Pullet with broken feather shaft on foot

[Aquiel]

I do not have a separate isolation coop. Funny thing is we just returned from Rural King with a $300 coop/run that we were going to build for the 4-week-old chicks I plan to add to my flock. My husband and I were watching the girls (six 15-week-old pullets) and talking about the placement of the second coop when we noticed Golden Cheeks pulling on Roo’s right leg feathers. Note: My husband named them so that he could recognize them. Golden Cheeks and Black Cheeks are the Gold Laced Wyandottes. Roo and Brown are the Golden Cuckoo Marans. Yellow and Penguin are the Green Queens.

When “Goldie” pulled on Roo’s leg feather she came away with a piece of feather and what looked like a piece of the keratin sheath. Roo moved away and went to the coop while the other girls started pecking at her leg. We noticed Roo favoring her right leg so we pulled her out and saw that she was bleeding a little.

I cleaned her up and applied Vetericyn. Since I don’t have another coop or brooder, Roo is spending time in the horse trailer. We put bedding in the manger with food and water and I know she’s going to try to roost on the partition. We should have the small coop built tomorrow.
I searched through the threads and understand we need to pull the feather out. The shaft is thick and fat almost 1/8” if not thicker (new feather emerging). I’m afraid to pull it. Should I soak the foot first to soften the area just like we soak our feet before a pedicure?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I do not have a separate isolation coop. Funny thing is we just returned from Rural King with a $300 coop/run that we were going to build for the 4-week-old chicks I plan to add to my flock. My husband and I were watching the girls (six 15-week-old pullets) and talking about the placement of the second coop when we noticed Golden Cheeks pulling on Roo’s right leg feathers. Note: My husband named them so that he could recognize them. Golden Cheeks and Black Cheeks are the Gold Laced Wyandottes. Roo and Brown are the Golden Cuckoo Marans. Yellow and Penguin are the Green Queens.

When “Goldie” pulled on Roo’s leg feather she came away with a piece of feather and what looked like a piece of the keratin sheath. Roo moved away and went to the coop while the other girls started pecking at her leg. We noticed Roo favoring her right leg so we pulled her out and saw that she was bleeding a little.

I cleaned her up and applied Vetericyn. Since I don’t have another coop or brooder, Roo is spending time in the horse trailer. We put bedding in the manger with food and water and I know she’s going to try to roost on the partition. We should have the small coop built tomorrow.
I searched through the threads and understand we need to pull the feather out. The shaft is thick and fat almost 1/8” if not thicker (new feather emerging). I’m afraid to pull it. Should I soak the foot first to soften the area just like we soak our feet before a pedicure?

Welcome To BYC

Do you have a photo of the foot?

Sometimes it may be necessary to pull out the rest of the feather shaft, this will stop the bleeding and allow another feather to replace it.
Pliers work well for pulling, hold the skin firmly around the feather so you don't pull the skin.

Clean the area with a bit of saline or soap/water once the feather is out. If you wish dab a bit of triple antibiotic ointment on there.

By tomorrow, you should be able to put her back with her friends.

 

[Aquiel]

