Injured/Pecked chicken, not sure what to do.

[CluckyCharms]

I strongly recommend reading this thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...hicken-after-a-hawk-attack-graphic-wound-pics

Warning: there are very graphic pictures of a very similar injury - along with a step-by-step tutorial on what they did to heal the chicken (along with progression pictures).

I think it would be a great help to you.

 

[leesbunny]

Another suggestion is to find another hen that is not aggressive to the injured one, and let them be buddies. When you take the injured one out put another one in the cage with her if there is enough room. Then they can be buddies, and when they are let loose, they will have someone to pal with.

 

[mommabird]

Thanks everyone! Luckily Zippy's wounds are no where near as bad as the pictures in the thread suggested by GoldenFeather (thank goodness!!!). Zippy is doing great and I love the idea of finding a buddy for her. I think I will attempt the group run in the yard again this afternoon and will see how it goes and which ones get along better with her.

Sometimes I think raising chickens is harder than raising children!!! ;-)

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Sometimes I think raising chickens is harder than raising children!!! ;-)

SOMETIMES!!! HAHAHAHAHA

 

[rollo4]

I found the above info interesting but not helpful as there doesn't seem to be a full proof solution. I just recently (this week) became the owner of three 18 month old chickens. One road island red, one silverback, and one americana (sp?). Two of them are pecked at (even before I acquired them); the road island red (the most pecked at, I think) and the silverback on their backs just at the back feathers (nomenclature?). Even the americana shows mild signs of pecking. When I catch a slight motion toward pecking I attempt to scold but they all scatter; I not dealing with dogs that have a better understanding of bad behavior. I'm thinking that this is what chickens do and eventually they solve the problem themselves; finding something else to satisfy their aggressions. I have not let them free roam out of their run. I'll do this once I secure a couple of areas within my backyard. At their previous location they had free roaming in a much larger rear yard and the pecking still occurred. I don't mean to sound chauvinist, but my mom use to say that two women in a kitchen is a recipe for disaster. However, my personal experience doesn't support this belief as things always work out. Therefore, I would like to hear from anyone that has a successful strategy rather than suggestions.

 

[captainmommy3]

This happened to one of my girls...the other aggressive hen had pecked her comb so hard a piece dried up and fell off. But I brought her in and cleaned her comb with warm water and waited until the bleeding stopped. Then I put a nice coat of Blue-kote on it so the other hens couldn't see red anymore. I let her stay in over night to let her wound dry up and it worked perfect. This will only work if the wound is small and not in or around the eyes. I checked on her daily and she was fine. I did eventually get rid of my aggressive hen she started pulling other hens feathers out and smashing all the eggs so she went to a new home where she is full time free range and she seems happier. Anyway I hope that helps.