Dog got a hold of my light sussex

Hello all,

Very new to raising and caring for chickens. But I have discovered, they are very much my pets, a welcome addition to my family!

Two days ago, my dog grabbed one of my girls in her mouth. I don't see any external puncture wounds or damage. However, her breathing is quite labourous. She hs not laid an egg since and was not on a perch after dark when I went to check last night, on the floor beside Roy.As far as I can tell she is not drinking or eating. I tried to hand feed her a strawberry this morn and she would have none of it. Her breathing is slightly raspy today as well. Seems to be getting worse. Am wondering if I should end her suffering or try to help her.

We have some tetracycline 250. Should I mix a small amount and try a dropper to get some in her? Any other suggestions from experience, in what I can do to help her?

She's not laying because of stress due to the trauma. Are you sure she doesn't have a broken rib that could have punctured a lung?

You can get water into her with a dropper...just a tiny bit at a time. I would also bring her in and keep her in a quiet space to give her time to rest and heal and you'll be able to keep a better eye on her to see whether there's improvement or not.

You may also want to post this under Emergencies/Injuries/Diseases and Cures. I'm sure you'll find more helpful information there.

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

So sorry about the dog attack. Sounds like she does have some internal injuries. Give her a really good exam all around her body, under the wings, along her back and such. The lungs are located on the back of the bird just down from the neck. Lots of air sacs all around this area. One of them could have become punctured. Keep her warm. Birds go into shock easily and shock can kill them faster than the wounds. The first thing shock does is make them cold. Cold birds won't eat. So bring her inside where it is warm. Keep her in the house over night as well. If you want to start her on antibiotics, you will need some penicillin or doxycycline. The other cyclines are not that useful on soft tissue, but if this is all you have, then go ahead and use it to prevent infection. I doubt she has any yet.

Try to get her to eat. Anything. No matter what it is, just to keep her alive. So cooked rice, hard boiled eggs, yogurt, mashed potatoes, oatmeal, meats, anything. Usually sick birds will refuse chicken feed and right now you just want to keep her alive so maybe she can heal. So keep her warm and feed her what ever she will eat.

You might also post this in our emergency section too for more help...https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures

I hope she survives and heals completely.

You have already gotten good advice, here's hoping your chicken survives.

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

I'm so sorry about the attack!

With dogs & chickens, the best advice is never to let them meet. Most often dogs + chickens = dead chickens

Alright great to have you joining the BYC flock



Hope everything works out for you .....

The problem isn't with the dogs, it's with lack of teaching them how to co-exist. That's the human's responsibility. There are plenty of well trained dogs who can be trusted and will protect a flock but training has to be taken seriously for that to even come close to happening.

Welcome to BYC! Sorry to hear about your chicken. You're gotten some good advice from everyone so I'll just wish you the best of luck.

Welcome to BYC! We're glad to have you.

I'm sorry to hear about your chicken! TwoCrows has given you good advice.