Integration mishap- pullet with bloody head

[My1stChickens]

Here is a thread about a scalped hen and look at post 9 by coach723 who posted a picture of what her hen looked like after regrowing her feathers.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ht-off-graphic-imagery.1676915/#post-28831029

thank you this is helpful. Is that what this is? she's been scalped? I don't see any edges or flaps of skin, but I guess the red area looks like what you'd find underneath skin more than actual skin. Poor girl, what an awful thing to have happen to her. I spent a couple hours carefully wrapping the 2x4 dog crates with 1/2" garden cloth so she cannot poke her head out and get pecked. And checking every bit of the dividing wall in the coop that she breached. It appears that she found a small gap at one end where the fence panel HAD been angled to lay right up against the wall-- but it had been moved just a little. That's been fortified. And for good measure fortified the other end too. Her coop cage has a cup of water with electrolytes, vitamins & probiotics (the yellow stuff from Rooster Booster and she drank well today. She also has food. She ate some today, but spilled more than she ate. I placed a towel over the top of the cage, really because I thought the others might get up there and poop on her. Then one of the little brats flew straight up the divider trying to get to the PVC pipe that holds the top of the netting to the ceiling. These same brats who would not roost, but instead still sleep on the floor! When I checked back, the other 3 were snuggling on top of the isolation cage. In the morning I will lash the PVC pipe closer in multiple places. It only dips 2-3" but not taking any chances.

 

[My1stChickens]

Both silver sulfadene cream and neosporin are fine to use. Hopefully, she will settle down some. Mine will freak out at first in a crate, but then will settle down. Maybe if she is doing well tomorrow, you could try her with a friend, but watch to see that she isn’t pecked. Let us know how she gets along.

@Eggcessive, do you mean a friend in the cage with her?

I'm assuming she has to stay confined/safe til all red is gone, correct? So no one gets the urge to peck? From reading other cases with bloody heads, seems like this could take a week or more? Ugh. I know the longer she is separated the more risk reintegrating her with her group. And I still have to reintegrate the two groups. I'm concerned that I won't be able to reintegrate with her feral peers before cold weather hits. Sunday night is the first cold night, and Monday is REALLY cold. I guess I could move her back to the horse barn, with an LED panel heater but that has her isolated. For now, I guess see how tomorrow goes.

 

[Bawkbok]

I'm assuming she has to stay confined/safe til all red is gone, correct? So no one gets the urge to peck? From reading other cases with bloody heads, seems like this could take a week or more?

Yes, keep her separated until there is no more red, scabs are forming or feathers begin to regrow.
You have a good set up for her. The other pullets and her having a visual to see each other is much better than her being isolated.
Add some straw or nesting pads to her dog crate for warmth; she will probably lay on that to sleep vs. standing on the cold bottom of the crate.
It's good that she is eating and drinking. Electrolytes, rooster booster, etc. are good to give her.
I wouldn't worry too much about re-integration with the older hens yet. That time will come soon enough and you want her healed for that. At five months the pullets are still on the smaller side. We integrated our last group of pullets at six months of age without any issue.

 

[My1stChickens]

Yes, keep her separated until there is no more red, scabs are forming or feathers begin to regrow.
You have a good set up for her. The other pullets and her having a visual to see each other is much better than her being isolated.
Add some straw or nesting pads to her dog crate for warmth; she will probably lay on that to sleep vs. standing on the cold bottom of the crate.
It's good that she is eating and drinking. Electrolytes, rooster booster, etc. are good to give her.
I wouldn't worry too much about re-integration with the older hens yet. That time will come soon enough and you want her healed for that. At five months the pullets are still on the smaller side. We integrated our last group of pullets at six months of age without any issue.

