Yesterday afternoon, I visited with the girls as they enjoyed some sunflower treats in the run. I have not seen too much of Dolly as she has been broody for the past couple of weeks. She typically hides in a zen-like trance in the right nesting box. I check on her twice a day. She never minds feeling my hands taking the warm and toasty eggs from underneath of her. She seems to understand that soon enough, someone else will lay another egg for her to rest upon.
The house is in a state of remodeling chaos. We are living out of 3 rooms, enjoying microwave cooking and instant coffee. Doors are taped shut. Rooms are barricaded off with sheets of plastic. We are undergoing a remodel. Thank Goodness, my husband was home. As he held sweet Dolly, I fetched some Q Tips, a paper plate and Blu-Kote. As Blu-Kote stains everything, I sprayed it on the plate and with the Q Tips cleaned her back. In no time, her wound was a lovely shade of iridescent purple. I placed her back inside of the run and everyone was curious. The curiosity lead to pecking. She was running in fear. I needed to do more. I scooped her up for my hubby to hold once more.
I had to wait a while for Dolly to return to the nesting box. Once she did, I grabbed her and put it on. She obliged. She wriggled her wings and the saver seemed to just slink into position. The wound was covered. I put her back in the coop and she ran into the run. Everyone noticed the apron and everyone was terrified! She would move closer and they would as a collective flock, shimmy away. Dolly stood taller and tried to intimidate them. When she shook her wings, they ran. It was such a sight to see; silly chickens.
I watched for a while and then determined that my quick handy work seemed to be staying put. Once the girls tucked in for bed, I peeked in with a flashlight. Dolly was on the roost with the rest of the girls snuggled in for the night between Tilly and Sunshine. The crisis seemed to be averted.This morning, everyone popped out into the run a little before 7am. Dolly came right out wearing her hen saver and she enjoyed scratching in the run with the rest of the girls. No one seemed to fear her new wardrobe. For now, all seems to be well. Thanks to some great advice from my Facebook fans, I am off to pick up some Vetericyn.
I will apply that to the wound once I get it. I have added vitamins and electrolytes to the water and I have been sharing some yummy, high in protein, meal worms with the girls. I will keep the hen saver on her to keep the others from picking. I am hoping that she makes a full recovery. This has served as a reminder. Bullies can do so much more than emotional damage. Their actions can be downright scarring.
Photo Credits: Tilly’s Nest
13 thoughts on “Hen Apron”
Yipes! That's an ungly wound, glad you caught it before it got too bad! Good luck to Dolly!
How sad for Dolly! I'm glad you noticed… and I've never heard of a hen saver! I'll have to keep that in mind for the future if I ever need it. Thank you for sharing your experience caring for an injured hen!
Oh no! Poor Dolly! But I'm so happy the chicken saddle pattern came in handy for you. Thanks for the shout out!
Penny
Oh gosh. How sad and scary. I'm so glad you re homed Dottie Speckles. It was the right thing to do. Peace and harmony in a flock is priceless.
Oh, poor Dolly. I hope she will mend now without any interference from the other girls.
Oh, poor Dolly! I'm so glad you caught this before it turned into something much worse. I must also confess that your story about her return to the run in her chic new attire made me giggle. lol I suppose Dolly had quite the fun with it for a while!
Hope she recovers quickly. 🙂
Remodeling chaos be damned! A hen mother has to do what a hen mother has to do. I'm thinking I should make one of those hen savers now, just to have on hand. Anxious to hear how the Vetricyn will work on Dolly. I swear by the the stuff for equines but have not had cause to use it on any of my chickens (I'm sure it's just a matter of time). Here's a post I wrote about using it, if you're interested.
http://www.the7msnranch.com/2010/10/unsolicited-testimonial-for-vetericyn.html
Good luck to sweet Dolly!! She is so fortunate to have such a marvelous loving chicken mom! 🙂
Poor girl! You did a wonderful job of cleaning her up and saving the day! Living with chickens is never boring is it? You area good mother hen!
hugs,
Deb
I realy enjoyed Dollies story and how you stopped any more infection from damaging Dollies back, I hope Dollie back has healed well and is back to normal.
I enjoyed this story so much that Im going to use it has one of stories to write about in my blog for college, I hope this is ok.
Chris006
So glad you passed on the link for the chicken saddle. It's one definitely to bookmark! Also relieved and happy to hear how much better Dolly is doing without her tormentor. Hx
Oh my gosh. Your stories of your chickens always make me laugh. Dolly trying to intimidate the other girls now that they are scared of her! Silly chickens indeed…
They are super silly for sure! Alway mood brighteners!