Possible Weasel Attack!! Old Wounds on Neck - gaping holes - updates (Pic Heavy - graphic?)

[Gen9]

I would like to use this thread for anyone that may be caring for wounds on their chicken, what they might expect during an optimistic healing process. At least I'd like this to be a happy ending, but I am uncertain as of now. I'm using my camera phone right now, my regular camera doesn't work.

(Back Story) About a week ago at 5:30am my dogs were bugging me to go outside. I ignored them, then one of my chickens begin to sound the alarm. I was thinking "someone is laying an egg awfully early this morning" then I heard all of them chime in, so I got up and let my dogs out then went over to the chickens, who were huddled in a group outside of the coop. Once I approached they all were quiet. I looked over at them and they all looked okay, so I went in and back to sleep.

A few days ago I noticed some of the feathers on one of my hens looked strange, I picked her up and petted her, she seemed fine so I didn't examine it. Then, yesterday I noticed there was a bald spot and few of these feathers were sticking out. I picked her up and noticed this gaping hole in her neck. I've read plenty of threads on here about how to clean wounds, but since it's been a week, I'm not sure what to do.

I went to 2 places where there were the only avian vets in town, both were out of town and wouldn't be back until later next week. So I talked to the vet techs and brought these pictures with me to show them. One place said they usually put down chickens when they're injured. The 2nd place I went to said, *if* she tolerates me holding her and cleaning it - to flush it out with saline solution, and just give her antibiotics (she said tetracycline will work fine) for 20 days, *NO* packing or ointment of any kind, but said leaving it alone would be ok.

So what I'm doing now is letting her in the coop at night and keeping her separate during the day so she gets her antibiotics. She seems very anxious to get out to be with her sisters, but I try to bring her as many treats to keep her happy. My hen seems unaffected by it, she's scratching around like usual, healthy appetite, maintaining order (she's the top ranking hen) and the others haven't been pecking at it, so there's no need to put her down. I've been reading a lot of threads on here about wound care and bookmarked some... So what do you all think? Should I clean it (or attempt to)? My fear is cleaning it and having it open for a potential new infection.















(Her name is Uma)

 

[Gen9]

I glanced at her wound this morning, I think it's starting to look better already, I'll take some more pics when it's brighter outside and upload them here for a better look. It hasn't been a full day yet on her antibiotics. She wasn't drinking her medicine water and kept tipping it over so I added strawberry jello mix to it - so far so good.

 

[CorinneP]

Hope it keeps getting better !

 

[Gen9]

Thanks! She is my big bad mama

 

[mixitup]

Yes, but I can't see a weasel stopping what it is doing. I'm no expert, but I had a mink in at one time and it just slaughtered and kept on going and when I went out there, it just glared at me and stood it's ground. Could it have been a rat?

 

[Gen9]

I have no idea, I know my dogs scared it off. I also had the coop opened after that (because I didn't see the damage it did) so whatever it was, it hasn't come back, and I'm wondering why it didn't go after are my ducks because they stay on the ground underneath the coop at night and they weren't attacked at all. I went to the farm and garden center and showed the owner these pictures and he said it looks like a weasel did it.

 

[Gen9]

After 1 day of using antibiotics - should I clean it??

 

[Chickadeeee]

I have personally experienced weasle attacks on my flock...that is definitely what you have here! How lucky that little Uma is healing--weasles most commonly pierce the back of the neck, and suck the blood until the chicken dies of blood loss. Horrible creatures! They can also fit into teeny, tiny spaces...so when predator-proofing your coop, be sure that there are NO cracks or holes! Small cracks can be enlarged by strong rodent teeth, and then the little pests can squeeze through!
Keep on applying medicine to Uma's wound...what a little trooper she is! She should be just fine.

Good luck!

 

[walfarmchiks]

Now now, chickadee. Let's agree that the weasels are just efficient predators, and we do place a real temptation right in front of them with chicken coops. It's our duty to provide sufficient protection against those crafty and thoughtful weasels. Weaels, being higher-order predatory carnivorous mammals, sorta like us, will always find a way of we leave opportunities for them to "weasel in"! (Hence the phrase...)

I participated in some research in the late 70s where I attempted to stop coyote predation on sheep flocks which wqere just left out in the pasture by their owner. They really should have had a shepherd with a good Basque hound in the area. Stops such predation in it's tracks, in fact! But the ranchers and sheep flock owners prefer to just badmouth (oh, and shotgun or poison) the coyotes.

But those sheep are quite "dumb" when it comes to protecting themselves, and would "allow" a lone and very clever 'yote to herd them down the length of the meadow, where a couple of other song-dogs were lightly hidden in the shrubs, and bingo, out they ran and took what they wanted and needed. All to the cussing and firey vitriol of the flock owners.

I eventually fonud some interesting ays to stop it, including lacing the sheep carcass leavings with some Lithium Chloride and other chemicals, that the returning coyote or any other land predator would then consume, and get terribly ill. "Never going back to that restaurant again!" That 'yote mother tells her new pups that she's training in the ways of sheep predation.) It in fact reduced the predation on the owner's flock by about 80% that year, and slightly better the following year. I so think, though, that in the ned, he just went back to shooting them. Lots more" fun" for the ranchers!

I'd suggest you ring the coop screen wire at it's base with a 8" wide horizontally outward extending 1" thick concrete layer, [to prevent him digging down and under/into...]. This is quite easy to do with the ready-mix concrete down at Lowe's, etc.

As well, yes, the coop wire screen should be of small enough openings, at least the bottom 12 - 18 inches of it, so the weasels can't get in. You can even go to an insulated stand-off wire, charged with about 12,000 V!!, or those new red night eyes that scare predators off. On @ dusk, off @ sunrise. Nothing more to do but plug them in and set them facing out. Seems to really worry a predator!

http://www.niteguard.com/pages/Order/

Well, best of luck. But enjoy & appreciate the other wildlife as well, my friends!

http://images.search.yahoo.com/imag...b=1320mes1l&sigi=144af1sma&.crumb=8XlgLG0LmnY

http://images.search.yahoo.com/imag...b=13dm9c7c9&sigi=11n5asqvu&.crumb=8XlgLG0LmnY

 

[Gen9]

Thank you Walfarmchiks and Chickadeeee for your input! I haven't applied medicine to her wound, or cleaned it for that matter (had I discovered this the same day, I would have cleaned it!) I have been putting up 1/2" hardware cloth over the poultry wire, and dreading on having to move the coop to put down some hardware cloth under ground - I will definitely do the concrete! I also was just looking at the nite guard, haven't heard anything about it being ineffective yet.

Here's her days 2 & 3! she's looking real good, I let her out 2x a day so she can scratch for bugs and eat greens. All the other girls are jealous, but I think it helps a lot in the healing process once they're injured.









Even our doberman is concerned (maybe she's thinking about "cleaning" it too!)

Day 3:







This is her morning therapy session