New Brahma Group: Blue Partridge x Partridge, Plus Dark

[Wyatt0224]

I remember that story. I wanna say you posted a link to it in the very beginning of this thread but I could be wrong. Those were some very courageous roosters. My RIR roo is 10 months old.

 

[Wyatt0224]

Not this thread, Atlas's thread sorry.

 

[robyn8]

Should I wait till my pullet is completely healed to let her back with the flock? The cockerel that did the damage is no longer with us. We still have the silkie cockerel but he hasn't been mating yet as far as I can tell. She's about 75-80% healed and in a dog cage in the coop. She really wants out. Temps are supposed to drop again here in Mi next week and I worry about her sleeping alone when it gets back into the teens at night. Maybe she'll be mostly healed by Wednesday considering how fast she's healing already.

 

[speckledhen]

I remember that story. I wanna say you posted a link to it in the very beginning of this thread but I could be wrong. Those were some very courageous roosters. My RIR roo is 10 months old.

Well, he is young, about the same age as Apollo. Maybe he was just a bit confused or because of his age, and remember, they are individuals and develop at different rates. Of course, I chuckle every time I think of itty bitty Rex, Atlas's sire, flogging Isaac in the face to protect his mama when he was less than 3 weeks old. He is the only chick I've had that ever showed that much courage at that age, or maybe it was stupidity, LOL. But, he did grow up to be a very good flock protector. I can't tell you what to do with your guy. Maybe let him get some more experience and if he shows he's not up to the task, find another one to take his place.

Should I wait till my pullet is completely healed to let her back with the flock? The cockerel that did the damage is no longer with us. We still have the silkie cockerel but he hasn't been mating yet as far as I can tell. She's about 75-80% healed and in a dog cage in the coop. She really wants out. Temps are supposed to drop again here in Mi next week and I worry about her sleeping alone when it gets back into the teens at night. Maybe she'll be mostly healed by Wednesday considering how fast she's healing already.

Bailey is also antsy to get out but she still has a small open area that, if her sisters see it, they may start picking at her and that would be just as damaging as a rooster's attentions. They see everything. You could let her out and see if any of the others notice her wound and play it by ear.

 

[speckledhen]

As of today, I have three Brahma girls laying out of the five. Yippeee!



ETA: I know it's Bailey, Brandy and Bonnie, for sure. Still waiting on Betsy (I think) and B.J. The only reason I don't know about the other two is that I've gotten three eggs in one day and that's all.

 

[speckledhen]

We used a suture kit and stitched up Bailey's scalp. It refused to stay down and heal, was beginning to form lumpy scar tissue so we re-cleaned it, packed it with ointment and put in one good stitch to hold it closed so it could heal better. She was an excellent patient, too, such a love. These girls are the sweetest things. Even Bonnie, who has been standoffish for weeks, is finally holding still for petting now that she is maturing. They are silky soft, gorgeous and just adorable. @brahmapapa Tom, thank you again. I am completely in love with this crew.

ETA: I began thinking how much I would have loved to consult with a vet I know about Bailey when this happened. I was just remembering my Dr. Mason, Ladyhawk's horse vet up in Kentucky, who was sort of my long distance consultant when I was stumped over one of my birds. He would always treat her birds, too, and mine as well by consulting or looking at a photo, just to tell me what I was looking at. He was the one who told me what happened to my hen whose yolks were being deposited into her liver and formed huge tumors I'd never seen before. When I got a completely BS report from the state vet, he read it and said they were full of horse____, that they just wrote a conclusion in absence of testing and that I was unlikely to get a final diagnosis and told me what my hen died from, which was in the stupid report, but they reached an entirely off-center preliminary conclusion, which sent me into a tailspin. He assured me that they were 100% full of crap and my flock was fine. He was right, too. Gosh, he was one in a million, that man, treating million dollar race horses and yet, not wanting to take more than pennies to treat LH's birds. He once stitched up Lancelot's chest when that bad boy battled a fox and treated numerous other birds. My June's daughter with Isaac, Junebug, would always jump in his truck, so he'd have to look for her when he left the place, or just carry Junebug around with him when he was there. When LH let her Arabian mare go back to live with the original owner, he didn't have much reason to visit her regularly and I miss saying hello to him. Her horse adored him. And trust me, when a horse loves you, you know it! If she doesn't, you know that, too, LOL.

 

[robyn8]

I'm trying my scalped pullet back with the group. Her wound is very tiny now and I've stopped using ointment now. I tried to clean off all the ointment that got on her feathers but they are still a little gunky and a little matted. You can see her skin through them. The other pullets definitely notice and peck a little at her. It seems like they are almost trying to clean them off. Sometimes she doesn't mind and sometimes she runs away. I keep checking in them and they aren't doing any damage to her skin or wound. Should I leave them be and keep checking? Are they trying to re-establish the pecking order? I just don't when her feathers will actually be clean so I'm thinking this period is inevitable. We're home all day today but I have to go to work tomorrow. I was thinking I'd keep checking in her today and still lock her up tomorrow when I'm gone. Should I try letting her out right before bed so she can start sleeping with them again? We're expecting temps to drop again in a couple days. Will she be better off sleeping with the rest or should I keep her in her cage?

 

[speckledhen]

I'm trying my scalped pullet back with the group. Her wound is very tiny now and I've stopped using ointment now. I tried to clean off all the ointment that got on her feathers but they are still a little gunky and a little matted. You can see her skin through them. The other pullets definitely notice and peck a little at her. It seems like they are almost trying to clean them off. Sometimes she doesn't mind and sometimes she runs away. I keep checking in them and they aren't doing any damage to her skin or wound. Should I leave them be and keep checking? Are they trying to re-establish the pecking order? I just don't when her feathers will actually be clean so I'm thinking this period is inevitable. We're home all day today but I have to go to work tomorrow. I was thinking I'd keep checking in her today and still lock her up tomorrow when I'm gone. Should I try letting her out right before bed so she can start sleeping with them again? We're expecting temps to drop again in a couple days. Will she be better off sleeping with the rest or should I keep her in her cage?

I can't tell you definitively what to do. I have the same issue, but my Bailey's wound is apparently far deeper than your girl's. The stitch didn't seem to hold and it's probably going to heal the "long way around", forming granulation tissue and a huge scar. This is not something I've had to deal with much, only a couple of girls whose sides were ripped open by a rooster years ago. That healed better than this is doing.

If you're not going to be home, I think I'd separate her for the day rather than coming home to a reinjured pullet. If you put enough straw/hay in the cage, she'll be fine. That stuff is very warm if she can hunker down into it.

 

[robyn8]

Thanks Speckled Hen! Yeah I guess I'll just keep putting her away when we're not able to watch her. They seem ok right now but I'd be worried all day if I leave her out.

 

[speckledhen]

Thanks Speckled Hen! Yeah I guess I'll just keep putting her away when we're not able to watch her. They seem ok right now but I'd be worried all day if I leave her out.

I know it's inconvenient, but better safe than sorry. It might be okay, but then again, it's really soon after you put her back and if they're noticing the spot and they get really bored, it could get ugly. That's what I would do anyway, put her away from them if you're going to be away from your home all day long.