NOT URGENT Hen with several broken blood feathers on tail - next steps after initial treatment?

[WingsysRoost]

My hen Ariel (just a little bit over two years old) is in a full hard molt at the moment. I went out to check on the flock and give them a little treat before bed, and when I saw Ariel, I realized that she was bleeding from some of her new tail feathers. They look like they were broken, rather than her being picked on.

I didn't see exactly what happened to cause it, but their greenhouse door did have an issue earlier today where it flew open and then shut (not sure how, but maybe it didn't latch properly last time it was opened). It's possible that this was a factor. They have all been hiding today due to weather, so it was hard to tell exactly when it happened, but the bleeding had basically stopped by the time I saw her.

I gently cleaned her wound so I could get a better look, and then sprayed the broken feathers with Vetericyn to stop any potential infection and gave her some egg as a little boost before I put her back outside. Her comb was slightly purple at the tip, most likely due to stress and pain from the feathers, but since she was otherwise acting like her regular self (and gulped the egg eagerly when offered) I figured it would be better for her to be back with the flock rather than isolate her and cause more issues long term. I will continue to spray with Vetericyn at least once daily for the next few days at minimum to make sure she doesn't get an infection, and monitor her to make sure there are no other issues.

Is there anything else that I should be doing? I see some sources say to pull broken feathers, and other sources say not to do this if you can avoid it. I would rather not pull them, since there are at least two broken that I could see, and the risk of causing damage and pain would seem much higher if I pulled (or took her to the vet to have them pulled) rather than left them, but is she at risk of reopening the wounds if I leave them?

Thank you in advance!

 

[sourland]

Monitor closely to make sure the flock does not peck/pluck/cannibalize her.

 

[WingsysRoost]

Monitor closely to make sure the flock does not peck/pluck/cannibalize her.

I will definitely be keeping a close watch on her. I'm hoping that, since it's a very small wound overall, the rest of the flock will continue to ignore it like they seemed to be doing before, but I'm definitely going to be monitoring to make sure.

Thank you for your input!

 

[townchicks]

I would pull them. Broken blood feathers will not "heal". They can clot, and stop bleeding, but they don't come in as full feathers. If you pull them she will grow new feathers. A quick hard yank is over in a second and not that stressful.

 

[WingsysRoost]

I would pull them. Broken blood feathers will not "heal". They can clot, and stop bleeding, but they don't come in as full feathers. If you pull them she will grow new feathers. A quick hard yank is over in a second and not that stressful.

As long as they won't reopen later on and start bleeding again, I don't mind if she doesn't regrow the two or three broken feathers until next molt. I'm very concerned about causing more damage to the other feathers if I try to pull them. I just wasn't sure if they would be a health risk if left.

Thank you for the input!