Predator or Rooster? **Graphic Pics**

[Nupe]

This is how I found my baby yesterday. I call her Polly because she flies up onto my arm every morning like a parrot, (which has everything to do with how much she loves me and nothing to do with the treats I'm carrying.

)

Surprisingly she still flew up to my arm and didn't display much stress over it, even when the other chickens were already picking at it. It was bright red with blood and blood was coated under her wing. All I've done is cleaned it with peroxide and gave her some privacy. It looks like all the damage is on her elbow and not on her body. Most of the feathers have been ripped off of the elbow and all the pin feathers left behind are weeping with blood. I didn't actually see a gouge or a puncture. Since she was doing so well from the start, I thought about blue coating it and keeping her with the flock but it was already starting to rain and was suppose to freeze overnight.

My run is a fully enclosed 2x4 welded wire cage. I cannot find any damage to the cage or any feathers that may have come from her on the outside of the cage. Could the rooster have done this? I have 18 chickens total. 5 Welsummer hens and a roo, 5 SLW hens and a roo, and 6 EEs. The SLW roo is dominant and seems to favor the EEs. Most of them have 1 or 2 feathers out of place on their backs close to where the elbows are. Could this have started as feather damage and picking caused the rest? They're still quite young and have only been laying for a few months. The roo hasn't figured out how to sweet talk the ladies, and usually just sneaks up and steals it when they're preoccupied with food.

Just to be on the safe side, i went out and bought enough 1/2x1x30in cage wire and wrapped the bottom. I've been needing to do that anyway.


I took this pic after cleaning and settling her in. All the pin feathers are weeping again making it look like a raw spot, but it really isn't. What you're looking at is the tip of her elbow. I've heard that messing(cleaning) chicken's wounds too much can deter their own natural healing and since it does seem minor, from this point I was just going to keep her comfy and warm and let nature take it from here. Is this the right course?




I hope to get her back to the flock as soon as possible. My dogs make it impossible to keep her out where she can see me and I hate to have a lonely chicken.

 

[chicknmania]

I'm not sure that I would use any more peroxide on it, seems I read somewhere that you shouldn't use that on chickens. Veterycin is a good choice...pricey, but a little goes a long way and you can use it on any animal.. Hard to say how she got hurt, she could have gotten in a tiff with some of the other hens too. Doesn't look too bad though and you are doing a good job taking care of her. It looks like you could probably bluekote it in another day or so and send her on her way back to the flock. I'd leave it alone and not mess with it anymore, if she were mine. Unless it looks like it's starting to get infected.

 

[Nupe]

Thanks for the response!

The biggest thing with peroxide is it will kill off the good stuff as well as the bad. It's good for the initial cleaning of a wound because of the bacteria passed from the environment and/or the mouths or paws that did it. But you don't want it in the body and you don't want to prolong your use of it because it will eventually kill healthy tissue.

 

[chicknmania]

OK, but I think I read something about toxicity, just not sure though. Anyway, broken feathers do bleed a lot and we've had one or two mysterious injuries in our flock similar to your hen's. Who knows what they do out there.