Infured Hen

[farmerblamb]

We have had a fox or raccoon take three of our chickens over the last couple of nights. He just noticed yesterday that we had three missing because one of our hens has been left injured. She has a lot of missing feathers on her back and under one of her wings on her side she is very beat up with missing feathers and bloody wound. The would does not look like punctures but I haven't got a good look. It looks like she is scraped up really bad under her wing. She won't come out of the nesting box. Is that normal behavior for an inured chicken? This is the first time we have had this happen and really don't know what to do for her. She is very calm but she won't come out of the coop and is mostly just standing in the nesting box.

 

[Wyandottes7]

Yes, this is normal behavior for an injured hen. However, you need to clean her up. Wash away any dried blood with warm water, and you will be able to see the damage better. Then, apply antibiotic ointment (don't use ointment ending in "caine") thickly. Keep an eye on her, and if it begins to look infected, or develops a strange smell, get antibiotics like Pennicillin or Oxytetracycline.