30 week chicken lost tail feathers to a dog

[mollygrace]

Both my neighbor and myself were shocked to discover this morning that her dog can jump our shared 6 foot fence, which he's never done before. And he did it while my girls were free ranging. And while my 11 year old son happened to be home by himself, poor kid.

My neighbors rushed to help and I'm so, so grateful that none of my chickens died. They mostly lost a lot of feathers in their panic.

But one had her entire set of tail feathers bitten off. There's almost no blood, so I'm not too worried about the injury aspect of it, but more about how she has a naked butt and we're heading into winter. We have very mild winters, but nights in the 30s and 40s do happen and I'm worried she won't be warm enough. Is there any chance she'll regrow them?

(I also couldn't find one girl for 6 hours! I think she was hiding in a tree and it took her 6 hours to feel safe enough to come down!)

 

[CCsGarden]

Yes, she can grow them back if she hasn't finished her molt. Do you have a plate heater you can put in the coop? Maybe keep her inside until she has settled down to insure she doesn't get an infection.

 

[mollygrace]

Yes, she can grow them back if she hasn't finished her molt. Do you have a plate heater you can put in the coop? Maybe keep her inside until she has settled down to insure she doesn't get an infection.

The molting part is what I'm unsure about. She's not even a year old yet, so didn't molt this year. Will her body act as though it has molted and regrow the feathers?

She's safe in the coop and will be all week. I only have them free-range on Saturdays. After the attack they all wanted to be together on their roosting bars all day too.

 

[Shadrach]

Both my neighbor and myself were shocked to discover this morning that her dog can jump our shared 6 foot fence, which he's never done before. And he did it while my girls were free ranging. And while my 11 year old son happened to be home by himself, poor kid.

My neighbors rushed to help and I'm so, so grateful that none of my chickens died. They mostly lost a lot of feathers in their panic.

But one had her entire set of tail feathers bitten off. There's almost no blood, so I'm not too worried about the injury aspect of it, but more about how she has a naked butt and we're heading into winter. We have very mild winters, but nights in the 30s and 40s do happen and I'm worried she won't be warm enough. Is there any chance she'll regrow them?

(I also couldn't find one girl for 6 hours! I think she was hiding in a tree and it took her 6 hours to feel safe enough to come down!)

The feathers will grow back, with or without a moult.
This young chap for example had his ripped out by a weasel along with a chunk of his flesh. He needed stitches. All his tail feathers grew back in time. He even grew some lovely sickle feathers.

 

[coach723]

If the feathers were completely plucked, they may grow back sooner. If they are just broken, and there is still some small shaft left, they won't grow til she molts and loses that shaft. Some birds do molt their first year, or do a partial molt. And some don't start til the dead of winter, so there is still time. Pictures would help, but if she still has most of her feathers she will probably be fine. Even birds that do a hard molt in the dead of winter usually do ok as long as they can get out of the prevailing winds and stay dry. Many of them will snuggle between others on the roosts to share warmth.
It may take days, or even a week or more for them to feel safe going out again. An attack like that is traumatic and they may take a while to trust their environment again.
I hope the fence can be made to keep the dog in after this. I've seen some dogs scale pretty tall fences, some of them are real Houdini's. And those exciting flappy, squawky things are a real draw.

 

[mollygrace]

If the feathers were completely plucked, they may grow back sooner. If they are just broken, and there is still some small shaft left, they won't grow til she molts and loses that shaft. Some birds do molt their first year, or do a partial molt. And some don't start til the dead of winter, so there is still time. Pictures would help, but if she still has most of her feathers she will probably be fine. Even birds that do a hard molt in the dead of winter usually do ok as long as they can get out of the prevailing winds and stay dry. Many of them will snuggle between others on the roosts to share warmth.
It may take days, or even a week or more for them to feel safe going out again. An attack like that is traumatic and they may take a while to trust their environment again.
I hope the fence can be made to keep the dog in after this. I've seen some dogs scale pretty tall fences, some of them are real Houdini's. And those exciting flappy, squawky things are a real draw.

That's very helpful. She lost the complete feathers, no shafts left.

I'm including some pictures of naked chicken butts, as requested.

 

[CCsGarden]

That's very helpful. She lost the complete feathers, no shafts left.

I'm including some pictures of naked chicken butts, as requested.

With that amount gone, she will most likely grow new ones

 

[coach723]

I also think she has enough feathers that she will be ok until they grow back in.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

If the neighbor can be persuaded to install an electric fence at her dog's chest height about two or three feet in from her own fence, that should solve the problem. If he can't get to his launch site, he can't jump the fence again.

I usually also install outdoor Christmas lights along with the electric fence so he can see it. After two or three months I may unplug the electric fence - or if I have company that has small children. As far as the dog knows, the fence is still hot. Then I turn it off and on at random. He never knows whether it's hot or not, but he won't gamble. After about six months it should not be needed, just the Christmas lights will do. Then after a month or so, turn off the lights but leave them up. In another three months take them down. He probably won't go near the fence. This is called disappearing the behavior.