- Jun 6, 2010
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Hey all. I hate to make this my first post here, but I need to know if euthanasia is the best option for what has happened.
We had two chickens that we free-range during the day, then put away in their coop at night. The coop is one of these designs: http://www.chickenbarrel.org . We recently purchased three more bantams, and the coop appeared large enough for all the chickens to roost/sit without getting in each other's way.
We like to make sure that the chickens are safe from predators at night, and sometimes this involves shutting the chickens up early. Yesterday we had a bar-b-q to attend at around 6:00pm, and we decided that locking up the chickens early was the best idea, so we gathered them all up into their barrel. The next morning, I went to let them out, and four of the five chickens left the coop, with one of the chicks remaining behind. I discovered that most of it's scalp has been removed, exposing the crainum. It's eyes and neck remain intact, but it's definitely not looking so hot. It is able to move it's head, neck and body, and remains conscious, but I afraid that it has just lost too much skin to grow back.
I have had another chicken attacked by a hawk in the past, and it's injuries, while less severe, involved missing skin/feathers just like this one does. I am just wondering if this will end up killing the bird slowly. There's no need for undue suffering at that point, and I would choose to put it out of it's misery if it means a more humane death.
Thus far, I have attempted to clean it the best I could with a mild peroxide/water mixture, and have used a little neosporin spray afterward to prevent infection, I have sequestered the chicken in a little spot in the basement inside it's own quiet coop. This was what I did for the last chicken. If anybody has any advise, please let me know.
Thanks,
Joel
We had two chickens that we free-range during the day, then put away in their coop at night. The coop is one of these designs: http://www.chickenbarrel.org . We recently purchased three more bantams, and the coop appeared large enough for all the chickens to roost/sit without getting in each other's way.
We like to make sure that the chickens are safe from predators at night, and sometimes this involves shutting the chickens up early. Yesterday we had a bar-b-q to attend at around 6:00pm, and we decided that locking up the chickens early was the best idea, so we gathered them all up into their barrel. The next morning, I went to let them out, and four of the five chickens left the coop, with one of the chicks remaining behind. I discovered that most of it's scalp has been removed, exposing the crainum. It's eyes and neck remain intact, but it's definitely not looking so hot. It is able to move it's head, neck and body, and remains conscious, but I afraid that it has just lost too much skin to grow back.
I have had another chicken attacked by a hawk in the past, and it's injuries, while less severe, involved missing skin/feathers just like this one does. I am just wondering if this will end up killing the bird slowly. There's no need for undue suffering at that point, and I would choose to put it out of it's misery if it means a more humane death.
Thus far, I have attempted to clean it the best I could with a mild peroxide/water mixture, and have used a little neosporin spray afterward to prevent infection, I have sequestered the chicken in a little spot in the basement inside it's own quiet coop. This was what I did for the last chicken. If anybody has any advise, please let me know.
Thanks,
Joel