The 6th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[ronott1]

Hey! Everyone is talking about introducing new chicks and I love reading it because I have had my adults kill a newbie. So thank you, I do need some advice though.
I have a hen that is 2 years old,she is the bottom of the pecking order and is always picked on, or "mated" with, my duck tries to mate with her, he is mean though. She is bloody, bald, and smelly on her rear end. I am thinking about adding her to my chicks pen, but I wanted to ask if she has a disease or if she is just being picked on before I add her with the babies, I have put her in there before for an hour, supervised, with no problems, she doesn't torture the small chicks. I just don't want her to be sick and then the babies get sick, the babies are 3 months old, fully feathered and about half her size. I will post the picture under this post, thank you

It would be a good idea to get her away from the drake--ducks have an "appendage" while roosters do not and hens are not able to handle that. The Drake will kill her and any other chicken hen he mates with.

She likely does not have a disease but may have a ripped up egg laying tract.

 

[NikkiCole5]

She smells foul and has watery stuff coming from her vent, it's bloody and bald. Sorry about the picture I took it alone, best I could get. Thank you for the advice!

 

[NikkiCole5]

It would be a good idea to get her away from the drake--ducks have an "appendage" while roosters do not and hens are not able to handle that. The Drake will kill her and any other chicken hen he mates with.

She likely does not have a disease but may have a ripped up egg laying tract.

Sorry I just posted the pictures! Thank you for the quick response, she is the only hen that allows the duck to even try

 

[ronott1]

Sorry I just posted the pictures! Thank you for the quick response, she is the only hen that allows the duck to even try

Separate her and treat with vetricyn wound spray or something similar.

Hopefully she will be ok.

 

[NikkiCole5]

Separate her and treat with vetricyn wound spray or something similar.

Hopefully she will be ok.

So I can put her with the smaller chicks? I also have two ducks in that pen, but they are too young to mate, they aren't mating yet i mean.

I just put blu-kote on her right now

 

[ronott1]

So I can put her with the smaller chicks? I also have two ducks in that pen, but they are too young to mate, they aren't mating yet i mean.

I just put blu-kote on her right now

The long term plan would be to separate the ducks from the chickens. The hen may attack the little ones--I would put her into something like a dog crate until she is healed up and then move her into the chicken only pen.

 

[Darnbunnies]

Poor little girl. The damage done mating with a drake can kill a chicken. Please isolate her. If you put her in with the chicks they may peck her damaged tissue. She needs quiet and rest and you may still lose her. Good luck, -DB

 

[NikkiCole5]

Poor little girl.  The damage done mating with a drake can kill a chicken. Please isolate her. If you put her in with the chicks they may peck her damaged tissue.  She needs quiet and rest and you may still lose her. Good luck,  -DB

Thanks, but she doesn't seem like she is gonna die, happened last year too and when her feathers grew back in she was doing great for awhile but then it happened again

 

[Mama Bay]

Yikes, I just noticed 3 of my HAL chicks running around with a feather in each of their mouths. Does that mean they are over crowded or is this just pecking order behavior??

 

[ronott1]

Yikes, I just noticed 3 of my HAL chicks running around with a feather in each of their mouths. Does that mean they are over crowded or is this just pecking order behavior??

They are probably just molting. Feathers have a lot of protein so they will eat them at molt.