Can she be saved?!

[Ryytikki]

currently, she is standing by herself at the side of our garden and not interacting with the other chickens but still pecking at the ground and cleaning herself

Mum thinks shes too far gone but is still willing to give it a go for a bit longer and we are thinking of letting the injured chicken sleep with the others and stick the bully in 'solitary confinement'

The cats also seem to have sensed that something is wrong, moving to pounce her but then pulling away at the last minute when there is no reaction

Since she is my chicken, im hoping for the best but all we can do is wait =(

[lynda66]

if theres only one doing the pecking, and you've nowhere to separate both of them, i'd be inclined to separate the bully *fingers crossed*

[di]

I hate to be negative....but she does look pretty bad!!Hard as it is to make these decisions I think as animal guardians it's our responsibility not just to make them better,but to also know when it's best to put them out of their suffering!!I know if I had a wound like that then I'd want some pretty hardcore painrelief.....not sure what's available for a chicken?)
Sorry to be the one seemingly unsympathetic voice(honest I truly feel for you & know I'd be fraught in the same position),but I've always felt strongly about not making an animal suffer..
((((hugs))))to try & make it all a little easier for you.Di,xx

[lynda66]

i agree with you Di, though most animals when in a great deal of pain stop eating, so while she's still eating, i think i'd give her a chance too ...... it's a hard decision, but one that can only be made at the right time ..... isn't a slim chance better than none??

[Ryytikki]

well, as far as ive seen, shes still eating so we're going to wait just a few more days to see. Mum feels guilty about going on holiday but we are all trying to convince her that its nobodys fault, especialy not her own. How quickly do you think that this could have happened?

Oh, and i dont mean to sound morbid but would it be possible to use any of the meat? It seems a shame to just bury her and it would be nice for her memory if we could enjoy her for all of her worth

[BrideXIII]

If she is eating and drinking give it a go, i have had 4 cats survive cat flu this year, and one with a burst abcess so large I thought i could nearly see her skull, all are fit and well now, although if they had stopped eating and drinking I think i would have had to let them go.
when animals are still cleaning themselves, and feeding there is still hope.

[Hilary B]

Are you COMPLETELY sure that this was all 'the other chickens'? I've seen poultry attacked by rats, and the wounds were very similar (once they are bleeding the other chooks will peck at the injuries, but it is an odd place for chooks to START the attack). If she seems capable of carrying on with life, keep trying. If she stops looking as if she WANTS to live, time to let her go. If there is ANY possibility that rats are involved, I wouldn't touch the meat, otherwise, you can if you think it worth the effort involved, but with a hybrid layer type, it's a lot of fiddly work for not much value of meat.

[Ryytikki]

i doubt that it was rats as they are locked away at night and the gauze of the wire around the pen is smaller than what they can fit through (aprox 16mm) so there is very little way in. The base of the run is filled with about 3 layers of breeze blocks and even a fox couldnt dig through that.

[Hilary B]

No chance that a rat got shut in with them one night? That's all it would take. How many chickens in the group? Could she have got a 'mud rash' or similar that got them started? Some hens will peck the 'vent' of a hen that has just laid an egg (it gets conspicuous and red for a while, usually very short, but can last a while if she is a bit off-colour, or had a problem with laying that particular egg, or she is getting old), but if that was how it had started the wound would cut into the innards rather nastily, and she would probably have been dead by the time you saw it, but a rash not far from that location, well maybe.....

[Ryytikki]

no, there is no chance that a rat could have got in as there are only 4 in the group and we would notice when gathering eggs/putting them to bed

Two of the others also have wounds in the same location but as i said in my original post, they are scabbed over and very small

[Ryytikki]

here are some images of the other chickens wounds. The fourth chicken (not in any of the pictures) doesnt have any marks at all, making her the obvious culprit if it is pecking. it just seems a very strange place for them to start pecking

[Bephlam]

I would most definitely take that chicken to the vet. The wound doesn't look good at all, and the tissue most definitely looks dead around the edge, which ideally needs debrided and possibly a cavity dressing.

I think she most definitely deserves a chance, but unless you're VERY experienced in wound management, I wouldn't be confident caring for that alone. (and I am a Vet Nurse!) She ideally needs some antibiotics - a wound of that size, with that level of dead tissue really needs some extra attention in order for it to heal.

Good luck...keep us updated!

[Bephlam]

Oh, and if the breast bone really is visible it's even more important that infection doesn't enter the site!

In terms of eating the meat should she not make it - I wouldn't chance it...not with a nasty wound that's potentially entering the body cavity!

I'd be in the surgery already having it deep cleaned and debrided. It's cash, but it's more humane.

Good luck, again!

[Hilary B]

Whatever else you do, isolate the uninjured one, and consider whether you might need to get rid of her. Vent pecking is a bad habit, and if it becomes cannibalism, it can be really nasty. From those pics (and excluding the rat theory) it may be that you have one just starting out on the road to cannibalism (but so far not found the 'prime target'), and it may be that the others will get the habit if she is allowed to continue. This is one reason why hens kepts intensively in barns are usually beak-trimmed. In those conditions the one attacked has no chance of dodging.....

[lynda66]

Oh, and if the breast bone really is visible it's even more important that infection doesn't enter the site!

In terms of eating the meat should she not make it - I wouldn't chance it...not with a nasty wound that's potentially entering the body cavity!

I'd be in the surgery already having it deep cleaned and debrided. It's cash, but it's more humane.

Good luck, again!

i missed the bone showing bit ....... i really think you should get her to the vets asap, if that's the case, once infection gets in that deep it will be very hard to eradicate.