injured pullet, treated and isolated but ?lonely?

lcwmt

Songster
Jun 16, 2017
387
892
214
N Central MT
The bird in question is a one year old pullet, healthy, normally housed in 50 sq foot well ventilated and secure coop, 100 sq feet of covered run space with a cockerel, (5) 2 y.o. hens and 4 other 1 y.o. pullets..
They are fed Nutrena All Flock with BOSS, scratch and worms as occasional treats. They free range a few hours a day. Generally speaking they get along well with minimal jockeying for position and only some dismay as the cockerel goes through his hormonal spurts.

Monday it was observed that this pullet had some abrasions and disturbed feathers on her head and back of neck. Tuesday she looked a little more roughed up so I brought her in the house.
She was bright eyed, alert and responsive. No indications of shock or puncture wounds. (One other bird has similar scraping. I suspect the roo hasn't learned his manners yet and is prone to holding on too tight)

We treated with Saline rinse followed by Veterycin rinse, put her in a covered cat carrier and kept her in for the night. In the morning treated with BluCoat, watched for a bit and put her back with the others. She spent the day out, pecking around and acting quite herself.

Wednesday morning she was active, out and about. However, when I went out to check things in the afternoon, she looked bloodied. There were blood smears on one of the roost supports and what looked like bloody tissue on the coop floor. I brought her in and did another exam. More abrasions but again, no punctures or signs of shock.

It seemed she had been picked at that day. (I probably didn't get enough Blu Coat on due to the location of the scrapes - just a little close to the eyes for me... My other mistake was putting her back out too soon.)

Again, treated with Saline rinse, followed by Veterycin rinse. We brought one of the dog crates in and set her up to recover quietly with omre space. She is eating and drinking and eliminating as normal. She is bright eyed, alert, made a nest in the corner of the crate (I had added a nesting pad and a roost bar to the set up). She's been scratching at the food that she knocked out of its container.

In essence I think all is well. We have no Avian Vets here and none of the Ag Vets will see chickens. My plan is to clean the affected area twice a day, keep her in and under close observation until healing is obvious and spray with Blu Coat before putting her back with the others. If needs be, it may be possible to get a local antibiotic to treat with but that really shouldn't be necessary.

Here's my question: She has been squawking and singing all day with a wide range of vocalizations. She is usually one of the quieter birds. This is the only time she has been isolated. Should I bring one of the mellow birds in to keep her company or let her tough it out alone until she heals?
We have a "special needs" hen who might be the perfect quiet companion.

Of course it is possible that anthropomorphising(SP?) is going on <G> but these are social critters. What would you do?
 
Can she be housed separately but closer to and visible to the rest of the flock? If she has a companion that's great too but I'd be thinking about rehoming a rooster. My limited experience with using blu kote is that if the wound is tiny it may hide it but the perp knows who he or she wants to go after and blu kote won't stop them. That's been my observation anyhow. I'm no expert but I've spent a lot of time watching chickens! lol

I know it's distressing to see our little friends get hurt, I hope she heals up and the social problems can be resolved for you! :fl

Cathy
 
Taking a superficially injured hen out of the flock actually causes more problems than it appears to be solving. Also, she may need to lay an egg, and she isn't entirely comfortable doing it in the crate.

The better solution, if you are certain it's the clumsy cockerel causing her injuries, is to segregate him in a small enclosure partitioned off in the run. I've used this method every time I have an over eager cockerel that is bothering all the hens. I've also had a young cockerel that selected his brooder mate as a practice target because she was the only one that would allow him near her. The result was her feathers were worn out by the time each reached a year old.

In either case, the cockerel is separated by a barrier during the day and is allowed to roost with the flock at night, although the little Romeo may need to be restrained until all the girls have safely settled on their perches. This works very well. The cockerel seems content to simply girl watch, and it keeps peace in the flock until the hormones settle down.
 
Taking a superficially injured hen out of the flock actually causes more problems than it appears to be solving. Also, she may need to lay an egg, and she isn't entirely comfortable doing it in the crate.
-snip-

These are some of my concerns. Thanks for bringing it up.

Given that she is perky and the wounds were very superficial (and have responded well to just a good cleaning), at what point would you put her back with her flock?
I'm thinking that if she looks as good tomorrow as she does this evening, it might be okay. "Sooner rather than later"??? If it is "sooner" reintegration might not be an issue.

thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!
 
As a rule, but then chickens feel free to break rules, a couple days away from the flock won't cause reentry ruckus. But you may need to stick around and be sure some individual won't take advantage of an opportunity to cause trouble. If someone does challenge this hen as she returns, and she feels confident to stand up for herself, it won't last but a second or two.
 
As a rule, but then chickens feel free to break rules, a couple days away from the flock won't cause reentry ruckus. But you may need to stick around and be sure some individual won't take advantage of an opportunity to cause trouble. If someone does challenge this hen as she returns, and she feels confident to stand up for herself, it won't last but a second or two.


Thanks so much for your suggestions. It is snowing this morning. (big sigh. It has been a long cool, wet Spring so far. following a relentlesly cold and snowy Winter)
It might be best to wait until later in the day when either the flock is out and about, or close to roosting time.
 

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