Bloody Chickens! Help!

[HeatherH]

(ok, I know there are some of you who heard that with a British accent :D )

But, seriously. . . .

Yesterday, one of our chickens got a wound on its head - somehow. We've been keeping them during the day in an old dog pen - my son thinks they have been sticking their little heads in and out of the wire fencing, and this one chicken got cut.

WHAT do we do?????

[Soph the vet]

Can you change the fencing, i.e. chicken wire? As long as the bleeding has stopped and the chicken seems fine (eating, walking ok, etc.) then I would tend to leave it alone. Hydrogen peroxide will clean up blood nicely if the chicken is really messy.

[Remudamom]

Sometimes chickens will peck at a hen with a wound. If they start up you'll have to isolate her til it heals. Chickens are nasty that way.

[Shelly in IL]

put flour on her head and all the others' heads. The flour works as a blood stopper, and if you put them on all of their heads, they won't notice her head as being different (thus pecking it further). I know it sounds wierd, but it works. Of course, if further pecking goes on, I would separate her.

[Mamagistra]

Sometimes chickens will peck at a hen with a wound. If they start up you'll have to isolate her til it heals. Chickens are nasty that way.

You can also purchase Rooster Booster or a similar gentian violet product at your feed store...Once applied, it protects the wound from catty hens. (Someone please jump in and correct me if I'm wrong...) :blush:

[Hen Jen]

there is some nice spray that has antiseptic in it and coats the wound yellow so the other chickens don't peck it. It will help any wounds heal too, you should find it at your feed store. We had one of ours have her comb torn a bit, the vet had us apply ointment to it for a week as it healed.

[Karin]

(ok, I know there are some of you who heard that with a British accent :D )


Not me, I heard that with a BC accent.:) That's also used in parts of Canada and was one of the cuss words I used in high school.

Sorry to hear about your chickens, and hope you work that out.