Young chicken attacked by older hen

[nblfootball67]

I tried to introduce my young chicks to the older hens today. Things were going well so I went about my day for a while when I noticed one chick was laying on the ground not moving. It seems that the hens attacked the back of the chicks head and exposed it right down to the skull. I removed all of the young chicks and separated the injured one from the rest. At first she seemed to be almost in shock but several hours later she seems to be acting mostly normal. Does it seem like she will pull through? Also does anyone have any recommendations when the time comes to try to introduce the young ones to the older hens again?

 

[SueT]

Well, first of all, welcome to BYC....Yes, hens almost always see newcomers as a threat.
Many of us introduce the youngsters using the "see but don't touch" setup. You temporarily divide the coop and run for the intro period which may be a month or more. There are many many forums discussing introducing new members to the flock. Good luck...be sure to check out the Learning Center....

 

[nblfootball67]

Just a little bit of added information just went to check on her and she seemed to be eating and drinking quite well.

 

[Cntry1958]

I am sorry your chicken was hurt today. I hope you find a way to introduce them to each other safely.

 

[Teila]

G’Day from down under nblfootball67

Welcome!

Ouch! Poor little girl!

It sounds like she is mentally doing OK, not in shock or anything but if you are looking for some advice on wound care, I recommend posting in the ER Forum, the folks there know their stuff: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures

Good luck!

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

You might want to also pop in and say hello on your local thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/26/where-am-i-where-are-you ‘Find your State’s thread.

 

[drumstick diva]

Poor baby, I hope she will recover. You may want to keep an eye on her in case she displays any signs of brain damage. Otherwise chickens seem to be very resilient .

 

[Cntry1958]

How is she doing today? I was just thinking about her.

 

[Amylynnhoch]

I tried to introduce my young chicks to the older hens today. Things were going well so I went about my day for a while when I noticed one chick was laying on the ground not moving. It seems that the hens attacked the back of the chicks head and exposed it right down to the skull. I removed all of the young chicks and separated the injured one from the rest. At first she seemed to be almost in shock but several hours later she seems to be acting mostly normal. Does it seem like she will pull through? Also does anyone have any recommendations when the time comes to try to introduce the young ones to the older hens again?

Did she pull through? It just happen to our 7 week old olive egger. She got out of the quarantine pin into the lions den. I have her in the garage now.

 

[N F C]

Did she pull through? It just happen to our 7 week old olive egger. She got out of the quarantine pin into the lions den. I have her in the garage now.

This thread is several years old (2017) so you probably won't get a reply. Good luck with your olive egger.

 

[sourland]

Did she pull through? It just happen to our 7 week old olive egger. She got out of the quarantine pin into the lions den. I have her in the garage now.

Such wounds can heal, but it takes time. Slather the wound with antibiotic ointment and keep flies away from it.