Need help with injured chicken

Hello. Joined the group because I have a serious problem with our chicken! The coop was attacked night before last by six raccoons that destroyed all but one of my girls. We only saved her because of my incredible dog that pulled me, literally, out of bed to go help them. She is now blind on one side and cut up pretty bad. Spent the first day after the incident unable to hold her head up for long and sleeping. The only way we got her water was by dropper. She is much stronger tonight, we are still bottle feeding her baby food vegetables and water but she makes a sucking sound when swallowing and is now unable to eat if she tries to bend down on her own. Any ideas?

A lot of attack victims are in some stage of shock afterwards. They need quiet, and warmth and a darker place to rest. The good thing is chickens generally have amazing recuperative powers - but, you do need to check for infection since she probably has puncture wounds. If you cannot bring her to a vet, please post asap on "emergencies, diseases, injuries, cures," thread.

It is safe to flush out her injuries with saline solution or mild (watered down) hydrogen peroxide -( because it does burn tissue as well.) Then you can apply Neosporin (NO CAIN) generously to her wounds.

Does she has any bites/wounds to her throat area? I am wondering if it injured her tubes or ligaments etc. A very good thing to give her is mashed hard boiled egg yolk, moistened a bit with water or yogurt so it will go down easier, she may eat that off your hand if you hold it up to her. Polyvisol (NO IRON) pediatric drops can give her a boost as well. I'd suggest 3 drops - 3 times a day - of food if she will eat it, or by dropper just putting it inside her beak, so she can push it out if she doesn't want to swallow.

Another good choice is warm cooked oatmeal - messy but, usually a favorite with chickens.

I'm sorry for the loss of all but 1 of your chickens. Just one raccoon can do a lot of damage...six at once is terrible.

Drumstick diva has given you some great advice, I hope it helps.

Good luck to you and your injured girl!

Hello and welcome to BYC!

Good luck with your chicken!

Thank you so much for your advice! We live in an area where there isn't a vet that will see the chicken, just the one feed store around here and they have to order everything to get any supplies. (They carry more large bags of dog food and lumber than anything). We can not find any injuries to her neck or throat, she just seems to be unable to feed or drink on her own. When we do give her food or water she sounds like she is drowning, for lack of a better term. She seems very hungry and we have been giving her rice, baby food veggies, and I tried oatmeal this morning. We have cleaned her one side of her face with baby shampoo and warm water and then I put neo on her ear and head areas. Her eye is swollen shut so we still don't know what is behind it. I know this sounds horrible to some, but I moved her inside in a dog crate and am keeping her in there at night so she is warm. I feel like she is suffering from being alone now (I know I would). During the day I let her outside to free range which is her normal lifestyle. She just stands there in one place and when she does bend down to scratch it seems she can not move her beak successfully to do anything. I just hope we are not prolonging any suffering that is going to take her anyway. I wish there was someone here to take her to. Yes I know she is just a chicken, but she was my first and has always acted more like a dog. She plays with the dog, sleeps with the cats, and thinks she is a parrot if your sitting on the porch. We have had her for over two years and have enjoyed every moment taking care of her. The poor thing was so brave during the attack that she ran through all the racoons trying to attack her to get to us when my husband started calling her name, and she was completely blinded at that moment. We have a large coop that has never been infiltrated (not from lack of trying) before. I just feel so guilty she and the rest endured this. The raccoons were so worked up one of them went after me growling and spitting. My dog was having none of that though! He was actually the one that herded her away from the area while my husband and I trapped them in the coop for animal control. We were worried about rabies for obvious reasons. None of that though.

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

Welcome to the BYC flock! We are glad you joined us!



Thank goodness your dog alerted you to the issue and then protected your one remaining hen. I hope she continues to improve.

Thank you. He's my hero this week!