Really bad pecking injury..advice please

[capecodbeth]

Hi..new here.
Have 8 hens..they are about 6 month old. Just started laying about 3 weeks ago.
2 rhode island red..2 barred rock..2arucana and 2 white orpinton
We have a enclosed coop that is 6x12 and a hen house that is 4x6
With three nesting boxes.

We are brand new to chickens ..and love our girls...

Today we came home to find that one of the white orpingtons had Been attacked by the other hens. She was covered in blood and had a patch of missing feathers and skin about the size of an adult palm on her back just above her tail feathers. Blood everywhere..it looks like it down to bone/muscle/flesh. Really deep. It's pretty gory..but As a newbie I can not post photos.

We washed it with warm water and beta dine..and she seems relatively unaffected b it..ahe is eating and drinking. She is in a wire dog crate..currently in our bathroom..but a friend suggested we put her back in the henhouse in the crate to recuperate and keep her part of the flock.

Some reading says maybe they need more protein? We put a light in the henhouse to help kickstart egg production. It goes on at 3am...maybe too much light?

I feel so bad for her..she looks so bad I can hardly think it will heal well. I also feel bad for my kids..finding her like that was pretty traumatic. Should we put something on her wound? If so what?

 

[Minniechickmama]

I had a cockerel with a really bad injury from another one pecking the back of his head off. I gave him a shot of penicillin and after cleaning it, I loaded the injury up with Neosporin. I would do that in your case too. I would suggest making her an apron (you can find them in the "Other things for sale" section at the bottom of the index an are easy enough to make) She should recover as long as she doesn't get a major infection and it heals okay. I would keep her away from the others until she is healed though.

As for the reason for this. If you are keeping them confined, then you should have about 10 square feet of space per bird. I didn't figure out your footage, you can do that. But there are things you can do to help. Give them something to keep them occupied that will distract them from the pecking. Some people put a cabbage basket in for the birds to peck at and eat. And for boosting protein, there are a lot of things you can do from cooked oatmeal, scrambled eggs, calf manna, cooked beans or other high protein foods. some people use dry cat food, but sparingly because of the high salt content.

Good luck with her.

 

[donnaboydjones]

I'm new owner too, so hopefully someone with knowledge replies.
I do know that if they see blood, they wont stop, so you must keep her away until she is healed. I have also been told to apply blue kote when my hens recently attacked my hen. Another person told me to purchase blinders for anti-pecking.

 

[RoosterRidge]

First she needs to be where she can get some peace and quiet... With the other birds is not where she will get this... We had this happen and we kept our girl separate until she healed... She hid in the nesting box is the only reason we found her alive... They had already killed 2 the same day... They get bored very easily and then the pecking ensues... I reintroduced her with no problems... Watch them and see who the ring leader is because this will not stop on it's own... We kept the ring leader caged also... Now her we did leave in the coop in a separate cage... She hated it and so far she has not started her bad behavior over... If she is still bleeding put some cornstarch on her... Not baby powder... Pure cornstarch that you have in your pantry... That will stop the bleeding and then give her a warm bath soak... I cannot remember right now what if anything I put in her water but I will try to find out for you... Hopefully someone will come along and be able to tell you... I didn't put her in a soak until the next day... Good luck... They are very strong little things... She never stopped laying even when her butt was tore to shreds...

 

[RoosterRidge]

Sorry I had to go back and find my post from months ago when this happened to us... Neosporin was what we put on her and I added some epsom salt to her warm sits bath... She loved it, I guess because it helped take the soreness out... I would pat her dry then add the Neosporin to her wounds... Hope she does OK and like I said keep a close watch on the rest... Scramble her some eggs for the protein and if you can get them a flock block... That has worked wonders for us... BOSS ( Black Oiled Sunflower Seeds) is also something that you can give them... They love them and they are high in protein... They have gotten really exspensive so we use the flock block... We have 25 chickens so this last a few weeks... They are like 12 bucks at the feed store... Well worth every penny...

 

[capecodbeth]

I just bought an apron/saddle online and will use that when she heals...
Thanks for your quick replies. I just checked on her..She seems quiet..
From the front she looks perfectly normal..and is a bloody mess from the back
tho both my husband and are are a bit freaked out by the fact that our bathroom now smells badly of chicken flesh.
We have a dog..so we had to find a safe place..but wow..what a smell!
I want to snuggle the poor thing..but I am sure that would freak her out too

Thanks you guys...it's nice to have advice!

 

[branston]

I had the same problem with an 8 week old rooster. His brothers and sisters kept pulling out his tail feather until he was bleeding. I kept him in the coop and run in a wire dog crate for about a week after spraying the area with Blu-Kote. Then someone on here told me about "Rooster Booster Peck No More" which I got off the internet "Livestock Concepts" and he's now back out with the flock and doing great

 

[Minniechickmama]

I forgot to add the Blue Kote. Good call for those who brought it up.
I have found what sometimes starts the pecking in the tail region is that there are blood feathers around on the tail that if they get knocked loose will bleed. There is actual blood in the shaft of the feather on these. And when the others see this blood, they go into a frenzy. It is gross and seems mean, but sometimes it is just instinct to go after the red. But like was mentioned, it could just be one mean hen you have in there who is starting this attack. It may be from boredom, but maybe not. The only way you can truly know is if you have some way to monitor them. Some people invest in gamecams to watch their flocks and for predators.
If you keep her dry, she shouldn't smell as bad. You can use a blow dryer on her, but she may freak out from it.
Do snuggle her. Wrap her in a towel and be gentle, but once they feel secure they hold right still.
I wish you well.

 

[BrattishTaz]

I would keep her in apart from the rest until the wound has a nice solid scab (you can Blukote then if pecking is a problem). Until then, apply Neosporin or Polysporin twice daily for a couple of days followed by once daily until mostly healed. You can feed extra protein (I just scramble eggs) along with regular feed. I also give straight Gatoraid (it counters shock and stimulates appetite) the first day and then dilute with water for another day or two after that.

I have had some severely injured birds recover with this treatment.