Please help. Cat attack, extremely heartbroken, injured bird

[prepperchickens]

3 of my 5 birds survived...right now I can't even go into detail I am so traumatized and beside myself.
My guinea keet (almost 2 months old) has scrapes on her head from desperately trying to get out of the pen. The attack happened at 745 pm and it's midnight now. She's been panting off and on ever since. My pullet has similar scrapes but isn't panting as much. So far I've looked her over as much as she will let me, I see no other wounds besides the very minor scrapes on her head and "brow," I had to separate her when I saw the other 2 lightly pecking her wounds. It didn't look aggressive but still. She was very sweet about allowing me to treat her scrapes, I washed with saline and applied betadine. She is eating when I offer her mealworms but not as greedily as usual. I dipped her beak a few times and cooled her off in the house for about 10 mins but being inside is weird to her as it keep them in the garage while we build the coop, so I didn't want to stress her out. She's moving around fine, not hiding, she just seems traumatized (her brother and best friend died in front of her eyes--I can't stop crying myself) but I'm worried and I can't find anything online about what the panting means besides pain. I don't see any sign of major wounds but could the scrapes (each no bigger than like, a chia seed) be enough to cause her to pant? Can it take hours for a bird to recover from panic? Could it be stress from grief/trauma? Please help. I've lost 2 of my birds already and I can't bear losing her, I've lost literally all four of my dearest loved ones in 2 years from totally unrelated (mother, brother, aunt, grandmother) causes and I just can't deal with death anymore, even the death of my little birds, it makes me want to quit life. I feel I failed my birds and I don't want to fail Ducky now, but I'm new at poultry birds.

 

[circesfire]

They will pant when they are stressed. The best thing to do for them besides what you have already done is to keep them warm, dark and quiet. You said you put her in the house to cool off, how warm is it in the garage? Being too hot will also cause her to pant. I don't think she is panting from pain. I have seen birds literally flayed open from car accidents that have dealt with the pain, but I think the stress is likely the culprit. For now I would keep her separated and just watch her behavior. Is there any way the cat could have bitten her? Cats carry an enormous amount of bacteria in their mouths that can lead to rampant infections.

 

[prepperchickens]

They will pant when they are stressed. The best thing to do for them besides what you have already done is to keep them warm, dark and quiet. You said you put her in the house to cool off, how warm is it in the garage? Being too hot will also cause her to pant. I don't think she is panting from pain. I have seen birds literally flayed open from car accidents that have dealt with the pain, but I think the stress is likely the culprit. For now I would keep her separated and just watch her behavior. Is there any way the cat could have bitten her? Cats carry an enormous amount of bacteria in their mouths that can lead to rampant infections.

Thanks so much. It's around 85 degrees in the garage, probably gets down to the mid to upper 70s at night. I have a 2.5 week old barred rock chick who still needs the lamp. Also, I tried putting the other two in their old tub brooder (to give Ducky the big dog cage brooder they all live in, to keep her in her familiar area) right beside each other but my two pullets, mainly the 2 mos old Amerecuana, started freaking out so bad and making Ducky pant harder and worry, so I ended up leaving the two uninjured birds loose in the garage. They have the run of it all day, I figured if I made sure they were warm enough and could perch on the chairs right beside Ducky in the brooder it would be ok, any tips on this issue? I just worry now, I can't stop worrying, I wish I didn't even get chickens as horrifying as this has all been.
Another question... Should I replaced fallen guinea? I could hopefully get a keet and integrate it within maybe 2 weeks, I worry Ducku is going to be picked on without Little Foot. Little Foot was #1, Ducky was 2, they lead the chickens but never ever pecked the chickens.

 

[circesfire]

At 2 months and the temperatures you mentioned they should be fine in the garage as long as there is nothing dangerous for them to get into (loose nails to eat, chemicals to get into, etc). It can be very difficult to integrate birds of different ages, but they are usually more accepting when they are younger. Would you be able to get one a similar age to the one you have now? That would be a good option. Try not to worry, I think animals can pick up on your tension and sometimes it can make them stress more. Birds are amazingly resilient animals.

 

[prepperchickens]

I don't know where I could buy a guinea that wasn't just a baby keet, right now I'm pleading with Rural Jing to order more. The reason I want to get a keet is because my guiness are as tame as they are from being hand raised and I'm afraid if I get one Ducky's age it might not tame down. Little Foot was so important because he was in love with his mom (me) and he would follow me anywhere which helped me with the rest of the birds. It's so weird now without him. I really wonder if the reason both my boys died is that both of them were protecting the girls, even so young? My BR cockerel and my suspected male giunea. Could that be a coincidence ?

 

[toynutz]

Wow, I feel so bad for your losses. And yes, I think your boys were protecting their girls. It's a difficult decision to replace. If you bring in older chicks, you not only risk diseases but also the former owner's treatment. If you bring in young chicks, you and your older chicks can bond easier and the disease risk is usually lower. Have you tried looking on Craigslist?

 

[prepperchickens]

I am so bewildered and torn up. It has thrown me off completely. We were so happy together in the garden. I love those birds just as much as people love their dogs, the guineas especially are like the most innocent creatures. Are even a very young roosters and male guineas known for sacrificing themselves? I can't figure out how only my boys could be killed each time unless they threw themselves in front of the cat to save the girls.

 

[circesfire]

Yes, even day old chicks that are roosters will act differently than hens by being more brazen and standing up to a threat. It makes sense that the boys were protecting the girls as that is their role in a flock.

 

[prepperchickens]

That makes it even more painful in a way, but also makes me feel better. My little boys were being brave and selfless, which means if it happened again they'd do the same thing, and because of them none of my surviving little girls has a single bite or scratch from that vicious stray cat. Think about it, if it weren't for my boys throwing themselves in front of the cat it could have tried to grab a few birds and injured some until it caught one for sure, and being so young still I'm sure a cat bite would have been fatal. I could have lost them all if it weren't for my little heroes. I can't stop crying and obsessively checking in on the girls while apologizing profusely for it all, but oddly my two chickens who used to be standoffish and now they suddenly don't run from my hand, my little BR chick Lydia (2.5 wks) actually stretches her neck out and falls asleep being petted and doesn't want to hop back down. It's like they are all a little more clingy now, wanting reassurance.