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emmaw298

urgent help needed please chicken being pecked to death!

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thank you for all your messages.

I've taken peggy to the vets this morning. she seemed quite perky and was eating and drinking which I was surprised at. I took her slightly further afield to one of the forum's recommended vets and they were really nice. they said she has lost quite a lot of tissue from around the top of the vent and it is very bruised and ulcerated. They said there were 2 options - put her to sleep or try painkillers and antibiotics and see what happens over next 24 hours. as she is so perky we decided to give her a chance and go with the 2nd option. so she has had an injection of metacam and baytril and I have a disinfectant to clean her with. now some of the dried blood has been wiped off I can see the extent of the damage- it looks horrible. the top of the cloaca is all ragged and dark purple and covered in blood clots, though the vet feels if it does heal and she doesnt pick up an infection, it will still function normally as the muscles can still contract.

bless her she passed an egg yolk this morning with no shell, so that may well be stuck inside too.

I just felt I needed to give her the oppotunity to get through it as she still seems so well in herself and she is now in the garden, separated from the others, scratching around with the sun on her back and she looks happy. But the slightest sign of any deterioration, I'll be back to the vets :cry:

I don't have any other accommodation for her so I'll need to bring her inside for the next few nights and what's concerning me also is the longer I separate her from the others, the harder it will be to re-introduce them, though of course keeping them separate at the moment is priority.

I also asked about purple spray but the vet said this is more something used on farms and didn't recommend it as they provided me with some disinfectant to put in water and bathe it.

I also don't know what to feed her now as I don't really want to encourage her to lay at the moment, though gave her some porridge with mash this morning. should I just give her treats?

thanks for all your help, its so horrible looking at what has happened to her :cry:

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I hope that she is on the road to recovery.

 

We had a similar problem on Thursday evening, we looked out to see Dippy being chased and pecked. When we went outside we found that she had been damaged beneath one wing on the joints of her wings and below her vent.

 

We took her out and sprayed her with purple spray, her injuries were quite small because we had happened to notice what was going on I dread to think what could have happened.

 

All of our girls are fitted with bumper bits but they had still managed to do quite a bit of harm. We then discovered that the nest box wood shavings were warm and sticky with egg, so wither her of one of the others had laid a softie and she had got some egg splashed on her which had started them off.

 

Fortunately it was dusk so we put her back with them after cleaning her and the nest box up and they were all fine by the next day.

 

It may have been a softie that caused her problem too, it may be worth thinking about getting bumper bits because although it doesn't stop damage it does lessen it. You need to ring the wernlas collection and they sell them for 10p each which you need to send in value with 1st class stamps.

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That sounds quite hopeful, fingers crossed she pulls through.

 

Shame you don't live closer to me, I'd lend you my spare Eglu.

 

When one of my girls was very ill (sadly she died), my chicken vet told me to puit her back onto growers pellets ("or even chick crumbs"), as they contain less calcium and more phosphorous.

Maybe that would work for you? You can buy 5kg bags relatively cheaply.

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thanks for the offer witchhazel. growers or chick crumbs a good idea, will pop to the shop later today. work have been very good and let me work from home today to keep an eye on her. having a manager who keeps chickens is useful!

do you have a number for wernlas collection, chickencam? and do they come with instructions?

she's still scratching around in the garden and having a go at the worms! bless her, I keep thinking this may be her last few days of enjoying herself as she is so likely to develop an infection and not make it.

 

many thanks again for your suggestions

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From what I've read, it's nigh on impossible to stop a hybrid laying when you want them to!

 

Eggs are mainly protein so maybe if you feed her something lower in protein (eg, corn/wheat) she'll slow down laying? As witchhazel suggests, maybe chick crumb or growers pellets might do the trick. If you use medicated chick crumb you shouldn't eat the eggs BTW. Also, if you shorten her day she might stop laying, although by doing that you are likely to force her into a moult. Can the vets give you any guidance on how to stop her laying?

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Your vet sounds super.

 

Well done for giving her a chance.

 

Sorry I don't live a bit nearer or I would have lent you an Eglu.

 

Could you borrow a rabbit hutch or dog crate so that she can be in sight and sound of the others for at least part of the day, to make reintroducing her a bit easier.

 

Fingers crossed for her.

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thank you so much to everyone - you are all such a nice bunch of people on this forum :)

i've 'built' her a temporary shelter outside out of cardboard boxes where she can shelter during the day and still see the others. the other 2 hens went ballistic when they saw her and were desperately trying to get back to her. trying not to get too upset about what they would have wanted to do - I know its just chicken behaviour, but its so not nice to think of your pets wanting to do that to each other!

now, they just seem to wander along together, either side of the fence, talking to each other. hopefully, it peggy survives, re-introduction will be ok.

she still seems quite bright, although did lie down with her eyes closed for a bit today. guess she's in shock. the vet checked her heart rate and breathing and said it sounded ok so not too overwhelmed thank goodness. yes, I agree am very happy with this vet and as worcestershire's only recommended vet on the forum's list I can wholeheartedly recommend them myself.

she is eating loads and having watched her so closely all day am wondering if she also has gapeworm as she has been stretching her neck and opening her beak rather a lot. not seen the others do this. have started some flubenvet - can't see that this would be a problem at the mo and if anything, may help? Im also wondering (though may be completely wrong) if she was perhaps passing out some worms when the other chickens saw them and started to peck her. again, could be completely wrong but vet did say no signs of a prolapse, although I know they can go back in spontaneously sometimes. also, know gapeworm inhabit the respiratory system but maybe the dead ones get flushed out in the poo?

She is inside now in a box where I have put some spare roosting bars and I think she'll sleep there until we can re-introduce her properly (fingers crossed)

guess we'll just have to see how the next 24-48 hours go with lots of disinfecting and TLC.

will keep you posted - thanks again for your messages, its really helped and brightened me up today xx

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I do hope Peggy makes a full recovery, bless her. I would definitely have given her a chance too. Hopefully the antibiotics and disinfectant will keep infections at bay and allow her to heal. I think you are right to keep her separate until she is fully healed and face the reintroductions when it comes to it. If you can keep them in sight of each other during the day, hopefully they will accept her back.

 

*hugs* to Peggy.

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just to update you, peggy's doing well! which is surprising considering what she has been through and the damage its done. her vent looks slightly less swollen today, though still very purple and black with a hard black crust around the exit itself. it keeps getting very messy but I keep cleaning it with the disinfectant the vet supplied. she is still eating and drinking and talking and scratching- as though nothing as ever happened! I can't believe how well she is coping - much better than me! :oops::cry::)

so we just have to continue and wait and see now... thanks for all your kind messages x

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hi all,

 

just to let you know, peggy is doing really well. her bottom is healing really well - still a lage scab but gets less scabby and swollen every day and she is still bright and perky with no signs of infection at all. I'm so pleased with her! :)

she is still on baytril for a few more days and I'm giving her avipro with her food. I'm still keeping her separate from the others and bringing her in at night and disinfecting her bottom twice a day! Im going to have a trial re-introduction tomorrow and see how we get on. :pray:

 

thanks for all the help and advice- this forum is brill! :clap::)

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