lots of wing/blood feathers lost

[bibliophile birds]

i found one of my 4 month old Araucana pullets hanging upside down from her foot when i went to put the chickens in for the night. i thought she was dead since she wasn't moving at all, but she came to when i touched her. she had caught her foot in the fence going back into the coop. i have no idea how long she was hanging like that, but i would guess that it couldn't have been THAT long or surely she would have suffocated, right?

anyway, when i untangled her i noticed that a LOT of her wing feathers have been ripped out and there was a little blood. i don't know if the other chickens did this to her or if she did it to herself somehow in a panic (i've NEVER seen any of my chickens pull feathers or peck each other more than to put someone in their place). i don't think it was some other critter since the whole coop is surrounded by electric fence, but something might have gotten through...

i brought her home and cleaned the wing. from what i can tell, the blood is only from the pulled/broken blood feathers- there are no other visible wounds. i cleaned it with saline, some peroxide and slathered it in neosporin. she's a bit lethargic (who can blame her) but she seems to be relatively ok: she pooped (in the floor, of course), she can walk with just a slight limp, and her eyes look ok (i was worried about blood vessel rupture from being upside down for an extended period).

now that the initial treatment is done, is there anything i need to do for her or watch for? i've never had birds lose this many wing feathers so i'm a bit unsure how to proceed. other than keeping them clean, is there anything to do specifically for lost blood feathers? how long should i keep her isolated? i was planning on keeping her inside for a few days until the wing doesn't look so messy, but would it be best to put her in with my injured hen (bad leg) until the feathers grow back or go ahead and put her back with the others? i'm assuming she won't be able to fly for a while, so i was worried she'd get picked on.

thanks for any suggestions.

 

[easttxchick]

If you have some electrolytes, I would mix some in with her water(to help with stress).
Obviously watch for any infection, make sure your Neosporin doesn't have pain reliever in it and I wouldn't clean it with Peroxide any more(apparently Peroxide kills new tissue growth).
I would keep her away from the flock until her wounds are healed to make sure they don't pick her to pieces.
I would boil her up an egg and maybe mix a little PolyViSol(without iron) in it just to boost her a bit.
So glad you found her when you did and saved her.
Good luck to you.

 

[bibliophile birds]

thanks for the suggestions!

my neosporin doesn't have painkiller, but why is that a bad thing? i've read that many times, but never seen the explanation for why it should be avoided. i'm just curious.

this morning, she's decidedly perkier. she didn't want to sit still while i clean her wing and she was very happy to get breakfast. i'm thinking that i'll put her in with my injured hen and my Silkie roo tomorrow so long as everything is still looking good and healthy. she just seems like she'd be happier with space to move than in a little crate. Madeline, the gimpy hen, is a total sweetheart (i put the babies in with her a lot cause she's so good) and Hansel, the Silkie roo, is a dream roo, which is why he gets to live with Madeline. he's always bringing her treats and very rarely tries to mate with her (and when he does, he's very gentle). i think this little gal will be fine with those two.

 

[easttxchick]

I'm so glad she is perking up for you!

As far as the painkiller in the Neosporin, I THINK it is the Lidocaine(or benzocaine) in the ointment that is toxic to chickens.