speedqueen Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 (edited) My poor little girl my 3 other girls have attacked her really badly. they have pecked at her back and leg, they have ripped out all her feathers and now she is bleeding and you can see they have pecked chunks of flesh!!! I have her booked at the vet at 2.30pm as the vet i need to see isn't there before then. Are they going to ask me to have her pts? the wound is a real mess. she is fine in herself. I cant believe they have been so vicious!! we have been integrating them for a few weeks now and she has been in with them fully for around 7 days. two girls are fine with her, just the odd peck but my ginger warren has always been the naughty one, deliberately chasing her around and pecking her but never this bad. I dont know what to do now Edited May 26, 2011 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Sorry to hear that Chickens can be horrible bullies and once they draw a little blood, it's their instinct to keep going. Try to keep her somewhere dark and warm so she can recover from the shock. They can be incredibly resilient and she could well survive provided her wound isn't too serious. You are going to need separate accommodation, preferably within sight and sound of the others, certainly while she recuperates. She can't go in with the others again until her wound is complete gone, even then she could end up being picked on all over again. Fingers crossed with the vet visit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedqueen Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 I have brought her back into the house again. She just followed me in like a dog bless her. I've had a good look at the wound and it looks like they have plucked all the feathers and then plucked her skin too. I have some antibiotics which were for my other girl a couple of weeks ago (she was wheezing) and i am going to give her some. Hubby says not sure whether a long drive to the vet would be bad for her, and stress her out more. will see how she goes this morning. my poor little puppy-chick. i am so cross with my jenny warren. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I'd be reluctant to give her antibiotics that were prescribed for something else tbh, particularly as she may well not need them. She'd be better with some antiobiotic wound powder or spray to prevent infection. How bad is the wound? Is it a small cut/tear or should it be stitched? I think that's the better guide as to whether she needs to see a vet or not. Hope she's okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedqueen Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 couldnt make it to the vet! couldnt get hold of a lift and it's too far to bus with a hen. It's a rough wound, by that i mean there isn't anything to stitch. it looks like a piece of tenderised steak! I think they plucked out some feathers and got carried away. all 3 of them must have pinned her in a corner and gone at her. poor girl. it roughly covers an area about 3in long by 2in wide it's very bloody but not drippy or anything. it looks to have coagulated well. there is no trace of any blood in the run or the coop. she's eating and drinking fine, and trotting round the kitchen like nothings happened. can i get the wound spray at a pet store or is it vet only? and can i use it on such an open wound? I dont know what to do for the best. leave her alone and see if it heals by itself, or take her to the vet, risk infection, just to be told to do what i'm already doing. I dont even think they could dress it. oh my poor girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I've had this happen a couple of times in my flock when I had large fowl - both hens recovered, Its really amazing what they can recover from I'd bring her in and put her in a dark box for a while to calm down (as Jools suggests) these are your options I guess a) call the vet to see if they will prescribe antibiotics without the chook having to make the journey - some will some wont - they may suggest that what you already have would be suitable but do check before you give her that b) take her to the vet for treatment c) treat her yourself If you decide on c (and lets face it some people do prefer to treat things themselves and not involve the vet - its a choice they make..) then i would bathe the wound gently now with some salt water then place her in a box by a heater for the night, tomorrow assess the wound and see how bad it is, you can use wound spray but a powder or cream may be kinder if the skin is raw. get her to a vet if you suspect infection though. Keep her in till it starts to heal then get her out in the fresh air Recovery from such an injury is a long process, she will need separate accomodation as Jools says, once she is fully healed take a quiet hen from the flock to live with her then introduce them back as a pair - it will help throughout if she can see and be seen by the flock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henslaved Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 your poor little girl. Personally I would go for Redwings option c. Fingers crossed for your girl and Jenny and friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennyhenny Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Poor girl, I had this roughly 6 weeks ago. Popcorn had been losing feathers around the vent for months but put it down to a moult. One Thursday spotted Popcorn had a cut at the side of her vent, looks like Margo had nipped her and made her bleed, so by now I'm thinking maybe it wasnt a moult but feather plucking. I cleaned with warm salted water and put Sudacrem on it for infection but also to try and hide the wound. Everything was fine for a couple of days then I went in the garden and spotted Margo nipping her behind, I shot in there and grabbed Popcorn to find that Margo had literally ripped at her skin. The vent had about an inch tear