thank you so much for this information. This morning her head was NOT red, it's shades of brown. She was much stronger. I actually had to burrito wrap her in a towel to hold her still for her Neosporin. When I was gently smoothing the ointment I the heat was gone from the injured area. (Yesterday there was definite heat, today it was more "normal chicken temp") so these are all good things. I put her in the cage in the run, and she immediately got frantic trying to poke through the holes even with netting. I had to choose a top side with a door since I'll be catching her at least 3x a day (twice to move her, once for an extra Neosporin treatment) This left a side with 4x4 holes, so the netting was critical. I put a towel over that side, so she can't see anything, then a shade cloth on that side, the top and the other side. Bungie corded it secure on the 4x4 side just for good measure. I left her out there for about 3 hours, to settle in. When I went back she was calm and quiet. Her cage is near where the others sunbathe, rest so it was all good. I've seen her eat a little. Overnight there was not much poop, but she did have a terrible day. I wish she liked scrambled egg but this group has never really wanted any. They don't like mealworms either. I may try a tiny bit of scrambled egg later today. She will eat sunflower seeds and that is a protein boost.

I like the idea of a warmer bed for her. She currently has shavings on the floor so it's not cold but a deeper bed of hay would be good because I could make it like a nest and she could snuggle down into it I'm not sure it's warm enough though-- Sunday night we'll drop to 31, Monday the high is 40 and the low 26. This is a dramatic change from 75-80 in the day, 60+ overnight. I can bring her in the house, but then she's away from her peer group. I could try to hang an LED panel heater at one side of her cage, though having extension cords and such in the coop is not ideal. Or I could move her, in her cage, back to the horse stall in the insulated barn. It's where they lived before the integration started. It won't be easy to catch the others, but I could move them all to the barn where I can keep the temperature about 40-45, and have an LED panel heater already (safely) set up. I lean to the last idea, but part of that is because I think I overestimate how hard cold weather is on chickens. Of course, in the case of this little girl recovering, she does need to stay warm, right? or is that just til she's vigorous and not in shock? (Which may already be the case) In case it's not been noticed, I am hypervigilant and worry a lot.

 

[My1stChickens]

Day 2- pictures taken about 30 hours after the first awful bloody ones. I am thrilled to see it look so much less RED. Are those little spots on the top of her head follicles that survived? She is not happy but if I burrito wrap her, I can do a good slathering. She is eating and drinking some, already 3 poops today. I'm encouraged.

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, her head and neck look much better, and probably has a good chance of her feathers growing back. It is good that she can see the others in her group. At 5 months, she should be able to tolerate the cooler weather as long as they are out of the wind. The antibiotic ointment is okay if used twice a day. I usually will pick them up in one are to hold them and do any treatment, and release. You, though really seem to be able to figure out what works best for you. Please continue to update us on how she is doing.

 

[My1stChickens]

Yes, her head and neck look much better, and probably has a good chance of her feathers growing back. It is good that she can see the others in her group. At 5 months, she should be able to tolerate the cooler weather as long as they are out of the wind. The antibiotic ointment is okay if used twice a day. I usually will pick them up in one are to hold them and do any treatment, and release. You, though really seem to be able to figure out what works best for you. Please continue to update us on how she is doing.

Today she ate and drank more, which was good to see. The swelling on her head has subsided. I see reddish areas, but they are dark vs bright and bloody. There are also some green spots. Naturally I googled it, and AI said it could be bruising (no big deal) or infection (hugely big deal). Any opinions on the green spots?

This morning she still needed a burrito wrap for her Neosporin, but was cooperative in the afternoon. She's getting more accustomed to being caught and held. Tough way to get one over being feral....