Thank you for responding. I’ll try to get a photo before we start. Since the bleeding stopped and wasn’t much, I let her rest over night in the horse trailer. I checked on her first thing this morning and she’s fine. We plan to pull the feather today but had to get more lumber for the coop. She’s eating although I haven’t seen her drink anything. I’m sure she has/will judging by the droppings. She doesn’t seem stressed. I’ll provide an update. I was more concerned about any prep before pulling as I didn’t read anything. Other than cleaning I wondered if soaking her foot would soften things up for pulling. This is my first time raising chickens. I grew up with cockatiels and parrots. My mother raised African Grays, Cockatiels, and Ringneck Parakeets. Over 20 years ago, if you’ve been to Honolulu, you might have seen one of her Grays in Waikiki or at the Aloha Tower. Hope to update later tonight but it’s looking like we’re postponing til tomorrow when we can monitor her afterwards. I’ve never pulled a feather from a bird’s leg before.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for responding. I’ll try to get a photo before we start. Since the bleeding stopped and wasn’t much, I let her rest over night in the horse trailer. I checked on her first thing this morning and she’s fine. We plan to pull the feather today but had to get more lumber for the coop. She’s eating although I haven’t seen her drink anything. I’m sure she has/will judging by the droppings. She doesn’t seem stressed. I’ll provide an update. I was more concerned about any prep before pulling as I didn’t read anything. Other than cleaning I wondered if soaking her foot would soften things up for pulling. This is my first time raising chickens. I grew up with cockatiels and parrots. My mother raised African Grays, Cockatiels, and Ringneck Parakeets. Over 20 years ago, if you’ve been to Honolulu, you might have seen one of her Grays in Waikiki or at the Aloha Tower. Hope to update later tonight but it’s looking like we’re postponing til tomorrow when we can monitor her afterwards. I’ve never pulled a feather from a bird’s leg before.

If it seems o.k., then I'd just put her back with her flock and see how it goes.

You don't have to pull the feather shaft out if it's not bothering her.

 

[Aquiel]

If it seems o.k., then I'd just put her back with her flock and see how it goes.

You don't have to pull the feather shaft out if it's not bothering her.

Thank you. I just read your post. Been a busy morning finishing up the aux hen pen, dealing with Roo and the other hens, and cleaning the main coop and run.

We looked at Roo this morning. It looks like just the tip where the feathers emerge was torn. The shaft itself has another 1/4”+ to the skin. The shaft and feather had dried blood on the end and since moving it didn’t make it bleed we decided to return her to the flock as is. Unfortunately the girls are still working on their pecking order. They have daily face offs flaring hackles bumping chests but they’ve never touched. Roo was put back in with the girls through the coop. When she emerged from the coop the bullies attacked her grabbing at her feathers and pecking her head/back.

Since this was more aggression than normal although Roo stood her ground we quickly intervened when Penguin started pecking her head as Yellow tried to pull her side feathers again. Roo was unharmed and we put her in the aux pen. Should I have cleaned up the dried blood more thoroughly?

The aux hen pen is butted up, side by side to the 120 sq ft run. At first they growled at each other through the hardwire. The Wyandottes are still pacing the edge of the run like they want to go through it while Brown (the other Marans) is laying near the edge as if she misses Roo and wants to be close to Roo. If it looks like they’ve settled down and ignore her, I’ll try to sneak her in the coop tonight. Fingers crossed!

Earlier, Brown must have been upset when the other four girls ganged up on Roo. She started making a new sound that sounded like she was hiccuping. When she made the sound she’d shake her head as if she tasted something bad. We thought she was sneezing but she repeated the sound rhythmically like hiccuping. It went on for at least ten minutes. She’s still making the sound occasionally but without the head shake. Maybe she’s gotten used to her new voice.

As for my flock, they’re nearing 16 weeks. They’ve been hanging out in the coop laying on the floor these past few weeks. This week they seem to be in the coop a lot—like 45 min in, 20-30 min out, repeat. I would love to free range but we have woods around our backyard and neighbors have lost their flock to something—fox, coyote, raccoon, skunk, or fisher cat. I also have standard wirehaired dachshunds who are very interested in these chickens. The dogs think chicks are squeaker toys. One of my dachshunds knows how to open the gate (so we clamp it) and if motivated enough will jump/climb over the 40” fence. The hens are safer in the run which is ten feet from the dog’s fenced yard. I think the dogs keep the predators away.

I’m sorry I digress. Thank you for responding. It helped me feel confident that we’re doing okay.

I think it best I clean the dried blood first so I’ll take care of her foot tomorrow. She’s in the aux coop for the night

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yes, clean the blood off all the feathers. I've found that Peroxide on a cloth helps remove blood fairly well.

It's not uncommon for them to have squabbles, the longer she's removed from the flock, the tougher re-integration is. I very very rarely move a female from her flock unless it's an absolute necessity, those girls can be brutal!

