Large open wound on the tail area

[bruced267]

Hi All, Hope I am in the right place?.....We have 19 chickens of various types mostly Rocks. They are aprox. 5 months, and some have started laying. One of our Partridge Rock has a large open wound on the back/tail area. So I first got her out, treated with Bag Balm and put a chicken jacket on her. I am now noticing the other two Partridge rocks showing signs of being picked or picking themselves? I have only seen this on one other chicken slightly.

So any ideas what the cause is? mites, lice?
Am I treating correctly?
As a precaution for mites, I gave them all a bath in Food grade DE, is this correct?

Any help would be great!

 

[froggiesheins]

Are you giving them free choice oyster shell calcuim? VERY important now they are laying.

Feather picking can come from a lack of protien end/or too small a confinement.

Also, once a chicken sees blood or a sore they all just zero in on it and pick pick pick. SO you are going to have to isolate the one hen with the bad bum for her safety.

DE will NOT kill lice/mites. Sevin dust or Frontline plus for dogs [one drop under each wing every few months] will.

Check that sore bum for maggots, as they LOVE open wounds and can multiply rapidly....
Hope this all helps.. LOL

 

[galanie]

Another suggestion: Observe and see if you can pick out one hen that instigates the picking. Isolate her for a week and that might help, in combination with the other things, keep this at bay. Reason being, usually one starts it and the others just follow along. That one needs to come down a few notches in status and a week away from teh rest of the flock will do that.

 

[bruced267]

Chicken # 2 is now in quarantine, not as bad as # 1.

I got seven dust, and product called Scalex for cage birds it is Pyrethrin based I have read that it can be used on chickens

I will treat for mites, do I have to completely clean the coop out? or can i use the seven dust in there?

 

[froggiesheins]

You can use the Sevin dust in the coop/run LOL

 

[20736]

As mentioned, try to watch and see if just one bird is doing all the damage. I am having the same problem, and I finally quarantined the pecker, not the peckees. You may be feeding and housing correctly; sometimes a bird just likes to draw blood. The only real cure is the stew pot (sorry).