Picked on

[Tgmcr]

A few weeks ago one I found one of my chickens with a strange cut across her head, it wasn’t horrible and there was no blood so I let her stay with all the other girls for the night. The next day it was worse and it was clear she was being picked on. I separated her and had her set up in an old smaller coop I had. I treated it for about a week until it was scabbed over and decided to put her back in with the others. The next day I found her with the wound completely reopened again. So back she went into her own coop, and I began the process of treating her again. It’s almost healed again but she’s growing pretty tired of being all alone, she spends a lot of time pacing wanting to be with the others. My biggest concern is that if I put her back in we are going to start the process all over again, but I do feel like she would be much happier back in the main coop. The wound isn’t open or anything anymore and it’s much smaller, but If she gets pecked again it will probably open pretty easily. Is there something I can put on her to keep the others from bothering her?Or should I just keep her separated until she’s 100%?

 

[MountainWoman73]

Try a bandaid? I'm not sure if that would make them more interested in pecking, but at least it wouldn't be red, and it might protect it some. Also, make sure she's got plenty of space to move away. Maybe let her out during the day and continue to isolate her in the evening when everyone goes in to roost?

 

[azygous]

Have you tried Blu-kote to disguise the wound?

You may have a chronic bullying victim. There is a process to rehabilitate a chicken such as this who always seems to draw the bullies. But you will need to rig up a daytime safe pen, any corner of the run temporarily partitioned off from the other chickens.

The victim gets to spend all day in the safe enclosure with food and water and then you will need to take her out at night and let her roost with the others, then get to her first thing in the morning again to put her into her safe pen.

Here's my article on this with instructions. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

 

[Wyorp Rock]

found one of my chickens with a strange cut across her head, it wasn’t horrible and there was no blood

treated it for about a week until it was scabbed over and decided to put her back in with the others. The next day I found her with the wound completely reopened again

Do you have a rooster?
Photo of the wound?

 

[Tgmcr]

No rooster, just the 13 hens. I’ll take a picture when I get home from work.
And I’ll try the blue-Kote, haven’t given that a shot yet.