coming from it. It was a right mess. We bathed again and hubby fetched some anti peck spray which is antiseptic and I sprayed that on as well as the good old Sudacrem. Sudacrem was applied a couple of times a day. The wound went quite scabby over a couple of days but then seemed to disappear so didn't know whether the bully was at it again or she picked it off herself. But it looked sooooo much better in just a few days. We decided to separate the WIR in two so they could still see each other but the bully couldn't do anymore damage. During the day they would be separate but at night I popped them both in the eglu. I kept them separate for about two weeks but Popcorn kept trying to jump the wire to get to the eglu which was in the bullys side of the run to lay (Popcorn had stopped laying upto now) so I now popped a bumper bit on the bully and let them back in together. I applied purple spray to try and disguise the bare patch. They are now happily together, bumper bit still on as I don't trust her anymore. However Popcorn only laid a couple of eggs and then stopped and hasn't laid since. Sorry its so long but thought it might put your mind at rest that you can hopefully treat it yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedqueen Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 i really dont know what to do to be honest. I would prefer to treat her myself, but on the other hand i dont want her to get it infected. it really is awful. I'll see if i can get a photo and put it up. The trouble is that they have completely removed the skin and pecked at her flesh! it looks horendous. i truly cannot believe they did all that damage in around 20 mins. i only popped out and came back to this! I'm sure she is going to be in pain with it. she must be! She dosn't seem the least bit bothered though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Its amazing how resilient they are - my two were pecked down to the bone and that type of injury does look extremely severe I agree, both of mine recovered but it took months not weeks If you are in any doubt I'd at least call the vet in the morning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedqueen Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 well here goes...... poor puppy chick! oh my poor little girl it is larger than this though as she is covering some of it with her wing! and these are the culprits!! you naughty girls!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedqueen Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 i dont know if you can tell from the photos but she is considerably larger than they are, yet still didn't retaliate! any idea what type of girl she is? she's around 16 weeks old. we have had her in the run in a seperated coop for a while and they have been all in together for around a week. thought everything was going fine until today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Tea Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Poor thing, that must be so painful. I would definitely keep her indoors, keep the wound nice and clean with some salt water - if I were you I would put some fly traps up in the room she's in. I had a hen last year with a sore vent and she ended up with maggots in it before I realised and it was a horrible thing to deal with I actually used to clean her wound with a very weak solution of savlon. I have bought anti-bacterial powder in the pet shop before - or if you have a farm shop nearby they may stock it. Might be an idea to put some tonic in her water too. In my experience their skin does seem to heal pretty quickly, so hopefully with lots of tlc she will make a good recovery. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedqueen Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 she's bright as a button this morning. I have one of those blue light fly executor thingys in the kitchen so should catch most of the flies in that. Hubby said (jokingly) at least the maggots will eat the bad stuff! Yeuch!! wasnt sure whether i should put anything on it or not. obviously she dosn't like me going near it. I can't believe how unaffected by it she is. do they cheep when they're in pain? she seems perfectly normal. and can you give them a pain killer? Going to keep her in the kitchen until the wound heals to make sure she dosn't get fly struck then we are going to try and adapt the garden to take another coop on a permenant temporary basis! next to the 'bad gang' and take a good LONG time integrating them again (if ever!) I don't want to leave her on her own so we'll just have to be very patient. It's a shame you can't train them to use a litter tray, then i would just leave her as a house hen she thinks she's a german shepherd as it is! hard to believe she feel more at home with the dog than with the hens. dopey girl! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henslaved Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Glad to hear she is still perky . I think as long as the wound is kept clean she should be fine. As for introductions, when the wound is healed I would be inclined to get another POL and put her with your lone hen in your new coop within sight and sound of the others, then when they are happy together you could maybe try integrating them all, and if Jenny starts misbehaving again I would remove her and put her on her own for a while. Hope she heals ok . I don't think she is dopey at all, more often than not, I feel more at home in the company of other animals too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henslaved Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 How's she doing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedqueen Posted May 21, 2011 Author Share Posted May 21, 2011 she's getting on fine now better that i expected. the wound has dried up nicely and she is clenaing round it herself. it's about the size of a tennis ball now. she's such a happy little girl, bless