Tramatized hens wont go back in the coop at dusk

Hi there just woundered how i can get my hens to go back to bed in there coop. 2 nights ago something got in the coop an killed and took all of 1 hen bar some feathers. 1 hen got injured in both eyes an she in my house in a box, shes drinking but not eating as yet and one eye is pussy and one closed she should come right hope fully, shes eatten a but of natural yogert if i open her mouth and put it in her beak. Any way the other hens just wont go and roost in there cooop now, the rooser does but we gotta go around the farm and pick the up from weird and obscure place like on a pallet of bricks, in tall grass in the garden, i the green house, inbetween plant pots, and put them in the coop, each night they have been in differant place. Has any one any sujestions to get them happy with there coop again? Oh and any ideas on whats the best food force feed a hen with? and am i right in tinking that if she dosnt eat soon that her crop will go sour and she will die from that also? I live in the UK and the hens are warrens, Thanks for advise in advance.

Welcome, all the way from Texas!

Sorry to hear about your birds.

The best food for feeding her is gonna be some scrambled or hard boiled eggs. If you're going to attempt to force feed her just be extra careful that no food goes down her trachea, I would really try to get her to eat on her own if possible. The yogurt is good and will keep her crop from going sour.

If her eyes are goopy I would try to get some Terramycin Ophthalmic Ointment. I don't know how the regulations are in the UK, but here you can buy it over-the-counter, no need to visit a vet. If that isn't available I would try to get her on an antibiotic, whatever attacked her could easily cause an infection. Is her head/eyes the only part injured?

As far as getting them to go back in the coop, they're just going to have some time to get comfortable with the fact that the coop is a safe place again. In the meantime you're probably just going to have to keep putting them in there (a pain I know, but they're rightfully fearful). Make sure you secure whatever caused the animal to be able to get access so that it doesn't happen again.

What do you mean by "force feeding?" Do you know how?

Here is some advice: before you start force feeding, you should get the right formula and instructions on how to do this. You could kill her if you don't know how.

I had a sort of sick hen who was healthy enough to save. However, because she had been away from the flock, she stopped eating. My vet gave me a special tube and some nutrition powder.

The tube went down the LEFT side of her throat. If the tube did not go own easily, it was in the wrong place.

Again, I would visit a vet so you know what your are doing and the best approach.

Be sure to see an "Avian" get that is familiar with chickens. Most dog and cat vets have no clue about chickens nor do they seem to care.

Thanks for the replys by force feeding i ment by opening her beak and putting food in there and she would swallow, anyway shes now eating on her own nearley, her eyes are opening but still gunky and she dosnt seem to see properly yet as she keeps missing the corn and water i have to keep putting it in front of her beak, i hope her eye sight comes back as she wont suvive with the others if totaly blind, hope to see some improvement in a week or so, other wise i have rescued a blind chicken which will have to be put down any way and that would realy be sad. as for the others they are still playing silly buggers id have thought by now they would have been ok, i might move them to a shed for a few weeks just need to make it ready for chickens, and hopefully they will forget in time and then move them back to a coop

try feeding her some scrambled eggs. if she's barely eating giving her corn isn't going to provide her with the protein she needs in order to heal. if you can't get her an antibiotic for her eyes you can use boric acid diluted 1 tsp. to 1 cup in bottled water to rinse some of the gunk away. just make sure you use good distilled or bottled water, the chlorine in tap water will burn her eyes.

your hen's crop won't go sour if her digestive system is working. If she is pooping regularly, then feed her. Yogurt is enjoyed by chickens but try food pellets, will she swallow them? Try oatmeal if not, sweetened even. you can use a drench to fill her crop if she doesn't eat, but you risk sour crop if she is really sick and not processing food. Is she hydrated? Are you washing her eyes with baby shampoo and warm water? If she is blind I wouldn't prolong her misery, birds are highly visual creatures and can't live in the dark.

good luck!

Mine have done that before. Persistence is key. For the next few days or so I only fed them near or in the coop to let them get used to being around it. Close to dark i would move the food closer to the coop every few minutes. That helped with some of them, but with others I just had to go get them every night for a while. Eventually they figured it out. Good luck!

Thanks for that ill try her with some scrambled egg in the morning, is there any other poorly food chickens do well on? she had her frst propper poop this afternoon do her digestive system must be up and running again, as for the last 4 days it just been like water so things must be on the up.
As for her eyes her left on has a tear in the bottom eyelid and the right is very swollen again in the bottom eyelid, but she does manage to open them mainley when i perch her on my arm i gess as shes unstedy and when she drinks,
How much water does a chicken drink as im feeding and watering her 5 times a day a i carnt leave it in the cage as she wont find it. today shes drunk about a third of a yogert pot and she had some bread and butter pudding which she loved.
Her eyes look dark and shiney so im taking this that they them selfs are ok and it should just be eyelid damage and soreness any thoughts? i will try and take a pic tomorro to see what you guys think.


The other hens i rounded up with food and put then in there run tonight about 2 hrs before bed and they went in there coop ok so ill round them up with some food again for a few nights and hopefully that sould sort them
thanks again

hey im very new to this website and i have 3 tramatized chickens their pupils are huge and they are not laying eggs. They are also very afraid of me. The night that it all happened the got seperated by cooper hawks in the woods. They are really bad in wisconsin. And two got killed by hawks and the 3 that made it arent right plse help so they can be happy again. They are 14 months old and they are a leghorn and red star mix thx

cluck n stuff wrote: hey im very new to this website and i have 3 tramatized chickens their pupils are huge and they are not laying eggs. They are also very afraid of me. The night that it all happened the got seperated by cooper hawks in the woods. They are really bad in wisconsin. And two got killed by hawks and the 3 that made it arent right plse help so they can be happy again. They are 14 months old and they are a leghorn and red star mix thx

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Do you have them in a secure coop/run (some covering - even lawn chair/table in run to hide under - if they see a hawk)? Ours took about a week to get back on track after having stray dogs just harassing the hens through the fence. These guys are creatures of habit and when the pattern is upset it takes time to reset the counter (so to speak). Offer them moths and grasshoppers through the fence, they'll eventually get the idea.