Does anyone have any advice for caring for my hen after she was attacked on Sunday evening by a fox? She has a few nasty wounds that have been sprayed and she's also had antibiotics and pain relief from the vet yesterday. She's separated from the others in a dog crate in our garage, and I'm syringing her water and her pellets mashed up with water but she's very listless and doesn't seem to be improving. Is there anything else I can do for her? Thanks
Hi. Welcome to BYC. Just recently my hen was attacked by a fox also. She had a deep gash in her neck, but now it is almost completely healed. Maybe we could get a picture of the wound(s) if possible. You could try some Nutri-drench in her water. Is she eating on her own?
What, other than using a spray, are you doing to treat the wounds? Are they puncture wounds? Puncture wounds need to heal from the inside out. Was she actually seen by a vet? Her wounds aren't wrapped, are they? I've treated several birds with some pretty horrific wounds as a result of a fox attack and, luckily, I've not had to give them any antibiotics nor pain meds. I was, however, very diligent in cleaning and packing (with neosporin) the wounds on a daily basis (sometimes 2x a day) until I saw improvement in healing. I like to use Betadine to scrub (debride if necessary) the wounds. I would suggest that you offer her some high protein foods such as some scrambled egg; cheese; some leafy greens; canned corn or anything that might pique her interest and appetite. Best of luck.
All good advice so far. You may want to do a search at the top of this page for a thread called "Go team tube feeding, " which can teach you how to tube feed her as she recovers. It contains videos as well. If you can prop her up on rolled towels or put her in a chicken sling, put her close to food and water. Hopefully she will perk up and eat on her own, but she could have suffered internal injuries. I hope she recovers.
