Mother hen attacked by other chickens

[Mighty_Mouse]

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.

My main flock are some nasty hens I've tried everything in the books to introduce new hens into the flock and they won't have it they do more then just attack new comers to the point of injury or people needing to intervene

 

[azygous]

If this is what occurred with your flock, finding our what caused them to attack this hen would be of equal concern to caring for the injured hen.

I suspected you probably wouldn't have the first aid supplies on hand, and I should have mentioned that it's absolutely essential to do the wound cleaning immediately.

If you have any coconut oil on hand, it will substitute for the antibiotic ointment for now. But you must not allow that wound to go twelve hours without cleaning it or it will be infected by morning. Then you will be facing a problem of huge magnitude.

 

[Mighty_Mouse]

If this is what occurred with your flock, finding our what caused them to attack this hen would be of equal concern to caring for the injured hen.

I suspected you probably wouldn't have the first aid supplies on hand, and I should have mentioned that it's absolutely essential to do the wound cleaning immediately.

If you have any coconut oil on hand, it will substitute for the antibiotic ointment for now. But you must not allow that wound to go twelve hours without cleaning it or it will be infected by morning. Then you will be facing a problem of huge magnitude.

I do not have the ointment but luckily my fiance is a marine and has plenty of saline solution on hand and have flushed it. She is eating and drinking well

 

[azygous]

The wound must be covered with coconut oil or even Vaseline. If the wound dries out, it will be very susceptible to getting infected before morning even though you washed it with saline. Bacteria are in the air, and on the hen herself. Coconut oil has natural antibiotic properties and is a very good substitute for the triple antibiotic ointment.

 

[Mighty_Mouse]

The wound must be covered with coconut oil or even Vaseline. If the wound dries out, it will be very susceptible to getting infected before morning even though you washed it with saline. Bacteria are in the air, and on the hen herself. Coconut oil has natural antibiotic properties and is a very good substitute for the triple antibiotic ointment.

Then I will call the neighbor she always has something for livestock and chickens. Thank you so much!

 

[micstrachan]

Oh dear. I’m so sorry this happened. You have received some excellent advice here. Please keep us posted. I will be pulling for your girl!

 

[rebrascora]

You have been given some good advice as regards wound care.
I would just add that aggressive behaviour like this is usually associated with lack of space or lack of correct nutrition or not enough feeding stations.
Has the broody been removed from sight of the flock for some time, so they don't recognise her? It is normal for a flock to attack a stranger and try to drive them away. In a confined pen, where the bird cannot get away, it can quickly escalate to this sort of injury and even death.
I hope you are able to clean her up and help her heal. Honey is a good antibacterial substance which keeps the site moist and aids healing and I would use it ahead of Vaseline. I've just had really impressive results with a horse's wound using honey.

 

[chickens really]

What breed are the Hens.?..What are they being fed?..How old are the Chicks?..Lots of variables as to what actually is happening....

 

[21hens-incharge]

How is she doing this morning?

Chickens really asks important questions about the rest of the flock.

I am curious if this was in the closed in run or out free ranging that the attack happened.

 

[azygous]

We'd all like to help you figure out why your flock turned on this hen. This shouldn't happen in a healthy, stable flock. Usually there is stress of some sort, nutritional, spacial, management issues, etc.

You have this opportunity to get some very good input if you can supply the right information.