Hello all!
I posted last week about my injured Buff Orp, Nugget. I came into the run to let them out in the morning and found her limping. I immediately brought her inside and put her in an old rabbit cage I have. She was a bit lethargic, quiet, and panting. She didn't move much to eat or drink. After two days of getting fluids and soft foods (yogurt and applesauce) into her via syringe, she perked up and seemed like her old self again. She's now been inside for almost two weeks. She's still limping but she's eating and drinking on her own and making a ton of noise (and mess!).
Yesterday, since it was warm, I thought I'd try bringing her out into the run with the rest of the girls.
Holy crap. Bad, bad, BAD idea.
Back when they first started laying, I had brought another one of them inside when she laid a shell-less egg. After a couple of days inside, she went back out without a problem.
This was not that simple.
I wasn't sure how it would go. I thought it might be a bit tense but I figured we'd just give it a try. As you can tell, I'm a newbie.
My other Buff Orp, Jojo, who used to be my angel, went NUTS. I probably should have seen this coming -- the day I took Nugget inside, Jojo pecked me so hard that she drew blood. I thought it was just an odd coincidence, but since then, my sweet Jojo has been a little tyrant, lol!! She hasn't been shy about lunging at me and trying to puff herself up and bully me out of her way. I'm guessing that she started "Project Overthrow" earlier that morning; the second that she noticed that Nugget wasn't at full strength.
From what I saw before, Nugget was either the top or very close to the top of the pecking order. She was the one who greeted me at the door of the coop each morning and would shove others out of her way to get at any and EVERY scrap of food first -- especially my sweet Jojo. Jojo was definitely at the bottom. She was submissive and gentle. Not so much now. Someone has been on a bit of a power kick these past two weeks, the little nutcase, lmao.
I'm guessing that since she's still limping a little, they knew she wasn't up to her full strength. That was mistake number one of mine.
Jojo went for her before her feet were even on the ground. She jumped on top of her neck and head, pulling at the feathers on the back of her neck. They sort of tumbled around with each other but mostly Jojo was winning the battle. The others started to dive in. Nugget was crouched on the ground. She tried running into the coop but Jojo wasn't going to let her off that easy. She attacked her again and drove her back into the run. They all started to push her into a corner. I couldn't take it anymore and shoved the others away and stomped toward them to drive them back (trying, in some weird "chicken whisperer" way, to show them that I was, in fact, the alpha hen, lmao). I grabbed her and brought her back into the house. She was breathing rapidly and kind of nestling into me. Poor lady.
They managed (or should I say, JOJO managed) to draw blood from her comb.
I know there are several techniques for reintroduction but I'm just wondering what approach you would try first with this situation.
I'm considering bringing her friend, Ethel, in for a visit. I'm not sure if she attacked her yesterday. I do know that they usually hung around with each other and that Ethel was hanging out with her in the coop on the day that she first started limping. What do you think? I'm wondering if they'll be able to forge a united front and can go back into the flock together...but will I just be making more trouble for myself? I also don't know that I have enough room for the two of them -- it's a standard sized rabbit cage and Nugget is JUST cozy enough in it alone.
Also, any suggestions about treating her wounds?
I posted last week about my injured Buff Orp, Nugget. I came into the run to let them out in the morning and found her limping. I immediately brought her inside and put her in an old rabbit cage I have. She was a bit lethargic, quiet, and panting. She didn't move much to eat or drink. After two days of getting fluids and soft foods (yogurt and applesauce) into her via syringe, she perked up and seemed like her old self again. She's now been inside for almost two weeks. She's still limping but she's eating and drinking on her own and making a ton of noise (and mess!).
Yesterday, since it was warm, I thought I'd try bringing her out into the run with the rest of the girls.
Holy crap. Bad, bad, BAD idea.
Back when they first started laying, I had brought another one of them inside when she laid a shell-less egg. After a couple of days inside, she went back out without a problem.
This was not that simple.
I wasn't sure how it would go. I thought it might be a bit tense but I figured we'd just give it a try. As you can tell, I'm a newbie.
My other Buff Orp, Jojo, who used to be my angel, went NUTS. I probably should have seen this coming -- the day I took Nugget inside, Jojo pecked me so hard that she drew blood. I thought it was just an odd coincidence, but since then, my sweet Jojo has been a little tyrant, lol!! She hasn't been shy about lunging at me and trying to puff herself up and bully me out of her way. I'm guessing that she started "Project Overthrow" earlier that morning; the second that she noticed that Nugget wasn't at full strength.
From what I saw before, Nugget was either the top or very close to the top of the pecking order. She was the one who greeted me at the door of the coop each morning and would shove others out of her way to get at any and EVERY scrap of food first -- especially my sweet Jojo. Jojo was definitely at the bottom. She was submissive and gentle. Not so much now. Someone has been on a bit of a power kick these past two weeks, the little nutcase, lmao.
I'm guessing that since she's still limping a little, they knew she wasn't up to her full strength. That was mistake number one of mine.
Jojo went for her before her feet were even on the ground. She jumped on top of her neck and head, pulling at the feathers on the back of her neck. They sort of tumbled around with each other but mostly Jojo was winning the battle. The others started to dive in. Nugget was crouched on the ground. She tried running into the coop but Jojo wasn't going to let her off that easy. She attacked her again and drove her back into the run. They all started to push her into a corner. I couldn't take it anymore and shoved the others away and stomped toward them to drive them back (trying, in some weird "chicken whisperer" way, to show them that I was, in fact, the alpha hen, lmao). I grabbed her and brought her back into the house. She was breathing rapidly and kind of nestling into me. Poor lady.
They managed (or should I say, JOJO managed) to draw blood from her comb.

I know there are several techniques for reintroduction but I'm just wondering what approach you would try first with this situation.
I'm considering bringing her friend, Ethel, in for a visit. I'm not sure if she attacked her yesterday. I do know that they usually hung around with each other and that Ethel was hanging out with her in the coop on the day that she first started limping. What do you think? I'm wondering if they'll be able to forge a united front and can go back into the flock together...but will I just be making more trouble for myself? I also don't know that I have enough room for the two of them -- it's a standard sized rabbit cage and Nugget is JUST cozy enough in it alone.
Also, any suggestions about treating her wounds?