Possible Shock after Attack

[crimsonlyger]

Unfortunately an introduction went wrong this evening. We have a semi aggressive olive egger hen who has been a bit of a bully to other chickens. There has been some light feather pulling and chasing but I've never seen her this aggressive before.

Tonight after a few days of being in a separate coop alongside the larger run we introduced three 6 week old silkies to the flock. We've done a handful of introductions like this before and never had any issues. After coming back outside I found the larger olive egger standing on and stomping/kicking the blue silkie. The silkie was limp when I picked it up but is still breathing. It had a bunch of it's head and neck feathers pulled and had some light bleeding but no obvious larger wounds. I treated those with bluekote. I immediately isolated it into a clean box with a heat lamp appropriately positioned away from it. Eyes are intact but it refuses to open them (opened them myself to check, it looked at me but then closed them immediately again) Not chirping or talking when I touch it. Won't stand on it's own or move. We have water/food in the box but it hasn't moved for either.

Been about two hours since the initial attack. Does this sound like shock or something worse? I don't see any other swelling or obvious wounds. I'm worried that it could have internal injuries but I'm not sure what to look for to determine this. Any experienced chicken docs and their advice would be appreciated.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Photos of the injuries?

I'd give her drops of warmed sugar water or electrolytes to help get her though the shock.
Silkies can suffer greatly from trauma, so once she's come out of shock, then I'd start her on 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex daily along with a little egg for the uptake of E.

Eyes can get debris in them or be pecked at during an attack. Once she's out of shock, gently rinse the eyes with saline.

If she was stomped, then she may have suffered some internal injuries and may not make, hard to know, do the best you can.

You may find that you need to introduce the Silkies once they are a lot older and bigger or that they may need to be housed separated. Integration can sometimes be a challenge.

 

[crimsonlyger]

UPDATE: We treated the chicken for shock and followed guides found in other posts here. Unfortunately I suspect our poor little silkie had some internal injuries. It appeared to come out of shock before we went to bed, was awake and eyes open, alert and chirping when touched. About four hours later we checked on it in the middle of the night to find it had passed. Thanks for the help.

 

[SmiYa0126]

That bully hen needs to be separated from the flock. That's one vicious hen. From the articles I've read on bullying, sometimes they go after anyone that looks different.

 

[crimsonlyger]

That bully hen needs to be separated from the flock. That's one vicious hen. From the articles I've read on bullying, sometimes they go after anyone that looks different.

That's the plan at this point. First time chicken owner so this is all difficult to process but none of the other chickens did anything more than normal pecking when the silkies were allowed to be in the run. There was some light chasing but nothing more than I've seen during any other integration until this hen got ahold of it.

Debating between rehoming and just culling at this point. Leaning towards culling. I don't want someone else to inherit the problem of an obscenely aggressive hen that will kill any littles or different looking ones they introduce down the road.

 

[SmiYa0126]

That's the plan at this point. First time chicken owner so this is all difficult to process but none of the other chickens did anything more than normal pecking when the silkies were allowed to be in the run. There was some light chasing but nothing more than I've seen during any other integration until this hen got ahold of it.

Debating between rehoming and just culling at this point. Leaning towards culling. I don't want someone else to inherit the problem of an obscenely aggressive hen that will kill any littles or different looking ones they introduce down the road.

I'm sorry, having culled a sick hen, my heart goes out to you.

 

[crimsonlyger]

I'm sorry, having culled a sick hen, my heart goes out to you.

@SmiYa0126 Thanks so much, I did end up culling her today and while it wasn't pleasant I've decided it was ultimately for the best to protect the rest of my flock.

 

[SmiYa0126]

@SmiYa0126 Thanks so much, I did end up culling her today and while it wasn't pleasant I've decided it was ultimately for the best to protect the rest of my flock.

I'm sorry! Sending hugs!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry about your chick

How old is the existing flock and the hen you culled today?

Having plenty of space and places to hide for small chicks to avoid adults can be helpful with integration. If I'm introducing to an adult flock, I wait until chicks are several months old so they can hold their own and avoid the adults. They still may get some pecks and sometimes blood can be drawn, but when older they most often seem to be able to navigate around adults better than when younger.

 

[crimsonlyger]

I'm sorry about your chick

How old is the existing flock and the hen you culled today?

Having plenty of space and places to hide for small chicks to avoid adults can be helpful with integration. If I'm introducing to an adult flock, I wait until chicks are several months old so they can hold their own and avoid the adults. They still may get some pecks and sometimes blood can be drawn, but when older they most often seem to be able to navigate around adults better than when younger.

Thank you, and thank you for your help!

The oldest chickens in the flock are approximately 2 months old. The hen was one of those two month old's.

I think this is how I will approach it from now on. Typically I had allowed 3-4 days of exposure with the see don't touch method before integration and while that hen was always really aggressive to newer chicks the rest of the flock seemed to accept them. I'd see typical pecking order things like pecking them away from the "best" feeder but I have three feeding stations and an automated waterer with 10 cups so there was always room for everyone to eat and drink. Ironically enough we do have a Rooster who often intervenes in any disputes that escalate beyond minor pecking but for some reason he didn't this time.

They have a very large run so they have plenty of room to avoid one another but not much in the way of hiding spaces. This is probably a good idea in the future so thank you for that.