Grammy60
Addict
That's an amazing story, you did great by letting nature take it's course. Animals have healing abilities that humans don't normally pay attention to , you did great!!On 16 May 2020 a large fox attacked my flock. It took a beautiful silver duckwing Welsummer pullet that was broody, Aneka, and severely injured two roos, the dominant, Sven, and an 8-month old cockerel, Obelix. This is the story of Obelix. He is a Barbezieux, which is the tallest European breed, and he had just overtaken Swedish Flower Sven in height when the attack occurred. This is how I found him View attachment 2341275
On examination, I found the flesh from between his shoulders was missing, to the extent that his lungs were visible and could be seen inflating as he breathed. I wrapped him in a towel and expected him to pass shortly.View attachment 2341276
Because I did not expect him to survive his injury, I did not attempt to perform any treatment on him; I have no training in such and thought I would likely increase his suffering in the process. An hour later I found the dominant, who was also in a very bad way, with bite wounds on his neck, shoulders, and tail. It struck me that I would be finishing the fox's work if I euthanized them, so instead I set up a large dog crate by the door and laid them down on a towel inside. I covered it with a waterproof tablecloth, and could keep a close eye on them through the glass from inside the porch.View attachment 2341280
Although they would both stand briefly from the next morning, neither showed any interest in food or water till 3 days later, when they took some live mealworms and banana, from a variety of foods offered. By the 20th they were taking water and chick crumb; by the 21st they were standing most of the day, but Obelix still could not raise his head above horizontal, and was producing a thick mucus. Clearly infection had got into his lungs through the wound, but it was draining via his nostrils, and he had not lost his appetite. By the 23rd he had turned the corner and could lift his head up, albeit not for long. Both were eating and drinking well now. On the 25th the newly dominant roo, Chirk (son of Sven), was caged temporarily so that the two invalids could come out without risk of being attacked by him. Obelix still needed to rest frequently, but Sven stuck by him, and the rest of the flock came to say their hellos and did not molest either. Given how the flock can turn on a ill or injured bird, this surprised me. They had of course been visiting multiple times daily while the boys were caged, so there were no integration issues. They could also see the dominant now in the cage, so that might have served as a warning to others!View attachment 2341305
The dominant was released the following day, and periodically chases his father round the garden, but has not troubled Obelix. I think this is because Obelix does not attempt to mate the hens, unlike Sven, who can and does, regularly. Obelix has steadily improved, recovering his health and his stature, and this was him yesterday, celebrating his 1st birthday, 19th Sept 2020 :
View attachment 2341306
He has shown me how resilient chickens can be, and how smart. While they were caged, I had to change the towel several times a day so that they were not lying in their own waste. They quickly learned to move to one end while I rolled up 1/2 the dirty towel and unrolled 1/2 the clean, and then moved to the other end so I could complete rolling up the dirty one and unroll the rest of the clean towel. When he got a bit better, Sven even stepped out while I did it, and then stepped back in. He knew at that time that he was safer in than out. I also learned that they have amazing restorative powers. The only treatment these birds got was a safe, clean place to recuperate, plus water and food when they wanted it. I did not interfere with their wounds; I did not know how to treat, or with what to treat, their injuries; what I could see, was that the feathers covered them, and I trusted evolutionary forces that feathers provided the ideal conditions for the wounds to heal. Of course it could have ended differently, but it didn't, and their genes will continue, for now at least. The fox only got 1 chicken, not 3.
Obelix is a beautiful bird !!! Thank you for telling his story
