Please help! Pullet with wound on tail/vent

[JulesRSA]

Hi everyone

I’m a new chicken owner - got 4 girls of 8-9 weeks old, about a week ago, 2 Araucana crosses (Easter Eggers) and 2 Marans crosses.

When I let them out of the coop into their run this morning, I noticed that the smallest one (one of the Easter Eggers) - named Agatha - had a bloody wound on her tail area.

She had no tail feathers and a bare butt when I got her - I spoke to the seller about this, they said it was normal because the pullets all sleep together in a big pile for warmth, and that she would grow the feathers back soon enough. She didn’t have any other missing feathers or signs of parasite infestation.

The other Easter egger also had a small bald patch higher up on her back, which seems to be feathering in already. The two Marans x girls don’t have any noticeable missing feathers, and the other 3 all seem healthy and happy.

As for Aggie, it looks like she and/or the others have plucked more feathers from the tail/vent area, and pecked open the skin. Other than the wound, she is more or less herself - she’s eating and drinking, responsive whenever I come to check on her, and doesn’t seem lethargic or otherwise unwell (aside from some shivering when I was cleaning the wound, but I’m sure that hurt a bit so probably more a stress reaction?)

I don’t think a predator could have gotten to them - their run is secure, and they are closed up in the (even more secure) coop at night. When I checked in on them last night, everyone looked happy and healthy.

I’ve separated her from the others for now, and also cleaned the wound (which thankfully seems to have stopped bleeding) with a diluted antiseptic solution, but I did notice her pecking at her tail and vent area and even pulling a small feather or two out after I cleaned her up. I also noticed her vent pulsating when I was cleaning the wound, although there doesn’t seem to be any discharge or blockage and her poops look normal and healthy.

The girls have access to a large coop with roosting poles and nest boxes - there is no bedding in the coop because it has a pull-out drawer under the roost poles for easy cleaning; and also a decent sized (10x5ft) run which is floored with sand and bark/wood chips (they have an open sandy patch for dust bathing). There are 2 small lavender plants in the run, and they have a closed poultry feeder and waterer each suspended from the roof of the run. I’m currently feeding a mix of layer grower pellets, scratch (cracked corn and seed mix) with grit mixed in, and they do a few hours of free-ranging under supervision most days of the week.

I do have access to a small animal vet - just wondering how urgently / if I should be taking her in, and if there’s anything else I should know or be doing? I’d especially appreciate if anyone can help identify the cause of her injury and how to prevent it from happening again, while she hopefully regrows some tail feathers?

Agatha is my favourite, already tame enough to hop onto my lap and enjoy a cuddle when they’re free-ranging, so I’m really distraught that she’s hurt!

I’d really appreciate any and all help and advice, thanks in advance!

 

[SmiYa0126]

Hello! At eight weeks they should only be eating chick starter or something like an all flock or game bird crumble. I would cut out the corn and seeds too. If you're going to give treats, give them something that's high in protein, meal worms, grubs, tuna, eggs.

Keep the wounds clean, and covered with triple antibiotic ointment.

See if you can figure out who attacked Aggie. If it's one aggressor (who doesn't have feathers missing, maybe?) Then you'll have to separate her away from the rest for a few days to see if that helps with her attitude adjustment.

 

[Eggcessive]

Stop the layer feed until they are laying or after 20 weeks of age. Stop the scratch. They need to be on chick starter grower until laying. Make sure they are not over crowded. How high are the roosts? They don’t need to be that high. Do you have a picture of the wound or the coop they are in?

 

[JulesRSA]

Hello! At eight weeks they should only be eating chick starter or something like an all flock or game bird crumble. I would cut out the corn and seeds too. If you're going to give treats, give them something that's high in protein, meal worms, grubs, tuna, eggs.

Keep the wounds clean, and covered with triple antibiotic ointment.

See if you can figure out who attacked Aggie. If it's one aggressor (who doesn't have feathers missing, maybe?) Then you'll have to separate her away from the rest for a few days to see if that helps with her attitude adjustment

Hi, thank you so much for your input! The person I got them from said that from 6 weeks they should be eating grower pellets, and that the protein content of chick crumble is too high once they’re older than 6 weeks / that there’s a risk of liver and kidney damage?

They do get dried meal worms as treats, but if they shouldn’t have the scratch mix yet, I’ll stop giving that to them as a treat until they’re a bit older.