Everything I read about treating a scalped hen says keep them warm and dry. But it doesn't say do you just do that til they are not in shock? Or until they scab over? @Eggcessive, you indicated that you thought she'd be fine with the cold snap (lows in mid to high 20s). And @Bawkbok suggested some hay to snuggle up in. Her cage has a good layer of shavings, and I got hay today so I can make her a "nest/bed" about 6" deep. It will be windy but a North Wind, and the only potential drafts at ground level are from the South. (The coop has been addressed for any drafts that would hit them at roosting height but not floor level.) I can run foam sealant or duct tape on the places that could allow wind. They are small places, and only two of them. But if she is not far enough along post injury to get that cold, I could move her cage to another wall, that would enable me to drop a LED panel heater just outside her cage. Or I could bring her in but that means she's out of sight from the others. I considered moving her back to the quarantine stall in the insulated barn, but I'm not confident I can catch the other 3 ferals. Even after dark they are skittish. The are sleeping on top of the scalped pullet's dog kennel, on a towel that's covering the top. At least they can't poop on her.

So my two questions: do I panic over the green spots? and can I really leave her in 26 degree temps with a bed of hay, as long as she's not getting air blown on her?

Adding updated pics showing the green spots. There is no foul odor from her head that I would expect if infected and as you can see it does not look like there's any puss.

 

[My1stChickens]

Today it's in the low 80s and they are out. Tonight's low is 31. I'm going to leave her in her cage in the coop, but have set up an LED flat panel heater for her. She can lay by it, but she can also get away from it. The temperature inside the coop (at ground level) today is 87, and humidity 31%. Not bad, and I suspect that the ground will hold heat for a while. I'm going to put a pile of hay in one corner of the cage for her, and another pile of hay on the other side of the kennel wall, in case her peers want to snuggle down. (I'm a realist, if anything they'll just scatter the hay) The LED panel heater is big enough that it will provide warmth for the corner of the kennel AND the hay pile outside the kennel if they all want some heat. 31 does not worry me all that much in terms of frostbite, but it could be a stressor?
Tomorrow, high of 46, with some wind (16 mph, not horrible). I figure I'll let them out, but bald girl will continue to have the North side of her kennel blocked so she won't be in the wind. I'll watch to see how the others are doing; if needed I'll find something to set up a true windbreak for the 5 month olds (The 8 month olds already have a windbreak in their section of the divided run) I figure being out when it's sunny and above freezing is better than being confined. Tomorrow night, low of 25 so will rely on the LED heater but use a bit higher setting. Tuesday should be good-- sunny, high of 54, low of 32. So maybe heater at night, on low setting. This should be enough precaution against frostbite for the bald girl. But I will be checking floor level inside coop temp tomorrow morning and again in the late afternoon to see how much warmer coop is staying than the outside temps. If it appears low of 25 could be a risk, I can pivot and bring her into the horse barn or the house before it drops below 35ish, then back out once temps are back up to 35 or better. It will be away from her friends, but for less than 12 hours. I'm trying not to bring her in the house, because that's so much warmer than the temps outside-- I just want to ease her into getting used to the colder temps of winter. Next week we're back to 60's in the day, 40's at night, should be good for getting ready for winter. It's just the next 3 nights that seem like a drastic change, given her trauma.

Have I missed anything or does this seem reasonable?

 

[Eggcessive]

Green skin is usually from bruising. Hay or straw bales can be good wind breaks. It sounds like you have things covered. They can handle pretty cold temps without heat, and I have never seen frostbite unless temps are down to 10 F or lower.

 

[My1stChickens]

Green skin is usually from bruising. Hay or straw bales can be good wind breaks. It sounds like you have things covered. They can handle pretty cold temps without heat, and I have never seen frostbite unless temps are down to 10 F or lower.

THANK YOU. She is laying by the heater. Her sisters are on top of her cage, but in a pile so sharing body heat. The wind is nasty, but it's a North Wind hitting a solid exterior wall. Any ventilation areas (hardware cloth) are above roost levels on a wall that adjoins a 3 sided shed-- no direct wind. South side has honeycomb insulation panels closing off that whole wall (with a few edges that are not tight but basically pretty good) Don't know why I'm so fretful about them, because even though they were barebacked at 2 months, they are definitely fully feathered at 5 months - with the exception of the scalped head
Again thanks Eggcessive. You're so kind to be my lifeline.