Rescue Chickens-AKA The Baldies

[MizAmberLea]

We recently “Rescued” some hens from a lady who said she was not in good health to take care of them-which by the looks of things I think the proper explanation was the HENS are not in good health...
She claims the damage is from an aggressive rooster, but I am leaning more towards something else.
Any ideas?

We’ve had them one week-one day in we cleaned them up with Vetericyn, inspected their feet and legs for mites (none), inspected their bellies and booties and necks for lice and mites (can’t find any), treated their lacerations and bald spots with Hen Healer and then sprayed them with Blu-Kote. We’ve been feeding them cat food along with their layer crumbles, lots of dried mealworms and black oil sunflower seeds, and treating their water with Durastat. Today is the first day they have been let out to mingle with our flock.

We’ve been getting GIANT eggs from them-but not all.

They are NOT easily handled-which makes me think they had little attention at their last home.

Eyes look good. Feet are huge, clean. Some of the feathers are broken, some are missing completely.

The lady claims they are Australorps-but we can’t tell at this time.


Any ideas?

 

[Cyprus]

The black ones are Australorps
The orange one is a Buff Orpington
The dark red ones are Rhode Island Reds
The laced ones are Golden Laced Wyandottes
The white ones are White Leghorns

The bare backs is rooster damage the bare necks and bottoms could be from a bad moult, stress, parasites, skin issues or a multitude of other issues.

 

[MizAmberLea]

All but the bald ones are our home flock, so we know what breed they are... we only rescued the baldies.

Any suggestions for helping them heal?

 

[Cyprus]

All but the bald ones are our home flock, so we know what breed they are... we only rescued the baldies.

Any suggestions for helping them heal?

I would not have put them in with your home flock without quarantine.
Separate them, give them electrolytes and feather fixer. Continue the use of Blu-Kote

 

[Eggcessive]

Some of the chickens look to be molting, and rooster damage or feather picking due to being overcrowded look to be issues. Having no mites or lice is a big plus. I would probably worm them with Valbazen as well. Perhaps feed ing a higher protein feed such as 20% flock raiser with a bowl of crushed oyster shell for extra calcium for the hen who are laying would give them a boost. Hen saddles are good for bare spots until the feathers grow back with their next molt, and BluKote may help as well. Usually, it is best to keep new chickens quarantined for at least 30 days. They look like australorps.

 

[MizAmberLea]

Some of the chickens look to be molting, and rooster damage or feather picking due to being overcrowded look to be issues. Having no mites or lice is a big plus. I would probably worm them with Valbazen as well. Perhaps feed ing a higher protein feed such as 20% flock raiser with a bowl of crushed oyster shell for extra calcium for the hen who are laying would give them a boost. Hen saddles are good for bare spots until the feathers grow back with their next molt, and BluKote may help as well. Usually, it is best to keep new chickens quarantined for at least 30 days. They look like australorps.

I was told that the “unhealthy lady” had a huge coop-massive amounts of nesting boxes and such. (These chickens were delivered to us).


Perhaps I should start over with the entire story-
We were told the lady (a friend of a friend) had 40 laying hens that she could no longer take care of because of her health-and that they were free to a good home with the stipulation of ALL OR NONE. So we got a group of folks together to take them and split them up.
We went to the friend’s house to travel together to the owner’s house to pick them up-but were then told we couldn’t.
So the next day - last Sunday, they were delivered to us.
Now-out of the 40 we were taking 10, our neighbor 5, and the other neighbor 5...
Well-when they arrived we quickly realized why we weren’t allowed to pick them up the night before (because we would’ve refused), and - with a little quick math - realized that we got the worst of the worst.
These chickens were dying. There was a dead one in the kennel, with four well on their way.
We got them out and worked for an hour and a half to revive them... cooling them down and such. It was terrible.
They were bloody and blistered and burnt and bald... and half dead.
Later that night I alerted our neighbor-who has had chickens for years. She came over and we decided to NOT tell the other neighbor who has only had chickens for a few months. We knew she couldn’t or shouldn’t have to deal with this mess...

We didn’t want to move and stress the old girls out more than they already were-so we put them all in our small coop in the middle of our large coop, fed them cat food and gave them plenty of water-and let them be. Mind you, after all the hoopla and carnage only 14 were left, plus two bantam roosters. Our small coop is only rated for 8 chickens.
We put them all in there then pulled the Bantams out-mind you those two little turds look totally fine.
The 14 have been in the coop all week- but today got to a point where the overcrowding was too much. We had no other choice but to let them out and commingle with our established flock.
Our neighbor (hopefully) will take her 5 tomorrow. We are trying desperately to find homes for the bantams-who have a massive sex drive and out resident RIR rooster (who is a whopping 2’ + tall) is highly ticked off about...

So you see-out of necessity we had to commingle the birds. As of ten minutes ago, they are getting along fine, eating and drinking well and laying up a storm.

 

[MizAmberLea]

Some of the chickens look to be molting, and rooster damage or feather picking due to being overcrowded look to be issues. Having no mites or lice is a big plus. I would probably worm them with Valbazen as well. Perhaps feed ing a higher protein feed such as 20% flock raiser with a bowl of crushed oyster shell for extra calcium for the hen who are laying would give them a boost. Hen saddles are good for bare spots until the feathers grow back with their next molt, and BluKote may help as well. Usually, it is best to keep new chickens quarantined for at least 30 days. They look like australorps.

So the hen saddles don’t prohibit feather growth? We’ve been told to use them when we want to breed... to protect their backs and feathers.
I would figure a saddle would smother the new growth.

 

[Eggcessive]

Many people use them (hen saddles) without problems. They keep the chickens from pecking each other and help to prevent sunburn. I used some in my first pullets, the first year when their young cockerel was overmating. Mine were one piece polarfleece, no sew, homemade ones. My hens regrew feathers fine after their molt around 18 months old, and never had a problem again.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I agree, it looks like rooster damage and feather picking.
Saddles will help cover the raw areas and provide some protection while their skin heals. I see a lot of broken feathers and intact feather shafts on the backs and necks, those feathers won't be replaced until they go through an annual molt.
Saddles should not really inhibit any new growth if they are worn correctly - they should be fairly loose on the back which allows the hen to still preen and take a dust bath. If you put saddles on, check underneath them frequently (at least once a week) so you can address any new wounds/scabs that they may get from your rooster.

 

[MizAmberLea]

Well, there will not be any more rooster contact until these ladies are healed and/or relocated - the bantams have been segregated and our Rooster is now living in the other coop.
I’ll get some saddles ASAP and continue the Blu-Kote. Thank y’all all for your advice!