Injured Hen hurting herself more in isolation

[cmbretz]

I posted earlier today about a neck injury my hen sustained. We got it washed out and treated with antibiotic spray. She has been separated from the flock since and is indoors in a brooder with lid to keep her safe from the others and keep bugs away from her neck.

This evening it seems like she’s coming out of shock and is starting to act like herself. Before this injury, she was impossible to catch and incredibly flighty (or psychotic as my husband describes her). Now she desperately wants out of confinement, and is jumping and slamming her head as hard as she can into the lid of the brooder (wooden framing with hardware cloth). She’s not really a ‘people chicken’ so me sitting there talking to her doesn’t seem to make a difference one way or another, she continues whether we’re in the room or not.

I have the same music playing as I keep in their coop at all times, and I just put some towels over the top to try and make a more ‘solid looking’ ceiling for her. However even with the coverage, she is still throwing herself against the top. I’m worried about her injuring herself more than what got her to isolation in the first place.

Any suggestions on how to calm her down? Given the initial neck wound, she’s likely going to be in there for a while. I know lavender helps to calm - I do not have access to any plants right now, but has anyone seen any benefit to using a regular diffuser and oils with chickens?

 

[Tonyroo]

An injured chicken needs a quiet dark place with low lights on. It keeps them from movement which prevents further injuries.

Periodic check up and observations to make sure she's healing, drinking, and eating. This requires checking the crop and the injury.

This is how I manage injuries.

 

[cmbretz]

We have it dark in there and it’s pretty quiet. Hoping maybe with time she’ll settle down a bit. It seemed like suddenly in the last hour she just started going nuts. Seems to be slowing down on the jumping some finally.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Would it be possible to get a wire dog cage to put her in with food & water, put it in the coop with the rest of the flock? This may quiet her down a bit & keeping her part of the flock avoiding having to intergrate her later. Only you can decide what would be best for her.

 

[Tonyroo]

If she has an open wound it's better to keep her isolated from other chickens to reduce new infections while she's healing.