Mother hen attacked by other chickens

[Mighty_Mouse]

I have a Buff who has 2 chicks I keep them separated from the rest of the flock. However today I must have forgotten to close to gate after feeding. I came outside and she was being attacked by the other adult hens in my main flock. Has a very large open wound near her tail and they plucked a lot of feathers from her. I don't know what I can do for her

 

[21hens-incharge]

That looks really bad.

I will try and get some more experienced folks in here.

@aart, @Eggcessive, @azygous, @Wyorp Rock

This hen is more seriously hurt then I can help with. Can any of you help out?

 

[Stayc]

Oh no!! I hope the experts chime in soon. Sorry your pretty girl is going through this!

 

[azygous]

It looks much worse than it is. But it is still serious.

1. Bring the hen inside and run warm water in a basin for her. Or you can flush the wound with saline, if you're a nurse or first responder and have a liter on hand. You will be cleaning the wound with mild soap if you don't have saline.

2. Flush with plenty of clean water and let dry.

3. While she's drying, assemble some Vetericyn wound spray, triple antibiotic ointment (without pain killer), and some large squares of surgical dressing. If you don't have these in your first aid kit, improvise with clean, freshly laundered men's handkerchiefs. You will need elastic vet wrap.

4. Spray with Vetericyn first, let dry, then apply the ointment. Cover with the handkerchief or large dressing and bandage with the elastic wrap going around her body, but under the wings.

You will need to follow this procedure every single day until the wound heals. It may take up to six weeks. Maybe longer. Do not let the wound dry out. Keep it moist with the antibiotic ointment. The bandage is necessary because the wound is so large and infection could set in. This is also why you need to clean the wound every day. Also you need to examine for signs of infection - red, swollen skin around the wound.

See my article below about healing an injured chick to get a good idea of what's in store for you and your hen.

She'll heal, but you need to be very faithful about her wound care.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would follow the good advice given by Azygous. That looks more like a hen attack. Do you think that could have been done by a predator, such as a hawk or other animal? Were the chicks harmed? I really hope they are all okay, and heal well.

Usually, when I have a broody and chicks, I keep them in a pen inside the coop for 2-3 days, then open the door for the broody to take the chicks out and become a part of the flock immediately. She usually protects them with her life, but she has not been away from the flock but 2 days. It has worked out pretty well.

Look out for any signs of predators, just in case.

 

[goedric]

That's crazy... i would also make sure some other culprit was not involved.... maybe something got into that pen or gotten to her if she was out of the pen...

 

[azygous]

I agree with @Eggcessive. Many people see an injured chicken with a substantial wound and automatically conclude it was due to the other chickens, when this is extremely rare.

The placement of the wound and the size is exactly where a three-month old Cream Legbar pullet of mine was attacked by a hawk. Luckily for her, she was very fast, and all the hawk got was every single feather from her lower back. Her skin escaped without a mark. I know it was a hawk attack because I wasn't more than a few feet from her when I saw it happen, feathers exploding in a cloud around us.

Flock behavior following a predator attack is an extreme departure from their normal, carefree behavior. You will find them hiding under the coop or crowding together inside. Or they may be in a dark, sheltered corner, crowding close together, trying their best to be invisible.

Besides finding your hen with this awful wound, you probably noticed something similar with their behavior to what I have described.

 

[Mighty_Mouse]

I would follow the good advice given by Azygous. That looks more like a hen attack. Do you think that could have been done by a predator, such as a hawk or other animal? Were the chicks harmed? I really hope they are all okay, and heal well.

Usually, when I have a broody and chicks, I keep them in a pen inside the coop for 2-3 days, then open the door for the broody to take the chicks out and become a part of the flock immediately. She usually protects them with her life, but she has not been away from the flock but 2 days. It has worked out pretty well.

Look out for any signs of predators, just in case.

When i went outside to see what all the ruckus was about all 4 of my hens were attacking her. This happened within a 10 minute time period. I know it wasn't a predator.

 

[goedric]

When i went outside to see what all the ruckus was about all 4 of my hens were attacking her. This happened within a 10 minute time period. I know it wasn't a predator.

I wonder though... there is so much damage.. perhaps there was a predator that inflicted the primary injury then the hens pitched in with the chaos and smelling blood so to speak? If not you have some hell beast hens and i would make soup out of the lot.

 

[Mighty_Mouse]

It looks much worse than it is. But it is still serious.

1. Bring the hen inside and run warm water in a basin for her. Or you can flush the wound with saline, if you're a nurse or first responder and have a liter on hand. You will be cleaning the wound with mild soap if you don't have saline.

2. Flush with plenty of clean water and let dry.

3. While she's drying, assemble some Vetericyn wound spray, triple antibiotic ointment (without pain killer), and some large squares of surgical dressing. If you don't have these in your first aid kit, improvise with clean, freshly laundered men's handkerchiefs. You will need elastic vet wrap.

4. Spray with Vetericyn first, let dry, then apply the ointment. Cover with the handkerchief or large dressing and bandage with the elastic wrap going around her body, but under the wings.

You will need to follow this procedure every single day until the wound heals. It may take up to six weeks. Maybe longer. Do not let the wound dry out. Keep it moist with the antibiotic ointment. The bandage is necessary because the wound is so large and infection could set in. This is also why you need to clean the wound every day. Also you need to examine for signs of infection - red, swollen skin around the wound.

See my article below about healing an injured chick to get a good idea of what's in store for you and your hen.

She'll heal, but you need to be very faithful about her wound care.

I can't thank you enough for this! She was one of 4 hens I started out with as a beginner and have been blessed that she was an excellent broader. Every place is closed so unfortunately it will have to wait till tomorrow. I did bring her inside and put her in a chick broader with clean towels. I put Electrolytes in her water and gave her some starter grower.