Need help...chicken with open sore on back

[newmama0512]

Went to lock my chickens in tonight & was checking them over. Noticed one of my black Australorps had a red bloody spot on her back. It's on her left side. Have her in a dog kennel with straw & water trying to figure out what to do. Should I wash it with soap & water? Should I use hydrogen peroxide? I'm going to keep her separate from the other chickens until I can make sure she is doing OK & I can get some No Peck or goo to put on her. It seems deep, but this is my first time with an open sore on my chickens.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Eggcessive]

You can use peroxide only once or twice, but you can also use diluted betadine or chlorhexadrene (Hibaclens) to clean it. Put some plain antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin on the wound twice a day. Do you think this was from a rooster cutting her with spurs, other hens pecking her, or an injury? She could be caged inside the coop to recover, so that she isn't pecked, bujt remains part of the flock. BluKote spray after it heals some, would be good to hide the red wound when she rdejoinsthe flock.

 

[newmama0512]

Thanks so much! We don't have a rooster, so I think it's just pecking. After further examination, noticed that she is without a lot of feathers around her bottom. She must really be getting picked on. While I'm out with them (before the avian flu lockdown), I wasn't noticing her getting pecked at. I did have to close them in 3hrs early into their coop on New Years Eve as we were leaving for the evening. Maybe that is when she was getting pecked on so badly. I just didn't want them to freeze with the coop door open into the enclosed run all night since it was going to be below freezing.

I flushed her wound with warm water & soap and patted dry. Just applied some Neosporin as that's all I had on hand. Am taking her back out to the coop & keeping her in the dog kennel. Poor thing had been crying since I took her off the roost. My daughter is with her & calming her down now.

Thanks again!

 

[Eggcessive]

Not letting them outside during the day, overcrowding, or feeding too low protein in the diet (less than 16-20%) can lead to feather picking. Feather picking around the vent can lead to cannibalism, or salpingitis later, which can lead to egg yolk peritonitis. I'm sure it is hard to have to keep them up during the avian flu scare there. It might help to watch who is doing the pecking, and separate those guilty.