One of my girls attacked by the others.

[chickenteri]

I'm not sure what caused it but I have seven 9 1/2 wk old hens and they attacked one of their sisters. Thankfully I found her before she was killed. My vet and I think she must have injured a tail feather and the blood made them gang up. She spent the night in intensive care and is now doing great! Truthfully neither I nor the doctor thought she would make it.
Her back and tail feathers and pieces of her tail are completely gone. It was a bloody mess.

Most of the damage is covered by her wings.


Sporting her homemade saddle! She's so cute with her little mutton chops!


Recovering girl spent the night in the house. I have a feeling she's going to end up very spoiled!

Treatment: keeping her very clean and copious amounts of bag balm.
I love my vet she's been our doctor for years and is a true friend. She even greatly reduced her fee from $150 to $27 for intensive care chamber!
I've had several people say "But it's just a chicken!". No it is a life that I chose to bring into my family no different then any of my pets/kids. My dogs, cats and parrots were all rescues or unwanted and are truly part of our family. I can't save everyone but I can help those I can for the reward of seeing them happy and healthy.

 

[cackleberrycam]

Awesome! I wonder if it was cannibalism. Chickens love the protein in chicken blood - Once they taste it, they want more!

 

[chicksneedhelp]

I had two chickens that my roo jumped on and scratched their feathers off so got chicken saddles to protect them. When I went out to bring them treats today one of them lay dead in a little heap. When I took the saddle off her, she had absolutely no feathers from her neck down in the area covered by the saddle. Her skin was intact and she did not appear to have been injured - it looked like a chicken skin in the grocery store. Her eggs had extremely fragile shells in the last two weeks in spite of oyster shell and cheese in her diet. It was quite cool last night and the vet said she might have had hypothermia...but then she seemed fine earlier in the morning. I took the other girl's saddle off then, and she, too, had lost her feathers under the saddle - some were sticking in the cotton material it was made from. So I think it would be good to be careful of the saddle. I hope my other girl will make it. So sad. They are so delightful but very delicate.

 

[chickenteri]

I had two chickens that my roo jumped on and scratched their feathers off so got chicken saddles to protect them. When I went out to bring them treats today one of them lay dead in a little heap. When I took the saddle off her, she had absolutely no feathers from her neck down in the area covered by the saddle. Her skin was intact and she did not appear to have been injured - it looked like a chicken skin in the grocery store. Her eggs had extremely fragile shells in the last two weeks in spite of oyster shell and cheese in her diet. It was quite cool last night and the vet said she might have had hypothermia...but then she seemed fine earlier in the morning. I took the other girl's saddle off then, and she, too, had lost her feathers under the saddle - some were sticking in the cotton material it was made from. So I think it would be good to be careful of the saddle. I hope my other girl will make it. So sad. They are so delightful but very delicate.

Oh, I'm sorry your girl didn't make it. I'm only keeping the saddle on her for a few days because her injuries are so raw and to deter flies. My vet said flies are a concern because of maggots. I also remove it 3 times a day to wash her and apply bag balm. I made 2 saddles so I can wash the one I remove and replace with a clean one. So far Lola is doing wonderful and is acting like nothing happened. She's staying in the house at night and on the deck during the day.
Good luck with the other girl.

 

[Wol1]

What a beautiful girl! My Americauna, Hedwig (18 months), got attacked by our dog Friday night. She had surgery yesterday to close up 10 wounds. They had to pull so many feathers she looks naked, especially on the back like yours. The vet didn't mention bag balm and I hadn't thought of a saddle. I will call and ask the vet tomorrow.

My sympathies and good luck!

 

[chickenteri]

What a beautiful girl! My Americauna, Hedwig (18 months), got attacked by our dog Friday night. She had surgery yesterday to close up 10 wounds. They had to pull so many feathers she looks naked, especially on the back like yours. The vet didn't mention bag balm and I hadn't thought of a saddle. I will call and ask the vet tomorrow.

My sympathies and good luck!

Thanks Wol1.
My vet loves bag balm to treat everything from baby butts, sunburn and chapped lips to topical pet injuries and scrapes and chicken butts of course. lol
I was thrilled for her when she won the Nebraska Veterinarian Association 2013 veterinarian of the year award. She's the first woman to win it to boot!

Good Luck with your girl!

 

[chicksneedhelp]

What a good way to treat your girl! My other one seems to be recovering and I'm adding something for feather growth to her food...thank you!

 

[chicksneedhelp]

How are your girls doing? Mine are slowly recovering their feathers and doing better.

 

[chickenteri]

They are all doing great! Lola completely recovered and I slowly introduced her back into the flock. Except for Lola the girls have been laying for several weeks, I've heard Ameraucanas are late layers so as long as she's healthy and happy I'm not going to worry.
The other 6 girls are averaging 4 eggs a day and even a double yolker once in a while!

 

[chickenteri]

How are your girls doing? Mine are slowly recovering their feathers and doing better.

Glad to hear the recovery is going well!