My Loving Hen is Injured/Bloody; Need any Advice ASAP; Please Help

[smalldog]

Hello BackYard Chickens Community: Can you please help me with advice???Please
I live in FL and tonight we are going down to 30F so I went out at 9 PM to bring my two hens in to the house for the night (I keep them in the laundry room when we go below freezing). It was quite dark outside and when I picked Gertie (barred rock hen) up I smelled iron. I knew instantly she had been bleeding. As soon as I brought her in to the house I saw that her comb, wattles, points and blade were caked in blood. It was very thick and dark, so this must have happened hours ago. Her eyes looked okay as did her beak. I also didn't see any other injuries on her body. I brought her in to my wash room and bathed her in warm water. It appeared that she was still bleeding a bit b/c there was some fresh red blood in the water. However, I could not see where it was coming from -- somewhere around her head area, I believe.
She tolerated the warm bath well and I also tried to apply some Betadine but she did not like that at all and kept shaking it off. I then dried her with the blowdryer for as long as she would stand it but she is still quite damp. However, she is preening herself and I have her covered in a towel. I was able to remove quite a bit of the blood but in some areas around her face it is still caked on pretty thick. I don't think I should bother that right now b/c I don't know if the clotted blood is protecting an injury and I don't want to starting tugging on things.
I then went out to the coop and brought in my other hen, Scarlett (buff orpington) to check her. She has some light blood spatter on her feathers but I see no sign of injury to her.
I checked the coop to see if there was any evidence of a predator having made it in there but I saw none.
I then looked inside at the 1/2 inch chicken wire that encloses the coop. There is an area that has a lot of blood spatter, both on the wire and the wood. I can also see blood on the ground. I believe she either caught herself on something in the coop wire perhaps, or the other concern was that maybe a predator did come around and try to pull her through the chicken wire. But that does not seem likely to me b/c her beak and eyes do not appear to be injured.
She is resting now and Scarlett is not bothering her at all. Scarlett is very gentle and is not the alpha hen - Gertie is. If the injury was the other way around I would probably have to separate them tonight b/c Gertie would probably peck at Scarlett. Other than applying Betadine to her head and perhaps placing some Neosporin on there, is there anything else that you all can suggest I do at this time? I guess I should quarantine her during the day tomorrow so that she can rest and I can monitor her progress more closely. Unfortunately, I work and will be away for several hours.
Can anyone offer any suggestions on what to watch for infection or any other aid I can provide her right now to help her?
Thankfully, she is a strong, healthy hen and only around 3 years old. I think that if she made it through the day and managed to get through to this point she has a good chance of not deteriorating from here. But I would be grateful for any and all advice and suggestions.
Thanks in advance for reading my post and your help.

 

[Kittymomma]

Sounds like you have done a good job taking care of her. Comb/wattle injuries bleed a lot (think head injury) so she's probably not seriously injured. The two main things right now are to be sure your other hen doesn't start pecking at it--just because she's gentle doesn't mean that she won't, often it's the "hmm that's different, and it's RED too" more then actuall aggression. The other thing is to go over your coop/run really well before putting them back out there and fix the loose wire or whatever it was that she got caught up on.

Okay, now just breathe and remember that you are a good chicken mommy--sometimes stuff happens.

 

[sourland]

It doesn't seem like she is seriously hurt. They can bleed a lot from small nicks on the combs and wattles because of the rich blood supply. The good news is that such areas heal very rapidly. I think she'll be fine. Your bigger problem is determining exactly what caused the problem. good luck.

 

[easttxchick]

Sounds like you have things pretty well in hand.
You are keeping her warm, have cleaned her up and have her with her buddy.
I might put some electrolytes in her water(or a bit of Gatorade if you have some on hand).
Watch for redness, a foul smell, the wound turning green/black-that kind of thing.
I would put some Neosporin without pain reliever on her injuries and if you can, give her an injection of PenG Procaine to ward off infection.
If it is a comb or wattle injury, those things bleed like the dickens-if you can find where the blood is coming from, put some flour on it-great to stop bleeding.
Maybe fix her up some oatmeal or scramble her an egg just to make sure she's eating OK.
Hope there is something here that helps.
Good luck with her!

 

[Wiggles12]

If she is no longer bleeding in the morning, shows no signs of disstress or weakness, I would let her do her normal thing. You'll know in the morning if she needs more attention. It sounds like she may have poked or scratched herself pretty good.

Kim

 

[sharol]

I might separate them tonight even though they are friends. Same room, just with her out of reach of your other pullet. If the room is completely dark, it might be OK, but there is a concern that even a gentle hen might peck at wounds.

If you have any Pedialyte or poly-vi-sol (no iron), it couldn't hurt to boost her a bit.

Good luck. Post back and let us know how she is doing.

 

[smalldog]

Thanks, KittyMomma and Sourland. I am reassured by your responses. I agree, I need to get out there in the morning and try to figure out what caused this damage so it does not happen again. I will also be sure to keep her separated for a couple of days so that Scarlett does not get tempted to peck.
I was reading a few of the other posts and noticed that some folks give their chickens injections to ward off infection. I don't have anything like that at home? Where could I get it and do you think I need to do it, or will Betadine and Neosporing be enough?

 

[smalldog]

I am overcome with the fast responses and assistance you all are providing to me -- I thank you all from the bottom of my heart! Please keep your suggestions coming. I am going to see if I have any Gatorade now and will also see if she is interested in some mealworms. I don't have any medicine to inject her with and hope she does not need it. Where can I get some to keep in the house and how do I know how much to give or where to inject (if I need to)?

 

[Kittymomma]

I wouldn't worry about giving antibiotics for the injuries you've described. It would be like us taking them because we got some scratches while picking berries. Basic wound care (just like you're already doing) is all she needs. She may or may not have some permenent damage, but I'll bet she's already forgotten about the whole thing.

 

[crtrlovr]

Your topical antibiotic cream/ointment will probably be fine. If she'd been bitten by a predator, I'd say put her on an antibiotic, but it doesn't sound like that's what happened. The Neosporin or store brand of triple-antibiotic ointment without pain killer or anesthetic (watch for any ingredient ending in "caine" ... BIG no no for chickens!). If the other hen starts pecking at the scabby places, you may have to keep them separated until the wounds no longer look red. (isn't it amazing how chickens are programmed to be attracted to red, even from newly hatched? wow! )