Warning - Gross and bloody photos below. Stop now iof you don't want to see. The chicken is fine now, it's not THAT bad...
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Tonight there was a chicken emergency. I went outside to the chicken coop while making dinner to bring Danni the Hen in for her evening snack in the kitchen while I cooked. When I got to the coop I checked on all the other birds who were roosting for the night. And to my horror I found Zoner the hen with a bloody head and the hen standing beside Zoner (Charlotte) was pecking Zoner in her bloody head! I scooped Zoner off the roost and away from Charlotte as fast as I could. I checked on Danni in her infirmary coop, she was ok, and I brought Zoner into the house.
It appears Zoner's V-comb was torn partway off in the back and it bled a lot on both sides of her head. I blame those 4 extra Rhode Island Red roosters. They are very big and rough with our small hens. They are just starting to mate the hens and are mean to the ladies. Then the other hens starting pecking Zoner in the head while roosting because it was red with blood, and she's a white bird. Luckily they had not been roosting long. Zoner wouldn't have lived till morning.
I started cleaning and inspecting Zone's head when Randy came home and he took a few pictures of Zone. These photos were taken after I cleaned her up quite a bit. It looked worse before. Eventually I ended up giving her a bath and a blow-dry to get all the blood off her.
After the spa treatment, I put sugar on the comb to make it stop bleeding. Zone has a sore behind her left eye. She was put in with Danni in the infirmary coop, where she will stay for a few days till she heals up. Luckily we have that infirmary coop!
Such is life on the farm...
5 comments:
Oh that poor baby! Hens and roosters can be so vicious. Did the also peck off Zoner's tail feathers? I do hope she makes a complete recovery. Having a hen infirmary is a necessity in chicken keepings, you just never know when emergencies may arise. Happpy Thanksgiving, keep us posted.
Oh good golly...you and I are truly leading parallel lives. My laundry room is also known as Critter Farm Hospital - where I have spent HOURS washing, disinfecting (and blow-drying, lol) injured chickens.
You certainly are adept at chicken first aid these days.
Keep up the good work! :-)
Oh my god, we're leading parallel lives too, except that I'm bathing and blow-drying bleeding ducks. Poor Zoner, hope she feels better soon. Things always look worse when the blood is gushing everywhere!
Dang those young roosters! Time for them to go? I have separate quarters for injured or sick hens which is like a little chicken condo inside the big coop. It's definitely helpful when you need it. I hope she heals up quickly.
Dang those young roosters. Oh, I already said that:-)
Poor girl! It's a good thing she has a "nurse" on her staff. :)
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