How to care for injured chicken in winter?

[MomTo3Boyz]

We are experiencing cold winter weather in MI. The low for tomorrow is forecasted to be minus 20! We have not been hearing the coop, however it is well ventilated and draft free.

We have a white leghorn hen who is not doing so well. Her tail feathers have been pecked and there are some blood streaks on her feathers. Her comb is shrunken and pale (could be due to the fact that she is not laying) and she does not seem to be as active as her flock mates, however she does move around.

We just put her in a cage and brought her inside, but I am not sure what to do with her. I have considered putting her in the garage where it is slightly warmer. I don't think it's a good idea to keep her inside for long because I am afraid she will become unaccustomed to the cold.

Does anyone have any advice for me? I would really appreciate any ideas!

 

[justplainbatty]

We are experiencing cold winter weather in MI. The low for tomorrow is forecasted to be minus 20! We have not been hearing the coop, however it is well ventilated and draft free.

We have a white leghorn hen who is not doing so well. Her tail feathers have been pecked and there are some blood streaks on her feathers. Her comb is shrunken and pale (could be due to the fact that she is not laying) and she does not seem to be as active as her flock mates, however she does move around.

We just put her in a cage and brought her inside, but I am not sure what to do with her. I have considered putting her in the garage where it is slightly warmer. I don't think it's a good idea to keep her inside for long because I am afraid she will become unaccustomed to the cold.

Does anyone have any advice for me? I would really appreciate any ideas!

Your birds will be ok in the closed coop. As for the girl inside, The cooler the better. I would recommend washing all the blood off of her feathers and putting triple antibiotic on the wound. Spray the area with blu kote (not the oil gland though) before returning her to the flock. Try to find out who the picker is so yo can remove that bird for a time out! Feather picking spreads! There are lots of threads to read about feather picking on this site.

 

[Urban Flock]

Your birds will be ok in the closed coop. As for the girl inside, The cooler the better. I would recommend washing all the blood off of her feathers and putting triple antibiotic on the wound. Spray the area with blu kote (not the oil gland though) before returning her to the flock. Try to find out who the picker is so yo can remove that bird for a time out! Feather picking spreads! There are lots of threads to read about feather picking on this site.

x2

 

[shebbles123]

I would put a heat lamp in the coop, if at all possible. That way, she can be with her flock-mates, but still be warm. Sometimes, when chickens see blood, it entices them to peck at the wound. So I would give her a bath or wipe her down with a damp towel and cover her wounds with Blu-kote. This is an anti-pick spray that also speeds up the healing process.

edited by staff