If one of the others probably just had a go at Aggie (ie the problem isn’t illness-related) that would be a relief. I know thread responses are educated best-guesses, but if that’s the case, at least I know there isn’t something very wrong with her and it’s something we can manage.

Lastly, should I be putting Aggie back in with the others while she still has an open wound? I’ve read a few different views on this - some people say you need to keep a wounded bird separated until she’s fully recovered, some say you shouldn’t keep them separated for too long or whatever flock/pecking order issue there is will just intensify. I’ll see if I can isolate the bully but I’m worried it’s more than one, because Aggie is definitely right at the bottom of the pecking order, and my other Easter egger and one of the Marans girls have both had a go at her and the other more shy Marans girl over things like food. I know a bit of scuffling is normal as they work out the pecking order and I haven’t noticed any hectic bullying, but something obviously happened last night!

Should I perhaps put her back in the run but in an isolation cage so the others can’t bully her?

 

[JulesRSA]

Stop the layer feed until they are laying or after 20 weeks of age. Stop the scratch. They need to be on chick starter grower until laying. Make sure they are not over crowded. How high are the roosts? They don’t need to be that high. Do you have a picture of the wound or the coop they are in?

Hi there. They’re not on layer feed - they’re on grower pellets formulated for layers (I realize saying layer grower pellets may have been confusing, and that local terminology varies!) Where I am, starter feed, grower feed, and layer feed is sold separately, with formulations according to age/dietary needs.

They definitely aren’t crowded in the coop and the roosts aren’t very high at all. I’ll send coop and injury photos by way of update this evening.

They do tend to all sleep in a pile if they can - I have been gently encouraging them to use the coop and to actually sit on the poles, and have closed off the nest boxes for now because initially they would all just pile into an empty nest box inside the coop at night. Seems to be working because when I checked on them last night, everyone was roosting and nobody was on the floor.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Hmm I use game bird crumble for my chicken chicks until they're six months, my hens are bigger and their feathers are really strong and glossy. I haven't had issues with high protein at all. I think they're pecking due to low protein. They're still growing at such a high rate, low protein is causing havoc for your girls

If you have a crate, keep her in the run with the others, pull the aggressor and keep her away for a week if you can. Once the wound is healed where it's not red you can put her back in the general population.

 

[JulesRSA]

Hmm I use game bird crumble for my chicken chicks until they're six months, my hens are bigger and their feathers are really strong and glossy. I haven't had issues with high protein at all. I think they're pecking due to low protein. They're still growing at such a high rate, low protein is causing havoc for your girls

If you have a crate, keep her in the run with the others, pull the aggressor and keep her away for a week if you can. Once the wound is healed where it's not red you can put her back in the general population.

This is so helpful, thanks!

I’ll get them onto a starter feed ASAP, and isolate Aggie in the run until she’s healed up, and hopefully that will be the end of the pecking trouble!

 

[JulesRSA]

Update:

The bully is definitely the other Easter Egger (HP). I let them all out to free range together for a bit today (brought Agatha out from isolation), and I had to separate HP immediately, as she made a beeline for poor Agatha and started pecking at her butt! I separated her in a smaller cage inside the run as suggested (which she really didn’t appreciate, but actions have consequences! ).

The other three girls foraged together really nicely for a few hours - the larger Marans cross (Matilda) pecked at Agatha once or twice (and only once at her injured butt) but they mainly seem to get along fine without the bully

That said, I was too nervous to put Aggie back in with the two Marans girls for the night while she’s still healing up (and she is healing really nicely, thanks to the advice from this forum - she’s even got what appear to be the start of some new feathers growing on part of her bald patch!)

We have some unseasonally rainy weather at the moment so I put the bully back in the coop with the other girls for this evening, and brought Aggie back inside to sleep in her isolation pen. She has a box and toweling for bedding - I know they can get cold easily!

My plan is to temporarily fence off the portion of the run that sits under the coop and keep Aggie in there with her own food and water during the day, where she’s sheltered from the elements but still close to the others, and to keep the bully in her cage for now. Any suggestions on how long Aggie and HP should be kept separate from the others?

A side effect of this whole drama is that Agatha is now a complete lap chicken - very sweet, but I hope it won’t cause any issues with her re-integration? Any and all suggestions/advice welcome!