injured hen

[mtn_penny]

This morning after doing chores we were watching the birds and all of a sudden I noticed everyone start pecking a hen. It looks deep enough that the rooster may have got her with his spurs. We have her isolated and I cleaned the wound and put some iodine salve (that is all I had) on the wound.
We are going to go pick up some of the Rooster Booster Pick no more lotion and black salve. Once I treat her with that is it safe to turn her back with the flock? or should I keep her isolated?


Also had another question. We also noticed this morning that they are eating eggs. We have plans to build a nest box with a catch area for eggs to roll where the birds can not get to the eggs. But I was also wondering about trimming beaks and have no idea.

Thanks.

 

[easttxchick]

You need to keep her isolated until you are sure they will not continue to pick on her-if you try to put her back and they pick on her-pull her back out.
I certainly would not trim their beaks9not a fan of this practice). I found that if I pick up my eggs more than one time a day-I have no egg eating problem.

 

[mtn_penny]

I was not real sure I wanted to burn the beaks either. We do pick eggs about every couple hours or so now. The problem arose this morning that the hen was actually laying the egg and all the others were on top of her before we even had a chance. So I suppose I know what tomarrow's project is..... dang I wanted a day off. But I suppose that is life on the farm

the wound is fairly deep so I will just keep her isolated for a while. Thanks.

 

[La_TomboyGirl]

Not sure if the area is missing feathers, but if it is, I would put her in an enclosure where the other birds cannot get at her, but they can still see each other if possible. If that's not an option,I'd still remove her & just make sure to spend a extra time with her at least a few times a day, talking to her, giving a little treat, etc. To tell the truth, I'd prolly do that even if she's not missing a whole lot of feathers since they were attacking for some reason. It must be bad enough for them to @ least SENSE that something's wrong with her. I had a bird get savagely attacked by a dog which left her with no feathers on her whole back & rump area & 3 huge, gaping rips/puncture wounds in her flesh. I thought she was dead when I finally managed to get her away from the neighbor's dog. I treated the wounds by pouring peroxide on them, being sure it got into the open areas very well. I wiped her clean - no bathing/chill to add to the shock- & slathered her skin with vaseline because it started to dry out. The other hens were picking her bobo's, so I kept her greased up & in a dog kennel in my bathroom with regular treats & attention until her feathers were mostly back. And now you'd never be able to tell she was ever on the verge of death. I've found that peroxide is great for everything! Your cats or kid gets ringworm....Soak a cotton ball in it & dab heavily on the affected area three times a day & it'll be gone in a week or so. Those fungal creams are a joke. I bought all that mess when we adopted a seemingly healthy kitten & he infected our other cat & my kids. that stuff didn't work, but peroxide worked like a charm. Never tried the stuff you are planning to buy, so can't give advice on that. Hope she gets better soon!

 

[La_TomboyGirl]

Oh, I agree w/ Penny on the egg thing too! I never had an egg eating prob cuz we get them every day, but a few times we'd bet busy & skip a day. Just get them as often as possible.

 

[sourland]

If the injury is on her back or sides, it may very well be caused by the rooster mating her. Do you have multiple roosters with the hens? This can cause mating frenzies resulting in increased incidences of injuries. Reduce the number of roosters, trim toenails and spurs, invest in some protective coverings for any injured hens.