Pecking Order

A few weeks ago we discovered that one of our hens had been injured. She had a pretty nasty tear across the back of her neck and had clearly been "hen-pecked" since she was cowering in a corner behind the feed bin. Not only do chickens have a clear pecking order, they are also incapable of not pecking at something that is discolored or out of the ordinary. A spot of blood is sure to get pecked. So we brought Henny-Penny inside, cleaned and medicated the wound and made a comfortable pen for her in the warm basement. Within a few days the wound had scabbed over and she was clearly feeling much better - so much better that she prefered roaming through the basement to staying in her nice little pen. Clearly it was time for her return to the coop, but her scab was certainly still too tempting to put her back with the rest of the flock. So we set up the temporary brooder in the coop (portable, small enclosed area with a chicken-wire lid for starting baby chicks) and put Henny in there for the remainder of her convalescence. (Plus, I had read that it was good to keep an injured chicken separated but near the flock so that they remember each other and don't treat her as an outsider when she rejoins them).

All was well for the next several days until the weather warmed and I decided to let the chickens outside for a few hours. The brooder sets up in such a way that the small chicken door is inside the brooder portion. In oder to let the chickens outside without leaving the big door open - and any of you familiar with the history of chickens at the farm are well aware of the bloodshed that has occured due to the big door being left open! - as I was saying, to let the chickens out without the big door being left open I needed to take down a portion of the brooder. Henny was looking so good by then that I decided to try it. I let her out with the flock and kept an eye on her while I removed the brooder wall and opened the small chicken door. The chickens burst out into the warm sun and emediatly started pecking at the few spots of grass peaking from the snowy ground. Henny joined in the activity, seemingly accepted by the hens and delighted to be out of confinement. Although a small voice was telling me that chickens are really cruel, cold pecking machines that would turn on Henny the instant I left, I decided to let things be and check back in an hour or so; afterall, how bad could things get in an hour?

Pretty bad.

When I came back to the coop Henny was inside, swaying back and forth with blood streaming down her neck - the wound gaping and worse than the first time.

The unnecessary suffering of an animal is a hard thing to see. But when it's a result of your own carelessness or lack of better judgment, then it's almost sickening. I just wanted to burst into tears at the sight of this little hen in so much pain! Instead, I rushed her inside (again), washed and medicated her wound (again) and made her as comfortable as I could in the basement (again). The only difference about this repeat of events was that her wound was so much worse and required more clean up. Chris held Henny while I investigated.

It was a terrible thing.

A hefty chunk of skin/scar tissue/feathers was dangling down beside her head. It kept tapping her in the face and she'd shake her head to get it out of her eyes, each time splattering us with blood. Clearly the only thing for it was to remove the flap of skin, so I took my sharpest pair of scissors and cut through thick, soft tissue - UGH!

With the flap of skin gone we could see, that though a painful wound, she was certainly going to make it. We attempted to bandage it, but she was not interested in wearing a bonnet, so we just applied some antibiotic ointment and put her back into the make-shift pen in the basement.
We kept her inside a few days longer than before, until is was clear from the smell that she had to get back outside. Henny is currently residing in the brooder, safely segragated from sharp beaks and on her way to a full recovery.

Henny in her basement abode (for the second time)

UPDATE: Henny has recently been joined by another hen who also has a minor wound on her neck - not requiring any medical attention, but bad enough to need separating. The wound was clearly rooster inflicted. The two hens appear to get along just fine and, as of yet, there has been no bloodshed. However, there have been 4 eggs produced by the invalids.