her. she's much happier in the house with the dog. We are going to rearrange the garden and have a seperate coop made with the intention of placing it next to the girls and SLOWLY integrate them or if not at least they will be next to each other and can 'talk' through the wire netting. vet said the antibiotics should be fine as a precautionary measure. I heard about 'bit bumpers'? they dont look very comfortable. not sure i'd want to go there. Anyone used them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennyhenny Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 I put on a bumper bit on Margo, for the first couple of hours she tried to wipe it off but after that forgot all about it. Fingers crossed its been on a few weeks now, it doesn't look that bad either Its a great peace of mind knowing she can't do any more damage to Popcorn Jennyhenny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madchick Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Hi All My Betty ended up looking like speedqueens hen bitten in same place on opposite side. About size of a golf ball and 10mm deep-you can see her thigh bone moving-uugh! Took her straight to the vets and they gave me antibiotics, saline to flush it with and F10 cream to prevent fly strike. That was last thursday. Took her back on Sunday and they said skin was necrotic and may need debriding. Gave me Dermasol cream and told me to continue flushing wound with sterile saline and gently abrade the necrotic tissue. they have said that they may need to GA her and debride it. Will see what the vet says tomorrow. Redwing can you tell me how your birds healed and what did the wounds look like? Did they turn a horrible black colour? Speedqueen-has your hens wound turned black? Just trying to guage if this is normal. Doesnt seem to be bothering her and she is fitted with a buster collar to stop her pecking at herself.Otherwise eating and behaving normally. We are building another coop and run and providing she recovers we will put her back in with her mate that we got with her and keep them away from Sapphy and the vicious Amber-she was the culprit. Has bullied both since day one about 5 weeks ago. Cheers Madchick(one stressed out and having sleepless nights of worry Chicken Mum) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 The black tissue is dead tissue that the vet was talking about needing debriding. I was given dermasol for one of mine who had a yukky prolapse and it really helped lift the dead tissue though I did snip some off myself because my vet refused to do it. I used little embroidery scissors and just took off the black tissue and the dermisol moistened the remainder so that it came off leaving good pink tissue underneath. Sounds like yours is better, good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Hi, My chooks wounds didnt turn black no, I think I was lucky, both hens wounds healed evenly with just a slight bit of raised red skin I'd say that the black really isnt a good sign, I wonder if its dependent on the bloodflow to the area? - it sounds like your vet knows what they are doing though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedqueen Posted May 23, 2011 Author Share Posted May 23, 2011 her wound has gone black but it looks quite scabby to be honest. the skin around it is nice and pink. It isn't hot or red or swollen, so it dosn't look 'angry' We never actually got her to see the vet. i havn't touched it with anything as she is quite touchy when you go near it and i'd rather leave it than stress her. She seems quite happy to 'nibble' at it herself without pecking it and she seems fine and dandy now. Eating fine, drinking fine. Although she is living in the house so not exposed to the elements and outside germy stuff. We too are constructing another coop. My girls attack was last wednesday, seems to have been something in the air me thinks Madchick; is your Amber a ginger girl? my bossy one is. Maybe it's something in the colouring I can so sympathise with the sleepless stress. It's amazing how resiliant they are tho. I hope your girl is feeling better soon. and you too. I found it very helpful to know others had had the same problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedqueen Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 Woo Hoo!!! take a look at this............before............ 7 DAYS LATER!!!!............. I am so happy she pecked off all the scab just now, in one piece. (and tried to eat it! yeuch!) I can't beleive how great it looks in just a week! It was looking like it was weeping last night so thought it was infected but it isn't. Yaaayyy. She is such a little fighter. can't wait to give her a hug! Hope this gives hope to anyone else with a bullied hen. and this is her checking out the camera!............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy ben grace Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Bless her! Well done you for all your nursing, i couldnt believe the state of her in your first pictures, what an improvement. Will she be a house hen now? Hope her naughty "friends" are sorry for what they did... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedqueen Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 If i could house train her i most definately would I wouldn't be fair to keep her on her own tho' even if she does think she's a greman shepherd! My dog sleeps at the side of the indoor coop and she sleeps at the side of him. It's so sweet. The main culprit is now pecking feathers from one of my other girls who lost some when she went broody. Think we are going to have to get a bit thingy to stop her pecking. naughty girl! my little son was devastated when he thought we were going to have to get rid of her cos she was naughty, as she was the replacement for his hen which turned out to be a boy! so we couldn't keep him (due to neighbours and noise) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
