We had our first injury yesterday :(

[DreamsInPink]

I went out to the coop to check on everyone, I've put a lawn chair in there so I can sit and visit while bf works out there... xD

Everybody was clucking around and pretty much doing their normal thing. I was just sitting there and I looked down on the floor and I saw what I thought was a spot of blood on some pine shavings.. just very small. One of the hens was sitting right by it and no sooner did I see it and she swooped in and gobbled it up.

I then noticed one of the girls laying down, which didn't really alarm me, because they tend to do that... just chillin'. But then one of the other went over and started pecking and pulling feathers from her head! I rushed over and picked her up and noticed she had a bloody toe. I looked closer and one of her toenails was broken and bleeding.

I wasn't sure what to do but I knew I needed to get it to stop bleeding. So I held her. For about 45 minutes. I put her down to go in the house to get water, paper towels and Blu Kote. I cleaned her toe up and the bleeding had stopped. (I tried to get pictures of it, but between trying to hold Violet under my arm, hold her foot and toe in my left hand and try to focus and shoot pictures on my phone with my right hand, I couldn't get a good close up.. too blurry. ) I sprayed her toe with the Blu Kote, along with giving my thumb a good dose.

I held her for quite a while longer. I wanted to give the BK a chance to dry and she settled right in on my lap and took a nap. It was so sweet. Once she began fidgeting and acting like she wanted down, I put her down. Those meanies went straight for her toe!!! Picking at it and chasing her around. I thought Blu Kote was supposed to keep them from pecking at bloody areas?? If so, my hens didn't get the memo.

So, I ended up putting her in with the teenagers in the introduction pen. Much to everyone's delight... <<<<---- that was sarcasm! She chased them the day before and they are afraid of her. But I didn't have a whole lot of choice. It was either that or put her in a dog kennel. I just didn't figure she'd be very happy doing that. Last night about 10 pm we went out to see how things were going. Of course they were all asleep... Violet was at one side of the intro pen and all the teenagers were at the other. Bf wanted to bring her in the house in a dog kennel.. and I considered it. But changed my mind. Telling myself she'd be better off. She's a chicken. She doesn't want to live in the house.

I had to work today, but bf said they were behaving... Violet wasn't chasing them too much. We did add another feeder in with them so no one is without food. And the waterer is smack in the middle of the pen on two cement blocks, so whoever is on either side can get to it without the other side bothering them.

I think things are going to be fine, but my question is still about the Blu Kote. Why did those hens go over Violet's foot like that?? Is it not just red that they go after, but anything different?

 

[ekgb]

It's actually really normal for chickens to go after any weaker hens\roosters. I had the same thing happen to one of mine. Because they're animals, they pick on anyone who's weaker, smaller, or hurt, regardless of color. If a chicken goes down in a flock, they will kill her by pecking her to death. If she picks on your other chickens, they may get hurt and die, so if you see any aggression from her, put her in the dog kennel (the biggest one you have) or isolate her completely in another pen\coop\cage. If she goes in the kennel add some water, food, dirt and grass, and maybe some veggies for her to munch on. It'll stop her from being bored. Good luck! And make sure to keep her wound clean if it isn't healed by now

 

[DreamsInPink]

Thanks for your reply. She wasn't really down though.. I mean she was laying down.. but so were 2 other ones. So I don't know. But I have read that Blu Kote is supposed to keep chickens from pecking at blood. Like if a chicken has some feathers plucked and the area is red or bloody, use blu kote to 'hide' the redness. That's just what I've read.

Last night after I posted, bf went out to the coop to check on everyone and he said they were all sleeping together. So that made me happy. I didn't make it out to the coop today, but he said things were pretty calm in the intro pen.. so that's good. Tomorrow I don't have to work or go anywhere so we are going to be spending most of the day out there.

I have no idea how to tell if the wound is healed... I'm not exactly sure what happened, but we are thinking maybe bf stepped on her when he was working in the coop. He said he was hooking up the electric and they surrounded him and was pecking at the hair on his legs... And it startled him and he took a bit of a step back and someone squawked. So, that's probably when it happened. Her toenail is definitely broken, but just at the tip. It wasn't way back or anything.

So, what should I do for it?

 

[ekgb]

Yeah, Blu Kote does help. Maybe you didn't add enough of it and the chickens saw through it. But look at the rest of your flock. Are they pecking at each other? If they are, they could have only pecked out of boredom. If this is the case add a perch and some salad to entertain them.
Good! I'm glad they're getting along. If the chicken is affected by the broken toenail, you may want to keep her in that pen, or if she just seems to get along with them better. She may have been the omega in the first one and the alpha in this one. As long as she doesn't hurt any omegas, keeping her with her new friends would be a good idea.
That's probably how it happened. It would make sense. As for the broken toenail, make sure there aren't any shards of nail sticking out (or somehow, into the toe.! Keep it clean by rinsing (with water) any blood or dirt out of it. You may want to use a white cloth, or bandaid, to bandage it and keep it clean. If it's a mess, then you might have to clip some of the broken nail off, but if it's a clean cut you should be fine. (I don't know though; so don't quote me, as I haven't had to deal with a broken nail before) Change the bandage daily and make sure to observe her the first few minutes after applying the bandage to ensure she or other chickens don't peck at it. If only the tip is broken, it shouldn't affect her much. I suggest doing further research on Google. (As I'm not an expert at chicken toes) before you follow my advice, but I did my best and hope I helped! Keep me posted. xD

 

[DreamsInPink]

Good news! I put Violet back into the main coop area and everyone was fine toward her. Yay! I looked at her toe and it seems to be doing fine. Most of the Blu Kote wore off, that's probably why the other girls were leaving her toe alone. But it wasn't dirty or crusty or bloody, so I didn't do anything with it. I soaked it pretty good with the BK the day she did it, so I'm hoping all is well.

I did leave the door to the intro pen open for a while today, just to see what would happen. A Silver Laced Wyandotte and a Silkie ventured out but got chased, so we put them back in. Darn chickens anyhow!! I can't believe how territorial they are!!! Ugh! They're so bad!!

I was hoping to get them out in the run this weekend.. but we just had too much to do. We did get the door hung for the inside storage area and got the feed in the coop. That will help a lot. Less hauling from the house to the coop. Bf also got the run door/gate built and hung. It swings nicely and even looks nice. Hoping for some decent weather the next week, even though they are calling for rain every single day, so we can get the rest of the run finished and the pop door and ramp in so the girls can have so outside time. I'm sure they are tired of the coop.

 

[ekgb]

Good news!