Just thought I'd post up a story about an adventure in injury care that I experienced on my very first day of chicken ownership...
So, I got my first chickens back in the beginning of May; a trio of Welsummers (which were purchased as a gift for my grandfather, who adores them, especially the big rooster that I named Chantecler for his wonderful crowing), and a trio of Red Jungle Fowl. I didn't have a run ready for them when I first brought them home, so I placed the Welsummers in a large wire dog crate I had (since I was only keeping them around for a week anyway), and the RJFs went into another larger plastic dog crate. I put both crates in our horse-trailer to keep them sheltered and away from the dogs (my father's dog is a notorious chicken-killer unfortunately).
The following morning I go out to feed and water my babies and one of my RJF hens was soaked (she'd clearly been chased through the water dish) and bleeding. Taking her out, I discovered that the other hen and the roo had picked on her to a point of tearing a penny-sized hole in the skin of the back of her neck. Well, I've only ever had meat chickens before now, and they were certainly never pet-like, but I knew I had to do something. I took her out of the crate and put her in a smaller one with lots of clean straw and took her into the house.
I trimmed the feathers back around the wound and cleaned it with a diluted mixture of Germ-Zone and water. I was worried about an infection as the wound was wide open and, as I said, nearly the size of a penny, so the following day I bought a packet of powered Tetracycline and gave her that in her water for three days until the wound started to scab. By this point, I had proper runs for the chickens and, after a week of having Penny (as she came to be called) in the house, I decided to reintroduce her to the others.
I'm proud to say, Penny's wound healed up perfectly and she's no longer picked on by Jane and Tarzan. In fact, I can hardly tell her and Jane apart anymore. It was certainly interesting, and I am infinitely thankful for the stock of veterinary supplies my family keeps around. Perhaps it's nothing special to some, but to have it happen on the first day of ownership? Can be a little daunting.
So I just thought I'd share this story with fellow newbies and experienced keepers alike. Hope it was inspirational, interesting, or even something you've done yourself! I'd love to hear other such stories for other BYC members.
So, I got my first chickens back in the beginning of May; a trio of Welsummers (which were purchased as a gift for my grandfather, who adores them, especially the big rooster that I named Chantecler for his wonderful crowing), and a trio of Red Jungle Fowl. I didn't have a run ready for them when I first brought them home, so I placed the Welsummers in a large wire dog crate I had (since I was only keeping them around for a week anyway), and the RJFs went into another larger plastic dog crate. I put both crates in our horse-trailer to keep them sheltered and away from the dogs (my father's dog is a notorious chicken-killer unfortunately).
The following morning I go out to feed and water my babies and one of my RJF hens was soaked (she'd clearly been chased through the water dish) and bleeding. Taking her out, I discovered that the other hen and the roo had picked on her to a point of tearing a penny-sized hole in the skin of the back of her neck. Well, I've only ever had meat chickens before now, and they were certainly never pet-like, but I knew I had to do something. I took her out of the crate and put her in a smaller one with lots of clean straw and took her into the house.
I trimmed the feathers back around the wound and cleaned it with a diluted mixture of Germ-Zone and water. I was worried about an infection as the wound was wide open and, as I said, nearly the size of a penny, so the following day I bought a packet of powered Tetracycline and gave her that in her water for three days until the wound started to scab. By this point, I had proper runs for the chickens and, after a week of having Penny (as she came to be called) in the house, I decided to reintroduce her to the others.
I'm proud to say, Penny's wound healed up perfectly and she's no longer picked on by Jane and Tarzan. In fact, I can hardly tell her and Jane apart anymore. It was certainly interesting, and I am infinitely thankful for the stock of veterinary supplies my family keeps around. Perhaps it's nothing special to some, but to have it happen on the first day of ownership? Can be a little daunting.
So I just thought I'd share this story with fellow newbies and experienced keepers alike. Hope it was inspirational, interesting, or even something you've done yourself! I'd love to hear other such stories for other BYC members.
