This morning I found my puppies chewing on one of my hens. When I got to her, they had pulled out a lot of her feathers just above her vent. It is very raw and bleeding. There might have been some chewing as well. Any advice on how I can treat this??
Kelly
Replies
Thank you for all of the great replies!! I rushed off to Western Ranchman and picked up some Banixx and rooster booster! I was also able to pick up a large cage for a chicken hospital. I haven't ever had to separate my birds before, so I needed something. She seems to be acting like a normal chicken. She wants to peck around, she JUST laid an egg, and is eating and drinking. I sprayed the banixx on her bum (it was nice and clean first) and then stuck her in the chicken hospital with water and food. She is a bit annoyed that she isn't with her girls, but I will take her out this evening to roost with her friends. I will probably apply rooster booster before she roosts so that the other chickens don't bother it.
Our coop is really safe from the puppies (it is guarded by an electric barrier and I just put a fence up to keep the new hens that we just got in until they learn about the puppy threat) and the hens know that they are safe there. Jennifer, it wasn't one of the new girls! One of my easter eggers hopped the fence to go peck around in the grass and since the gate was up, she wasn't able to rush back in without hopping over the fence first.
We want to build a new (fancy!) coop that will allow them more room and can be cooped up if they need to be. I am going to post a request for a coop builder and designer to help us. My husband built our current coop and while it is totally functional and great, this next coop will need to be bigger and more awesome.
Thanks again for all of your help! I will keep you posted.
Must clean it out. The best way is to use saline solution, we're a medical family so we have it on hand an easy way is to use contact saline solution--Not cleaning or soaking but saline solution. Squirt it in, the pressure from the bottle will help clear out any bacteria from the dogs mouth. Then keep it moist with an antibiotic ointment or saline soaked 4x4s and put on the wound for as long as they stay. If she's not drinking or eating you'll have to hand feed and water her. Good luck. We found an extremely comfortable rubber basket muzzle for our puppy. It is very broad and and she can accept treats through it, pant, drink everything but chew our animals. After getting treats with it on she's eager to put it on when we leave or during the night.
We've had this happen, too, Kelly. In fact, on Thanksgiving day a coyote plucked about 1/4 of the feathers out of one of our turkeys!
We clean the area using hydrogen peroxide on the wounds. Ours free-range, so we observe behaviors. If a bird is injured badly enough, it won't follow the flock around the yard & will hang by the coop where it feels safer. We put those birds in a separate pen where the environment is controlled, they're safe, and they can recuperate. Even if they're in a pen during the day, if possible we put them with the other girls at night so they can roost with their companions. If they are just plucked and have no problem hanging out with the others, we let them go & check on them now and then.
Fortunately birds don't feel pain like we do, and they recover quickly. From what you've described, she'll be better in two or three days and will be all the wiser about dogs. :)
We had a really bad chicken wound last summer, a chicken on chicken thing. I have a photo that is so gross I am shy to post, but needless to say it healed up in about a week. The wound was on the back of the head area and a hole clear though that first layer of skin.
We first rinsed the wound with diluted iodine, pat dry. Then we covered the wound with "Blue Lotion" which is a crazy purple color that dries and protects and is an antiseptic too. Works amazing well. Bought both items at Tempe Feed and Tack.
This post on Back Yard Chickens outlines the method we used:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=1982966
Then we kept the hen in her own cage, letting her out to free range off and on throughout the day. I was amazed how quick she healed up for such a large wound.
One thing we learned from this is to have a "chicken medical kit" on hand. We didn't have these things before the incident, and now we have a small bag with an assortment of items to treat common chicken issues.
Your hen will probably be just fine, but it is scary to have something like this happen.
Hey Kelly,
This happened to our duck this summer and it really looked as though she would not make it (the dogs got her also) :( We washed up her wounds really well with a mild soap and warm water a sprayed her down really good with Banixx (http://www.banixx.com/) This stuff works!!! I swear by it, and would totally recommend it!!!! You should be able to find it at any tack store (ask around) my kids won some of it at the 2011 4-H County Finals Rodeo last April and before that I had never heard of it. I really works great. She was literally healed and back in the run in less than two weeks. It works fast! Keep her separated from everyone until she is no longer scabbed and has the start of new feathers (or everyone will peck her back open again and may kill her). We brought our duck in the house, but you do not want your chicken to get used to to much warmth right now, then she will have a hard time going back outside to the cold. I would put her in a shed or a garage out of the really cold weather, but not make her to warm. Some place quiet where she can just sleep and heal. Change out her box/cage no less than once a day and keep food and water with her all the time. Good luck!! :) Let us know how she does. Blessings, Kelly
Separate her in her own small cage/crate. Put some of the rooster booster no pick lotion on her, that could help heal it, or some kind of triple antibiotic (like neosporin) WITHOUT pain relief (chickens are allergic to -caines). Keep her in a warm, dark and quiet place so she can rest.
I just put them in their own little cage for a week or so....