Possible pecking injury. How should I treat it?

[Khall89]

Hi all,

I've stalked along in the background to find answers in the past but finally signed up as I'm a bit lost as to how to help one my favourite girls.

Henny is 18mths and a bitsa (silkie, pekin, rhode island cross).

I pulled her out 3 weeks ago with a pecking injury, was just a small cut above her eye. Kept her separate until it was healed and reintroduced her to the flock (seperate cage in the pen until they adjusted). I've not noticed any pecking or behaviours since. There's no new birds either, last clutch was Hennys 18 months ago.

I got home today to find her sitting in the sun in the driveway. Both eyes are swollen shut, there is blood present but her wattle and skin around the eyes is yellow which is making me unsure if its an injury or something else. I've added a photo to help.
I've got Henny inside in isolation, she was happy to drink water but has been shaking her head a little bit. I'm about to bath her eyes in warm saline, I wasn't sure if chlorex could be used so close to eyes.

We did also treat her for red mites when she was first seperated and appears to have gotten rid of them. Forgot to add, I think she's been laying normally. We've been getting the right count of eggs for the number of chooks we have.

The rest of the flock looks fine and is behaving normally.

Any help is appreciated! She's ine if my favourite girls so happy to do what I can to help her.

 

[glassdragonfly]

Awwww,poor girl! I would be doing just as you are. Clean them,keep her separated and quiet. Does look like someone is being a bully.
Just curious,does she have a domed,soft skull? Or is it like a normal chicken? Vaulted skulls are a silkie trait. A hard peck can cause brain trauma. I had a half silkie roo that had it and was killed by a bossy hen pecking him on the head. With your girls wonderful crown of feathers I can't tell if she is vaulted. I wasn't aware of this until it was to late for my roo,so I thought I would mention it. Please keep us posted on her progress.

 

[Khall89]

Glassdragonfly, thankfully she doesn't have a vaulted skull, just the wild mop of feathers. Two of the others from her clutch have a vaulted skull though, I seperated the standard chickens from them just to be on the safe side.

I gave her meloxicam and she's much happier after that. Tucked into some yoghurt and softened grain and is drinking well so will just keep her inside and see how she goes.

 

[glassdragonfly]

Sounds great!

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC as a member. Sorry about your bullied hen. I am not sure about the yellow face, except I would look for just injury or something like scaly face mites later. Now she is completely blinded, so she will depend on you to feed her 2-3 times a day. I use a small cereal bowl with wet chicken feed, a little scrambled egg bits, and alternate with canned cat food or tuna. Vitamins are good to give as well. Saline eye wash is found in most pharmacies and can be used twice a day. Terramycin eye ointment is very good to use in the eye twice a day. Plain Neosporin/Triple Antibiotic Ointment can be used in a pinch. I would also put some on the yellow skin on her face, in case of face mites. Yellow skin can also be a sign of liver disease, so keep that in mind later when she heals. Hopefully it is just scabbing. I don’t know if she will be acccepted back into the present flock later. I would watch forr a bully, and decide if she gets to stay or not. We have a hen who was ill, and had to be on the other side of the fence in a separate sleeping area for 7 months until they would accept her back. Good luck.

 

[Khall89]

Just thought I'd update, after a week and a half, Henny finally opened her eyes this morning!
I've been worried about her but she's had an appetite and not lost weight so just kept sticking it out. Still a while to go but just so glad she's on the mend. She'll stay inside in isolation and then reintroduced in a separate pen. Took her out for some time on the grass, seems like she's getting some spunk back.

 

[Eggcessive]

Thanks for the update and hopefully she will continue to improve. She may be a problem reintegrating into the flock since she has been hurt twice. A dog crate near the other birds for a time would be the best start, and then later, some supervised free ranging would be how I would proceed. It can be difficult sometimes. I once had to separate a single hen from the whole flock by poultry netting for over 6 months before they would accept her back. Good luck.

 

[glassdragonfly]

Great news! Thanks for the update.