911!!!!!!!!!! my hen was attacked!!!

[griffinheather]

Something got into my pen and killed all my silkies except one. She's missing a chunk out of her backside. I've trimmed the feathers and flushed it clean w/ water. She's taking water from a dropper and seems to be doing well........how do or what do I do to clean it and help it heal!!!

 

[Kimber_11]

I am so sorry for your loss. We had a dog get into our coop. By the time I got there, our Red had been half plucked and bitten. I just bathed her wounds and she healed fine on her own. I would however keep her in a dog crate, safe and quiet.

 

[griffinheather]

Thank you so much. I'm thinking a cat? One chick had puncture wounds under it's wing (it died while I held it) so I'm thinking that a 'coon or 'possom would have at least ate something of them. They seemed to be toyed with. Anyways, went back and read a post that some one just put here about her chicken's rear-end and the pic looks about the same as my baby so I'll just keep it clean and put some antibiotic ointment on it. Unfortunatly it got one of my ducks too.......

 

[Hawkeye95]

I would put a triple antibiotic ointment on her wound too, and keep it heavily covered with the ointment. Probably need to keep her inside for a while so the flies don't get to her.

 

[StephanieD]

Does it look anything like this??

I poured peroxide (which I later found out isn't the best thing to do) on it, used a Q-tip and put Neosporin on it and then left her in a dog crate for almost two weeks. She healed nicely! She did not lay eggs for a while though...

Sorry to hear about all your other Silkies

 

[dawg53]

I recommend that you use a 50/50 betadine and water mixture to flush all the wounds. Put neosporin or triple antibiotic (as stated by Hawkeye95) on the wounds and leave them uncovered. Provide her some scrambled egg mixed with buttermilk to eat for a few days. The scrambled egg provides extra protein to help rebuild her strength and the buttermilk is a probiotic to help strengthen her immune system.

 

[LisaAnnW]

So sorry for your loss. All the advice thus far is good. Chickens can survive serious injuries if the wounds are well disinfected. Years ago, my bantam cochin pair were attacked by a raccoon while I was out of town. The hen died immediately, and the rooster had one wing torn off. My husband (who was supposed to have brought the pair in the night of the attack) disinfected the wound, kept antibiotic cream on it until I got home, and he survived for years. Hope you have the same luck.

 

[allieloveschickens]

sorry about your silkies

Keep her somewhere warm and quiet, a dog or cat crate, or even a box. Clean the wound and apply neosporin (the kind without pain killer) daily. You can also crush one baby aspirin into one cup of water for pain relief if it seems like she is in a lot of pain.
I don't think a cat would kill all the birds, they would usually pick one and run off with it, but it is hard to say- maybe you can set up a camera and see if the culprit returns tonight. I hope your girl has a swift recovery!

 

[griffinheather]

Thanks everybody! I did exactly what everybody recommended, cleaned it and put some antibiotic ointment on it. Yes, the wound resembles the picture (unfortunatly w/ a lot of sticky silkie feathers). She doesn't seem to be in to much pain, she's moved around a time or two, has drank some water and seems aware of her surroundings. She seems to be resting as comfortably as she can in my laundry basket on a towel. I really don't know what even got into the yard. I live in town and there's very few to no stray animals. I haven't seen any wild animals either. One of my smaller chiks had several puncture wounds underneath it's wing (unfortunatly it died in my hands). One of my ducks had a small bit of feathers and skin pulled off too. I feel pretty sure it happened during the day time also. Any ideas?

 

[drumstick diva]

Don't know what predator but the most important thing about injuries is to keep flies away from the wound. Once the maggots get in there the prognosis is bad. Please keep her inside till her wound is healed over.