Scared Chicken

[JaxGrits]

A month ago I added this sweet girl to my flock. She also came with her little buddy (a tiny black silkie). I already had a 6 month old Easter Egger and a 5 month old buff silkie.

Truvy is about 15 weeks old now and the problem I'm having is she's absolutely terrified of the other Easter Egger. We let our chickens peck around the backyard all day (if we're home) and for the most part Truvy is okay. But if Louise (the other Easter Egger) gets too close to her or Truvy thinks she's running at her, Truvy freaks out. Louise isn't mean to her at all. She doesn't peck her, she doesn't chase her...

At night, two go in the coop outside and Truvy and her little black silkie buddy go in a crate inside. I've tried and tried and tried to put them out in the coop but if Louise so much as looks at Truvy, Truvy jumps up flaps her wings, hits the side of the coop, tries to get away and I'm afraid she's going to hurt herself. Then she jumps up to me and just wants me to hold her. I feel awful leaving her somewhere she's so scared- like I'll come out in the morning and she'll be missing half of her feathers because of anxiety.

It is possible that she was pecked before we got her- she was missing a few of her tail feathers. But that was a month ago!

Help! I'm tired of having a chicken crate in my breakfast room.

 

[donrae]

They're close enough in age to get along. There will be some pecking and deciding who is boss, that's normal. I say cover her head, take her to the roost and put her out in the coop well after dark. She'll be sleepy and will be fine. Yep, there may be some fuss, but just leave them to it and they'll work it out.

 

[JaxGrits]

Unfortunately tonight we decided to put both girls in the coop. They free range together all day and we haven't had a single problem. We figured they were okay and could be put together now in the coop. We checked on them 2 hours later to find the little silkie at the bottom of the ramp not moving. The skin had been pecked off of her head (about the size of a quarter) she was bleeding. We immediately scooped her up and disinfected it with diluted betadine and neosporin. She was in shock for an hour or two but is eating grapes (her favorite) and drinking water. She drinks anout a tablespoon of water and falls back asleep. I feel so horrible for putting her in there. She was probably so scared. As her caretakers, we feel so guilty. She's obviously going to stay isolated until she's fully healed.

 

[lorain's fids]

How is Truvy doing? Hope the wound on her head is healing.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I'm sorry. Chicken aggression can get really ugly in a hurry. Even hens will kill each other at times. I once had trouble in a flock that was raised together and had more than the recommended space, too. They even free ranged and had a great diet, also. I had EEs in that flock and they were obviously mixed with something much more aggressive than my other more docile breeds.

If they get along during the day, can you just pick up a cheap dog house for the two of them to live in the rest of the time? Keep them apart until the injured chicken is healed. Chickens have been known to heal from some very bad wounds. I'd put a little plain Neosporin type ointment or cream on the wound for now. The type without pain medication in it, as they're sensitive the that.

Edited to add: Try not to feel too guilty about what happened. Of course you had no idea this would happen. Since they were getting along so well together during the day, it seemed like a good time to start having them together full time. At least you checked on them and saved that chicken's life. If you hadn't gone out there when you did, they could have killed her. You saved her and now you're tending to her. I'm sure she'll do better, once the shock wears off. I hope she is feeling better already.

 

[JaxGrits]

I'm sorry. Chicken aggression can get really ugly in a hurry. Even hens will kill each other at times. I once had trouble in a flock that was raised together and had more than the recommended space, too. They even free ranged and had a great diet, also. I had EEs in that flock and they were obviously mixed with something much more aggressive than my other more docile breeds.

If they get along during the day, can you just pick up a cheap dog house for the two of them to live in the rest of the time? Keep them apart until the injured chicken is healed. Chickens have been known to heal from some very bad wounds. I'd put a little plain Neosporin type ointment or cream on the wound for now. The type without pain medication in it, as they're sensitive the that.

Edited to add: Try not to feel too guilty about what happened. Of course you had no idea this would happen. Since they were getting along so well together during the day, it seemed like a good time to start having them together full time. At least you checked on them and saved that chicken's life. If you hadn't gone out there when you did, they could have killed her. You saved her and now you're tending to her. I'm sure she'll do better, once the shock wears off. I hope she is feeling better already.

She's actually doing very well despite how bad her noogin looks. She (thankfully) hasn't stopped eating, drinking, or pooping. We took her to the vet on Saturday and I'm a little irritated by that whole situation. We went to an avian vet and she cleaned the wound with these wipes but I think she was a little rough and might have caused a little more harm. She made it bleed again and hearing out little girl scream was horrible. We were given silver sulfadiazine cream, an antiseptic, an antinflammatory and an antibiotic. She told us to come back in a week to see if she will need a stitch or two (since the skin is gone there isn't much to stitch) which would have to be done under anesthesia. That's the part that irritates me. I've read post after post of chickens with terrible injuries and they didn't even go to a vet- now ours might need anesthesia and stitches? I just want to do what's best for her but I'm always a little suspect that doctors do things that aren't entirely necessary and I'm still a little upset by how rough she was when she was cleaning her head.

She's got her own little crate in the house with a towel instead of shavings, we let her out to run around the kitchen and dining room when we're home (silkie poops barely do any damage! I can deal with it!) and we've even started to hide little piles of scratch under the table and in corners to give her something to hunt for. She gets so excited when she sees them (we've gotten several purrs!). We also moved her favorite plant (pineapple sage) inside so she can pick at it. She doesn't seem to be in any pain at all. The wound still looks gross although it's covered with the silver cream. I know most wounds look worse before they look better. I just want her to be healthy and happy.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

It sounds like she's doing great. It sounds like she's pretty happy, too. She had some bad luck with the flock, but I think she's very lucky to have you. I'm sure her wound will look better with some time. As long as she got past the shock and is being treated to prevent infection, those are the biggest hurdles.

How is your other chicken doing, that you added into the flock?