pullets with pecking injuries to back/tail area

[BekahBear]

i just acquired 8 EE pullets to add to my flock about a week ago. not sure on their age but they are still pretty young and small. my existing flock is a mix of about 8 full size hens, 5 bantam cochin hens, and 1 bantam cochin rooster.

everything was going fine until yesterday morning. we have to lock up our chickens in the coop at night because of predators but they have access to a large fenced run during the day. my 10 year old daughter is in charge of letting the chickens out in the morning before school but she forgot to do that yesterday so instead of being let out at about 6:30am they were all trapped in the small coop together until the afternoon when we got home.

the poor EE pullets got picked on pretty bad. they are all missing all the feathers on their backs now and it looks red and sore. 2 of them got it a lot worse and are missing pretty good chunks of skin/flesh on their back and tail.

i grabbed one of our cat crates and took the door off and filled it with grass hay. i put it on the floor in the corner of the coop under the roosts and nest boxes. that way they have a place in the coop to hide from the big girls if something like this ever happens again.

i caught all of them yesterday afternoon and sprayed Blu-kote real thick on their backs and tails. (now i have purple polka-dots all over me lol) i did this for 2 reasons. to hopefully prevent any infection from the woulds but also to make all of their backs and tails dark purple instead of bright red since chickens love to peck at anything that is red.

is there anything else i should do for them? i feel horrible that this happened to them.

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

Sounds like feather picking but even more severe.Are all 8 bleeding/missing skin/feathers?Tell your daughter she has to open the coop every morning or this WILL happen again.Keep them quarantined inside for a while, there isn't any moor e you can do for your babies sorry.Dnt feel guilty or bad, it's alright, I'm pretty sure they will be fine good luck!

 

[BekahBear]

yea, it was definitely feather picking and bullying since they are new. unfortunately, being stuck in the coop made it so there was no way for the little ones to get away.
all 8 are missing most or all of the feathers on their backs. its only 2 of them that were bleeding and missing chunks of skin. they were all fine and had their feathers intact before yesterday morning.

my daughter is really beating herself up over this. she is the one that found them injured when she let them all out after school since she forgot in the morning. she came running up to me holding the one that got beat up the worst and was crying and really worried about all of them. i told her that is was an honest mistake and that they should all heal and be okay with some time. she usually lets the chickens out in the morning while im feeding the horses, goats, and rabbits, but she got distracted playing with the barn cats and forgot to open the coop. i think she learned her lesson and wont forget again anytime soon. the cat crate in the coop is just an extra precaution to give them a safe hiding place in the coop until they get bigger and are better accepted by everyone.

blu-kote is what i had on hand but is there anything else i should buy to put on them, mainly the 2 with actual wounds? or is blu-kote a good thing to keep using?

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

Ok.

Tell your daughter it's ok.She was honest about her mistake, and didnt lie.I myself as a minor know how hard it can be to keep things in track, escally if there are cats around.

Blue Kote is great,But, I recommend buying something called Coliddle Silver.Works like a miricale.Spray, not drop.Its not Normaly used for chickens or animals, but I used it on my cats and many of my hens and for my self for preventing illness.