Rooster turned on hen and scalped her

[linsybird]

I’m kind of freaking out, because this injury is a lot bigger than I thought I’d have to deal with.

My naked neck is about 10 months old. The rooster is about 6 months. Today I came home, let them the chickens in the backyard and the rooster chased her under the porch. I found her huddled by a bucket with the back of her “scalp” hanging down.


This is a big injury. I’ve never had to deal with something this big on a chicken. Right now I have her inside the house in a covered dog crate.

What can I do for her? Should I clean the wound even though it doesn’t have dirt in it? Is there anything I can put on it? Do I need to cover it or leave it uncovered? I don’t have a lot of stuff around the house, because I’ve never needed it, but I get paid tomorrow, so I can pick up more stuff then.

 

[Eggcessive]

This type of scalping injury is fairly common in chickens. She will need to be kept separated while she is healing. I would spray it with either saline, Vetericyn, or half strength Hibiclens and water, and then apply plain antibiotic ointment twice a day. You can make homemade saline by mixing 1 tsp of salt in 1 quart of water. Keep her away from flies. Make sure that she is drinking water, and try to encourage her to eat. Hopefully, she hasn’t suffered any brain damage. It will take weeks to heal, but most do recover eventually.

Was she acting funny before the cockerel attacked her? Had they been familiar with each other?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Honestly, if the wound is clean and can get the bleeding under control, she should be fine if she's isolated. I've had multiple quail that looked this bad heal up fine and friendlier because of the one on one XD

 

[JDChickChat]

I’m kind of freaking out, because this injury is a lot bigger than I thought I’d have to deal with.

My naked neck is about 10 months old. The rooster is about 6 months. Today I came home, let them the chickens in the backyard and the rooster chased her under the porch. I found her huddled by a bucket with the back of her “scalp” hanging down.


This is a big injury. I’ve never had to deal with something this big on a chicken. Right now I have her inside the house in a covered dog crate.

What can I do for her? Should I clean the wound even though it doesn’t have dirt in it? Is there anything I can put on it? Do I need to cover it or leave it uncovered? I don’t have a lot of stuff around the house, because I’ve never needed it, but I get paid tomorrow, so I can pick up more stuff then.

Oh boy. I'd rinse the wound with a saline solution, you can make this by mixing a little bit of salt in water, clean thoroughly, and use triple antibiotic ointment, neosporin would work, because most importantly you need to keep the wound moist, dont let it dry out. I dont think covering the wound would be necessary, but you need to be very careful of fly strike. That can be deadly to her. Keep her in a warm, calm place with some food and water until the wound scabs over.

I'm so sorry this happened. I'm not really well versed in chickens, but I've seen the above info given to people in here with similar injuries.

@LaFleche @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive can give you a wealth of information.

 

[Bridget B]

I’m kind of freaking out, because this injury is a lot bigger than I thought I’d have to deal with.

My naked neck is about 10 months old. The rooster is about 6 months. Today I came home, let them the chickens in the backyard and the rooster chased her under the porch. I found her huddled by a bucket with the back of her “scalp” hanging down.


This is a big injury. I’ve never had to deal with something this big on a chicken. Right now I have her inside the house in a covered dog crate.

What can I do for her? Should I clean the wound even though it doesn’t have dirt in it? Is there anything I can put on it? Do I need to cover it or leave it uncovered? I don’t have a lot of stuff around the house, because I’ve never needed it, but I get paid tomorrow, so I can pick up more stuff then.

Oh dear! That is some really drastic damage. Is there any skin left to stich up? If not it will be your call what to do next. I hope someone here will come up with a way to help your hen. I think if that was rooster, he would be visiting freezer camp real soon.

 

[linsybird]

Honestly, if the wound is clean and can get the bleeding under control, she should be fine if she's isolated. I've had multiple quail that looked this bad heal up fine and friendlier because of the one on one XD

That’s reassuring to hear! I know she’ll get extra spoiled inside, I just cut open a fresh water melon just to try and get her to eat

 

[Eggcessive]

Thanks for an update. Glad she is healing. If you don’t want more chicks this time of the year, I would not let her set, but break her. This is normally done in a pen or dog crate (LOL) with no bedding. I use an outdoor covered pen which is tall enough to put in a roost to get them up off the ground. I scatter a little scratch grains and scrambled egg along with their usual feed for interest. A friend normally would be good, but she needs to be healed first.

 

[JDChickChat]

I’m kind of freaking out, because this injury is a lot bigger than I thought I’d have to deal with.

My naked neck is about 10 months old. The rooster is about 6 months. Today I came home, let them the chickens in the backyard and the rooster chased her under the porch. I found her huddled by a bucket with the back of her “scalp” hanging down.


This is a big injury. I’ve never had to deal with something this big on a chicken. Right now I have her inside the house in a covered dog crate.

What can I do for her? Should I clean the wound even though it doesn’t have dirt in it? Is there anything I can put on it? Do I need to cover it or leave it uncovered? I don’t have a lot of stuff around the house, because I’ve never needed it, but I get paid tomorrow, so I can pick up more stuff then.

Chickens are also amazingly resilient, so dont fret, you've certainly come to the right place!!

 

[linsybird]

Oh dear! That is some really drastic damage. Is there any skin left to stich up? If not it will be your call what to do next. I hope someone here will come up with a way to help your hen. I think if that was rooster, he would be visiting freezer camp real soon.

It looks like the skin has sagged down by her neck. There aren’t any flaps handing down, but it looks a little bunched up.

Yeah, the rooster will be gone ASAP. If he hadn’t been such a good rooster up until now, he’d already be dead.

 

[linsybird]

Of course!!! Like I said, if you have neosporin at home that will work. Vetericyn is also amazing for chicken wounds. Chickens are fighters ,
Ive seen chickens with wounds way worse on here heal up just fine!!! Its crazy how attached we get to these birds, isnt it?? I'm totally a crazy chicken lady now!! Sending lots of love your way!!

It is crazy! I never thought I’d put so much work into chickens, but now I can’t imagine life without them