Can she be saved?!

[Ryytikki]

Vent pecking is a bad habit, and if it becomes cannibalism, it can be really nasty.

for the other two chickens, it isnt around the vent that they are pecked but more to the side, closer the the wing on both sides and roughly the same position

its about two inches up from the vent and to the side (see second lot of photos that i uploaded)

[Ryytikki]

mum and dad just came back from the vets who say that there is nothing they can do for the chook so dads taking her to the big chicken run in the sky and mums crying. The bully will be removed and put into the garage in the guinea pig run for the next week

Thanks again for all your help, you have allowed us to see all the different things that we could do for the chicken and has told us how to prevent this happening again. (mum is currently in tears at the thought of one of this happening to one of her precious chooks so early on)

Thanks again!

Ryy

[Nicos]

I think I'd be tempted to let the bully go off to the great chook house in the sky at the same time
Having said that-I'm sure you'll sort out their pecking order with no more injuries.

Sorry all that's happened after a holiday- you should come back feeling relaxed and happy.
One thing I've learned from your experiences is to buy some purple spray.

Lots of cuddles all round.

[Ryytikki]

that reminds me, how long until we should reinstate the bully to the main group, we currently have her seperated in the shed and we are giving her evil glares whenever possible. We would put her down as well but that would only leave us with 2 chickens and a very stressed mum (not something that i would want around the house)

[Hilary B]

for the other two chickens, it isnt around the vent that they are pecked but more to the side, closer the the wing on both sides and roughly the same position

its about two inches up from the vent and to the side (see second lot of photos that i uploaded)

Yeah, she missed! Leave her to it and sooner or later she will get the target and kill one outright.
I would keep her isolated until after introducing a couple of new ones (if you can get suitable ones quickly) or maybe let her back in after several days, but when (if) you get new ones keep her out for the first week that newcomers are with the other 2.

[chicken slave]

If seperating her does not knock her down the pecking order and she still goes for the other ones she will kill one of them. I don't know if you can still get them but my Grandfather used to put a small ring on the end of our badly behaved cockeral's beak to stop him hurting the girls it worked but I would only do that as a last resort. They can still feed perfectly well with them on.

[MaureenHall]

I'm so sorry your chook couldn't be saved. I hope that by keeping the bully isolated she'll calm down and become a good chook. If she doesn't, then I'm afraid I'm with the others on this one, send her to join her victim

[lynda66]

awwww poor thing, but probably better than her suffering, think your dad's done the right thing. i agree with the others keep her out, and if she carries on when reintroduced ..... she'd be sunday lunch in my house

[Ryytikki]

hehe, thanks again for the help and dont worry, if we catch her doing it again, she will be more than sunday lunch, we will lock her in a cage with all 3 of our cats and see how she likes that (this hasnt been confirmed by my parents yet but im working on it *laughs demonicly*)

[Bephlam]

Poor girls - still, at least she's at peace. That wound MUST have been sore!!

You can't put her in a cage with the cats - two wrongs don't make a right!!! Naughty Naughty!!

[Two_Sheds]

Poor you Ryy, poor chicken, and your poor mum

Cannibalism begins with feather pecking and is usually directed toward the tail and vent area. Prevention of cannibalism is much easier than treatment.
I just found an article about cannibalism in chickens, it might be useful: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articl...ism-by-poultry

[T-lady]

Informative but horrible article Two Sheds. Gosh, to some extent I got the chickens because they're cute but they're capable of this sort of thing!

Sorry you and your family have had to go through this Ryetikki. I hope you get your little flock back to standard working order soon and yeah, let the cats have the baddie (I sort of mean this and definitely don't)

[MaureenHall]

How are the other chooks doing now? Are their wounds healing up ok?

[Ryytikki]

the other girls are fine (apart from the bully who looks a bit peeved off - we had to put stones in her water to stop her kicking it over XD) and their wounds are healing nicely

Thanks for your interest and i (or at least the bully) hope that this will never happen again.

[Ryytikki]

We were wondering, when would be a good time to introduce some new chickens.
My mum is eager to get some more but is wondering if is too early to introduce new ones. Someone suggested that we should get a couple of new ones then wait two weeks to reintroduce the bully so that she will be at the bottom of the new pecking order or will this just give her new targets to attack? I dont like seeing her on her own but im terrified that if she does pick on any of the others, we will be in the same situation of having to put one down