**Dog attack** What do I do??

[dixie&trixie]

I went on vacation for 4 days and when I came back my neighbor said his dog attacked one of my chickens. All but one of her tail feathers were ripped out and she seems to have a gash on her rump area. I brought her inside and washed the area and put neosporin on it. I need to know if I should put her on antibiotics or if there is something else I should do.

The area is tender to the touch. She pulled away when I touched it to clean. She is eating, drinking and pooping fine. I kept her inside the first night but last night I let her back inthe coop.

Any suggestions? I can post pics when I get home if needed. Im a first time chicken owner and my girls are like pets. I'll do whatever I can!!!

 

[bockbock2008]

If it were meeeee, I would clean it at least once daily, twice if possible and keep neosporin on it and it should heal. Just make sure you don't get the neosporin with pain reliever.

ETA: Be glad your neighbor was kind enough to tell you about it. Alot of peoples neighbors would have just disposed of it and not said anything and left you wondering

 

[carrlr]

You've done just what I would do. Just keep an eye on her and make sure she isn't getting pecked by any other chickens. I would consider antibiotics if any symptoms of infection occur. Good luck.

 

[dfjsej]

Hey There - It sounds like you are doing what you need to be doing. If she has survived for more than a day or two I bet she will be alright. I have a jack russell terrier who has attacked/killed several of my chickens (if they accidently got out). It is so frustrating to me. I have found that the chickens who survive the first 24 hours after the attack have lived. You do need to be careful about the other chickens picking on her or even killing her. If they seem to be accepting her and not pecking her - she should be alright. If they are hurting her, then you need to seperate her. Good luck! I have been raising chickens for about a year and a half and I am still learning too.

 

[CMV]

I always cover any wounds with Blukote to disguise them. The other chickens are not as likely to notice them that way. I hope she recovers from her close call. Good luck.

 

[PuppyBantamCochin]

I had a neighbor's dog attack my flock of 3 hens in early spring while we were gone and we came back to 2 dead hens & one hen who was REALLY badly ripped up. She had exposed muscle and deep puncture wounds in there. She also had a bad limp. The wounds had been open for at least 6-8hours I think. We took in inside, disinfected her with oxygen peroxide and hoped for the best. For a few days she sat there panting, and she had some stuff in her wounds (terrible smell) but I kept her clean and the area around her clean. She wouldn't drink so I did end up giving her water myself. It was a tough fight for her, but she's a tough chicken and she got over the infection. Her skin eventually pulled together, and slowly she began growing feathers back. It took her about month to start laying again, but I am happy to say that she's alive and well today.

I hope your chicken heals fast!!


F.V.

 

[Qi Chicken]

We just had this happen and I can tell you what we did. Same situation with rooster. Most of tail feathers gone and big gash on tail of rooster.

ONCE DAILY: we got a syringe and squirted the wounds with Providone Iodine diluted to look like iced tea. We then squirted with plain water as the iodine can be irritating to the skin and actually delay healing. We then put neosporin all over. After a couple of days the roos back started to turn green. It looked as though it was going to get infected. I later learned that birds bruise green so it may have been bruising but I don't know.

Because of the green I talked to our vet and a vet friend. Our vet gave us oral baytril, an antibiotic. The hen would eat it on hard boiled egg but the rooster would eat around it so I tried to just squirt it in his mouth. I don't know how much he got. My vet friend said that silvadene would be more effective as a topical cream. It is effective against pseudomonas, a bacteria that gives a green sheen to the skin. It is usually prescriped for humans with burns but is often used for animals. She called that in and I picked it up at our regular pharmacy. Both vets said not to use blue kote, said it was very irritating to the skin. Especially not on an open wound as it would seal in any in bacteria.

We did this daily for about 2 weeks. The feathers started to grow back and the scabs fell off. We put them both back with the others. After a day the roo had a very bloody tail. One of the blood feathers had broken it looks like. (This was only 2 days ago) I couldn't imagine that any of the hens would peck him because he is a pretty tough guy so I left him in the coop. I thought it was probably an accident. Preening or something. However, today I got home early and made them some scrambled eggs and watched them for awhile. At first I just saw one hen pick at him. She came away with fresh blood on her beak. I then just followed them around for awhile and I saw 4-5 of them peck at his butt.

He didn't have ANY scabs or blood when we let him back with the others and it was actually very hard to see his bare parts. New feathers were coming in so I am surprised that he was pecked on. I guess if you have your head at the level of his tail it is probably a lot easier to see.

I put him back in isolation tonight and tomorrow will probably take him out and look at him to see if it is still the feathers bleeding or if he has a new wound.

I don't know much about these blood feathers. Apparently they are very vascular and a bird can actually bleed to death if they don't stop bleeding. ---I just read that on here so I don't know if it is true or not.

I want to give him a bath and then try to get a saddle on him. I don't know if that will cover him enough or not and I don't know if the bath would start the bleeding again. So I am kind of at a loss.

Just be careful when you put them back in!

If he doesn't have any open wounds I was thinking that I would use the blue kote to disguise it.

ps The other hen that was attacked is also back in the coop and is not getting pecked as far as I can tell but she does not mingle with the other chickens. I don't know if she is scared of them or still traumatized by the attack.

 

[dixie&trixie]

Quote:
Hmmm...I only isolate my girl at night. Should I keep her inside all day til shes better? I hate for her to not be with the others. Shes the matriarch and doubt the others will peck at her.

My boyfriend is an ER doc so Im sure he can get me all these supplies. Thanks so much for helping.

 

[Luvs chickens]

I would keep her away from the other birds until she is healed. one taste of blood and she will be a gonner.