# New chickens



## PznIvyFarm (Jul 25, 2010)

Since i have a 'fresh eggs' sign out front, I get people offering me chickens periodically. Usually they are half-grown chicks, predominantly male, but I am a softy, so i take them, and if they are pullets I keep them, and if not, well, they have the usual fate for male farm animals.

So i had a guy stop by today and offer me some 'chicks' that his kids got tired of - I said sure and he brought them by......they are all hens, are huge, almost ready to lay it looks like, but he said something about he thought the dog was harassing them - when i get them out of the box and into the pen, i see that one has this bunch of loose feathers, when i looked at her more closely I realized the skin was ripped off of the poor thing's chest, exposing the muscle. She doesn't seem fazed by it, I clipped off the loose piece, but didn't put anything on it b/c i didn't know what to do. We'll see how she does, but it makes me wonder what people think sometimes buying chicks as pets for their kids who get bored with them, and then let their dog 'play' with them.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Well I am glad that you take them in. A much better fate ending up your dinner or sticking around to lay eggs for you then be harassed by the dog.


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## PznIvyFarm (Jul 25, 2010)

Has anyone had this happen before - do you think the skin will grow back?


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## kids-n-peeps (Aug 24, 2009)

We had a young chick that was basically scalped by a piece of wire poultry fence. Yes, eventually the wound did heal, but he did not grow as many feathers on his head as he should have. That would have been okay except that many of the feathers dids not grow in correctly - they would break through the skin and then grow horizontally, growing back into his scalp. Poor guy.

Maybe this occurred because he was so young when the damage occurred. I really was surprised by how it played out. 

I hope your hen fares better. As she heals, you might just want to check that her feathers come in as they should. On our guy, it was really noticeable b/c it was happening on the top of his head, near his eyes.


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