Waklert 150mg: Boosting Wakefulness and Focus

[Henergy]

So, we currently had 3 in our flock. On Saturday we got two new girls. We've been doing a phased intro with the old girls remaining in the cube run & the new girls having the run of our large outside space. Then occasionally we swop them over & have allowed the old girls a run & popped the new girls into a large open dog crate set up in the middle so that they can all se each other. They have had a few merge sessions & there was a bit of pecking between one of our old ones & a newbie. At night the newbies have been sleeping in a small wooden coop that I have. All good progress I thought.

 

Anyway, I went out for a couple of hours this afternoon & left the newbies in the crate together & the old girls free to roam around them. I didn't expect to find what I did when I got home. One of the new girls has pecked & pecked at the other newbie (who is the smaller of the two) to the point of all the tail feathers have gone plus there is alot of blood around her tail parts - it looks raw & open. I've called the vet but it is £90 just to see someone tonight - the have advised me to keep her warm & they have booked me to see their bird specialist at 9am. I've brought her in & am keeping her warm but am too nervous to wash the wound myself - its pretty shocking. I am so cross with myself - I was only meant to be out for an hour but got held up due to an accident.

 

I feel really guilty but am also worried now about the 'other' newbie. Even if Smokey can be cured, she will not be able to return to the coop for a while I'm guessing. So now I'm left with a segregated poorly chook, a single newbie who needs to join my old girls - I'm anxious that she'll not now integrate.

 

What a shocker of an evening - why have the newbies turned on each other ?

[Grandmashazzie]

I'm no expert, the newbies are establishing a pecking order.I would leave wound tonight if the blood has clotted and sealed off bleeding. I wonder if it would be less stressful to put her in coop tonight with newbies and door shut,rather than have her inside alone.Then take her out to house before trip to vets. They can be ferocious little madams. I too am doing intros but thankfully have had nothing like that,...yet.

[mullethunter]

Henergy that does sound nasty, but don't blame yourself. There's a good chance this would have happened even if you had been there.

 

As Grandmashazzie says it's probably just over zealous pecking order stuff, and then I think once there is any significant amount of blood they are drawn to it and keep pecking.

 

I'm sure Smokey will heal, but I would cover her in purple spray and maybe anti-pek and then just take intro's VERY slowly in lots of space. I would keep her in the house with you tonight somewhere dark and quiet.

 

I think I would try to integrate the other newbie as a lone girl now and just be on hand to watch closely.

 

Good luck with it all and vets tomorrow.

[miller30]

Hi don't panic the new girl will be fine I got home from work the other night to find my Poland had the top of her head eaten this has happened before if I could find the culprit I would broomstick it nice tablespoon of flour on wound dried it up lovely she is now in a dog crate inside the run but at night still goes in with the girls as its dark then next day back in her own crate bit of a pain but in 3 weeks her head will have healed up and regrown .Personally I would have cleaned your girls wound used either flour to dry it out or purple spray and make sure the flies stay away seperate her until healed the only thing the vets will do is stick her on antibiotics always looks worse than it is leanne

[Henergy]

Saw the vet this am - she was lovely & really knowledgeable. Smokey has been given antibiotics for a week, pain relief & antiseptic wash. She seems perky enough & is eating,drinking and pooing. She is now in the conservatory and has an apt to see the vet again in a week to check that she won't need surgery on her tail end.Luckily the preen gland was still intact. I think she will be ok. I've bought her some poultry tonic too

 

But I'm worried about how the integration will work now. I've effectively now got a single chicken to integrate now, and when Smokey is well, she'll be a single to integrate too.

 

Does anyone have any ideas please ?

[Beantree]

You should keep the two newbies together if you can Henergy. They can forget each other in as little as 24 hours (our Buff Orpingtons) or as long as 2 weeks. Even if they spend a few minutes together each day, that will retain their bond.

[The Dogmother]

Keep them together if possible, or at least in close proximity; I woudl pop them back together and put a bumpa bit on the other bird to prevent any further serious damage.

 

If you add some Biotin to their pellets, it will stimulate feather growth. Just drizzle a little cod liver oil over the pellets then add about 1 tablespoon of Biotin per 2 litres of pellets.

 

Did they reall have the nerve to charge you £90??!!

[Henergy]

No,£90 was what the out of hours fee would have been if I'd gone last night. Had she been distressed then I would have had to go I think but she was calm so I waited. This morning it was £18 plus the charge for the medicines.

 

It was the other newbie that attacked her - if I put them together won't she start pecking again ?

[gavclojak]

I would try to put the together again and as DM said you might need to fit bumpa bits, I would keep them seperate from the old girls for a few weeks at least. Let them establish themselves then take the introduction really slowly to avoid any future issues.

Just keep a close eye on them for the next few days.

[The Dogmother]

It's unusual to get a vociferous attack between newbies, but try some of the Nettex anti-peck spray to deter any further attacks, or a Bumpa bit if needed. They will soon get out of the habit.

 

Make sure they have enough room to keep away from each other; I would advise some green branches in the corner of their run so that any timid chicken can hide behind them.

 

It's hard to watch - I have some mithering in my usually harmonious flock at the moment... head chook has passed, and there is a bit of mucking around while they establish a new order one of my pekins, which is about 9 r 10 now, and usually a gobby madam is being picked on, so I am feeding her separately and keeping an eye on matters at roosting time.