Need chicken photographs of skin issues - UPDATE: CAN'T TOUCH

[JulieZ]

The hens I brought in are all at least a year old because i was told they have been laying for 6 months now. They come from a chicken farm where they are not pets. Warming up to me is not about to happen & they fight when I come near them. I don't know how to clean up the dry blood & add neosporin to their wounds without them pecking me to death. So, I've left them be & hope they continue to mend on their own. At night I'm able to get a small glimpse with a slight pull back & then they are up on their feet. I can only imagine it hurts to have me mess with them. Just not sure how to go about this?

 

[Kedreeva]

There's no one around willing to help you catch and hold them? No neighbors or friends?

 

[MotherJean]

Must do your handling and medicating at night after they've gone to roost. You should be able to pick them right off the roost one by one. If you can work under either a red light bulb or with a helper with flashlight, they should remain fairly docile. If you bring them into a fully lighted area, though, they'll wake up and struggle. If you don't have an extra pair of hands to help, you can try using a long strip of fabric or gauze bandage to tie around their body to hold the wings down so they can't flog you while you're working.

 

[JulieZ]

What is the best way to remove dried blood? I'll start there because it's caked on one of them.

As far as night ... night light & then red light ... 2 wake fully up as soon as I touch them & they go at me. The the rest of the flock rises. I think with these two I'm going to have to go gentle & get to them last.

 

[MotherJean]

Hydrogen peroxide 5% will bubble beautifully when it comes in contact with blood and blood serum and will lift the dried blood right out of the feathers. You can rinse with clear warm water or just use a wet rag to wipe off the red foam. Since you're probably not going to bathe these chickens, you might need to apply the peroxide a couple of times to get close to clean. It is safe to use full strength on your birds. If you're not familiar with this product, it is sold next to the rubbing alcohol in you pharmacy/grocery store. 1 Liter bottle costs $1 or less.

 

[JulieZ]

OKAY! Confession time! Because I've not raised these specific chickens, I've been more afraid of them they have of me. But little at a time I've been able to apply some neosporin. Not much, just here & there each day. I tell you this ... I will NEVER buy raised chickens from another person again. I must be the one to raise them from infancy. I can handle my girls with ease & they trust me but these hens have no idea who I am & have seen lots of torture during their days on the farm. Why would they trust?!

Last night I went out to take a good look at what is going on with them. You know what? they heal great on their own. Yes, I applied some stuff that played a part BUT all in all, these are some tough chickens. There is still some blood on the one that is the hardest to handle but nothing like it was AND their feathers are growing back. They are looking so much better. The biting they were doing on themselves has pretty much stopped too.

I will remember that peroxide advice for the future. Hopefully to never have to use it. ; )

 

[rcentner]

Quote:
Afraid? Don't be afraid, the worst that happens is you get pecked +/- scratched. They usually settle down. If you are very worried about getting pecked or scratched you can buy the long welding gloves. We use those for unhappy cats, they work well.

 

[jjthinkagain]

My greatest satisfaction comes from adopting beings that had no one to trust and then gaining their trust so that they are not alone in this difficult world. It takes time. That's okay. It is SOOOOO worth it. A hen I have now had never been touched before I adopted her (she was about 2 at the time). She wanted nothing, and I mean nothing, to do with me for awhile. It's taken a longgggggggggggg time and she'll still fuss when I need to pick her up for something (just instinct kicking in, and I think that's good) but now she knows I am her friend and she gets over it quickly. She will even purposely hang out by me. I love this. Sits at my feet, content as can be. Sometimes I give her wing a smooch at bedtime and she acts none too thrilled but then immediately gets happy cleaning and arranging herself. She knows I am odd

but that I love her

. At the end of 2008 she got attacked by 2 pit bulls (neighbor

) and nearly died of shock. I held her in my lap for a long time telling her she'd be okay and trying to calm her so she wouldn't succumb (shock is their greatest enemy, other than the pred). She buried her sweet little head under my arm for security and put all her faith in me, this little feather-soul that once was afraid of me. When she finally calmed down, I took her to the vets and surgery, medication and a ton of TLC fixed her up.

And p.s. as was noted above, they can't really hurt you. Any pecking or scratching they do for awhile is all they've got in their meager defense arsenal. They are much more afraid of you.

Thanks for your efforts!

JJ (aka jjthink but that doesn't work on the machine ay my current location)

 

[Rocky Top Chick]

Quote:
What a sweet story !

 

[jjthink]

Quote:
Awww...thanks. They can be so endearing

Julie, how goes it?

JJ