Boys, you can move them in/out as needed if they are only going back to an all female flock. Roosters revolve around the hens, they are not particularly part of the hen's pecking order.

 

[Aquiel]

I got everything set up to clean Roo. Even prepared an epsom bath just in case. When I brought her in, her feet were already cleaned and the broken feather with the dried blood was gone. Roo did a good job preening. I did not see the torn shaft but there were new pin feathers. So I grabbed all the treats I prepared beforehand and took Roo to the coop.

My chickens love this organic chicken treats with dried berries and whole grain. They also go cuckoo for cherries but the local grocery didn’t have any this morning. I picked up blueberries instead.

My husband carried Roo into the run. I fed Roo the first blueberry as the others stared anxiously awaiting their treats then poured the grain into their dish topped with blueberries and shredded lettuce. While they were busy eating we set Roo down and then I tossed blueberries and watched them chase after them. It was like everything back to normal. One of the Wyandottes did tap Roo on the back of her head and she appeared to submit keeping her head bowed. Other than that, everything went back to normal. I hung out in the run until all the treats were gone. Roo followed the Green Queen bullies into the coop and they didn’t react. Roo laid for a bit in the coop then came out and ran around the run. We left the run as
Roo explored the dust bath.

I heard a loud squawk when I was busy cleaning out the aux coop getting it ready for my 4-week-old chicks. Roo was no longer dust bathing. Yellow was scratching the sand in the dust bath while Roo laid down near the bottom of the run. Yellow must have stepped on Roo as she sprawled out in the dust bath. Looks like they are good now.

As for my new chicks, I wanted to add one more to the flock but was told it’s best to add two. I had to order a minimum of three but I received four pullets. They’re Splash Ameraucanas and I think one might be a cockerel—it’s bigger, stands taller, and the comb is visible and pinker while the other combs are still little and yellowish. I guess that’s why the 80% accuracy. Two will be given away but if one is a roo not sure how that will go.

Thank you again for your support. Raising chickens is a new adventure for me.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I got everything set up to clean Roo. Even prepared an epsom bath just in case. When I brought her in, her feet were already cleaned and the broken feather with the dried blood was gone. Roo did a good job preening. I did not see the torn shaft but there were new pin feathers. So I grabbed all the treats I prepared beforehand and took Roo to the coop.

My chickens love this organic chicken treats with dried berries and whole grain. They also go cuckoo for cherries but the local grocery didn’t have any this morning. I picked up blueberries instead.

My husband carried Roo into the run. I fed Roo the first blueberry as the others stared anxiously awaiting their treats then poured the grain into their dish topped with blueberries and shredded lettuce. While they were busy eating we set Roo down and then I tossed blueberries and watched them chase after them. It was like everything back to normal. One of the Wyandottes did tap Roo on the back of her head and she appeared to submit keeping her head bowed. Other than that, everything went back to normal. I hung out in the run until all the treats were gone. Roo followed the Green Queen bullies into the coop and they didn’t react. Roo laid for a bit in the coop then came out and ran around the run. We left the run as
Roo explored the dust bath.

I heard a loud squawk when I was busy cleaning out the aux coop getting it ready for my 4-week-old chicks. Roo was no longer dust bathing. Yellow was scratching the sand in the dust bath while Roo laid down near the bottom of the run. Yellow must have stepped on Roo as she sprawled out in the dust bath. Looks like they are good now.

As for my new chicks, I wanted to add one more to the flock but was told it’s best to add two. I had to order a minimum of three but I received four pullets. They’re Splash Ameraucanas and I think one might be a cockerel—it’s bigger, stands taller, and the comb is visible and pinker while the other combs are still little and yellowish. I guess that’s why the 80% accuracy. Two will be given away but if one is a roo not sure how that will go.

Thank you again for your support. Raising chickens is a new adventure for me.

Sounds like it's going good!

LOL Yes, it's an adventure. Worth a lifetime of learning!