Not an emergencym, just an injury question

[HeatherLynn]

I have 3 hens that my former Roo tried to tear to pieces. He is no longer a problem but those hens still look pretty bad. They have cuts on their sides and are still pretty bald. ( he has only been gone a week). So what can I do for these gals. I went ahead and started making aprons for them tonight. I am down to 1 roo to 18 girls now. Is a lightweight apron and extra feed sufficient. I have treated the actual wounds and they are healing but feathers are not showing up as of yet. Because of the extreme heat I made my apron out of doubled up white t shirt material. I wanted something that might deflect the sun a bit and still breathe but offer them a bit more protection.

Just looking for some experienced information in getting these girls back to their normal beautiful selves. One of these looks the worst and is almost entirely bald. When he attacked her she was so torn up I had to separate her from the others the first week to let her heal. He was gone the next day my husband had off and he spent a couple days in solitary before that. Honestly I am not sure this one will fully heal. I might be wrong and just judging because she looks so much worse than the others with so many feathers missing. Her apron is sitting on my desk right now and she will get it in the morning. Anything I can add to their feed? salves for the torn up one?

 

[BrattishTaz]

I've seen some really bad injuries heal with no problems. You can add some protein to diet by adding some scrambled egg mixed with plain yogurt (the probiotics are good for her). I use Polysporin on my birds but Neosporin without pain meds will work too. If she seems weak, you could also give her a couple drops of Polyvisol without iron (infant vitamins) per day. Watch to make sure they are not pecking each other.

Good luck.

 

[Opa]

You are on the right track. Keeping the wounds covered with a antibiotic ointment for a few days is prudent and then it's just a matter of waiting for the wounds to heal and the feathers to grow back. Occasionally the damage will have been so severe that the bird recovers but the feathers never return but it is surprizing the damage they can sustain and still make a complete recovery.

 

[Judy]

I agree, a little antibiotic ointment on the wounds would be good. If they are outdoors, watch them closely for maggots, too.

Chickens heal from some pretty nasty injuries. Good luck!

 

[dawg53]

You can use denim (which is tougher as you know) with 100% cotton in it, which is breathable for aprons/saddles. Their feathers will grow back after their first full blown molt.

 

[HeatherLynn]

I am ever hopeful with these gals. He was a good roo but he losts a few of his ladies to dogs and after that he just got mean. At first it was just a little rough. I isolated him for a bit and he seemed to calm down. We let him loose and by morning I had some half bald ladies who needed medical care. The cuts are well scabbed over already. I put the salve on just for a bit of extra protection.

I will give them extra protein at night and hope for the best. I am going to try to stitch the rest of the aprons tonight.