated on her. Sending love your way for your girl

 

[RI BY Chickenlady]

Sorry that happened sounds horrible. How large of an area were they locked into for 2 days?

The coop is about 6 feet by 8 feet, with four nesting boxes (although they only use 2 of them) and couple of roosting bars inside. I'll post a pic once I get home. On the office PC right now

 

[Lazy Farmer]

 

[staceyj]

Might have been a fight over dwindling resources.
For the eye:
I'll suggest getting some saline eye wash (it's either in the first aid section or in the contact lens supply aisle)
And if there a tractor supply store near you -or anything similar- a tube of terramycin ophthalmic ointment. (Tiny tube in a box. Antibiotic. Approx. $15)
Rinse the eye gently with the saline,pat dry, then apply a small amount of the ointment onto your clean fingertip then gently swipe onto the eye. (Don't contaminate the tip of the applicator)
Separate from the others for a few days if you see her being picked on.

 

[Morrigan]

It sounds like you didn't, or weren't able to, check on them Friday and Saturday? I think its likely they fought amongst themselves. If their water froze early on in their two days of being cooped up, they were most likely extremely thirsty and than may have affected their temperament.

It seems unlikely to me that it is a predator, other than maybe something like a rat. Otherwise there would have done more damage then you described.

I agree, separate the injured one into a dog kennel or something. Keep her warm and if she is not drinking on her own, get an eye-dropper or syringe and manually give her water with a little nutri-drench and honey in it. Just be careful when doing so, that you put the liquid down her esophagus, not her trachea. She may be extremely dehydrated and that can cause a bird to go downhill fast.

 

[RI BY Chickenlady]

Might have been a fight over dwindling resources.
For the eye:
I'll suggest getting some saline eye wash (it's either in the first aid section or in the contact lens supply aisle)
And if there a tractor supply store near you -or anything similar- a tube of terramycin ophthalmic ointment. (Tiny tube in a box. Antibiotic. Approx. $15)
Rinse the eye gently with the saline,pat dry, then apply a small amount of the ointment onto your clean fingertip then gently swipe onto the eye. (Don't contaminate the tip of the applicator)
Separate from the others for a few days if you see her being picked on.

Thank you, I will do the saline wash and I will check for the eye ointment. We have an Agway locally but I would have drive a few towns over to the nearest tractor supply. I'll check on my way home if they have any. The other girls are leaving her alone so far but I will pull her if they start to pick on her. Thanks again!

 

[Eggcessive]

How high is your coop inside? Could one have flown into the heat lamp? That is a small coop for birds to be kept inside during bad weather. We have a big barn coop, but we bought a smaller 5x8x6 ft high for a smaller group. It just doesn’t stay as warm as the bigger coop, and they just did not have room to stay in for the last 10 days of snow and zero temps here. Having a covered run can help so they can get outside, but that gets really cold. There are heat lamp bulbs from Premier that are heavier, and do not break as easily. There are also flat panel radiant heaters available to warm a room. Many do not heat at all, using electric dog bowl waterers.

I would look for any openings where a predator could have gotten into, and fix if found. Then I would do some planning to make the coop larger, or weather proof your run.

When getting chickens, we don’ t consider that they may have to be confined for a few weeks in bad weather, so the bigger the better. They need room for water and food inside in winter.

Also purchase an electric dog water bowl, about 5 quarts in size. I use 2 so no one gets kept away from water, and those provide plenty for 25 chickens. They use little power, only coming on at 35 degrees to keep water from freezing.

I hope your hens heal okay.