Injury - predator in coop or chicken's attacking each other?

[NKYchickenMAN]

When I went to let the chickens out this morning one of them had this wound on the back of her neck and wing. It is deep, I can see skin & bone.

I didn't see any signs of a predator getting into the coop. I thought the coop was secure but now I just don't know.

Could this damage be from other chickens?

 

[circesfire]

I'm not sure if this could be done by other chickens or not, but I know that if she was injured they would pick at it and make it worse. What have you done to help her heal?

 

[enola]

Looks like chicken pecking to me. You need to separate them, or they will pick her more.

 

[NKYchickenMAN]

I haven't had a chance to treat her yet. I picked up gauze and betadine antiseptic today at lunch. Hopefully she survived the day without any additional damage.

I have 9, three month old Rhode Island Reds in a 7' x 7' coop... and a 600sqft run.



The one with the damage is always the last one to get in the coop when I lock them up at night. I don't know if that is a sign they pick on her over night or not.


This morning was the first time my "food bucket" was knocked over and eaten out of too. So there were definitely signs of a predator in the run last night. Bucket is kept in the run with a lid on it.

 

[NKYchickenMAN]

I cleaned out the wound with Peroxide, squirted a good amount of Betadine and then put on hefty dose of Neosporin.
I choose not to put any bandage on her because I read the more air the better.

I moved her into my garage and have her in a 32 Gallon tub with a screen over top. It's kind of tight quarters but much better than leaving her in the coop with flies and the other hens.

Does anyone know how long do injuries like this usually take to heal? What are the chances when I move her back to the flock they immediately attack her again?


I have decided the injury was from the other birds pecking her and not a predator. Unless you know of a predator that can fit through 2" x 4" welded wire and cause that kind of damage?

Thank you for any insight you can share with me!

 

[enola]

How big is your coop?

 

[circesfire]

The care sounds spot on. Just make sure that the neosporin you are using has no pain medication in it (it's harmful to chickens). It depends what you mean by heal - it looks pretty deep so I'd say maybe several weeks to get some good skin growth back over the wound and then a few more until she has all her feathers back. You will need to make sure that she is fully healed before putting her back or they will attack her again. Even if she is fully healed I would introduce her when you are around and make sure they are not being too rough. Will you post pictures in a couple of days so we can see how she is doing? Is she still eating and drinking okay?

 

[NKYchickenMAN]

Thank you for the information on no pain medication... the Neosporin I used was medicated so I will find a different one for future application.

When I checked on her this morning she was bawking and chipper. She was also pecking at the bowl of feed that is in there with her. I haven't seen her drink water yet but I assume she is.

Yes, I will keep you posted on how she is doing.

 

[enola]

Cleaning the wounds every day and reapplying antibiotic ointment will go a long way toward getting her healed up. It will also give you a chance to notice any infection starting. If there are any feathers that can touch the wound site you should trim them.