Attacked by Predator - Won't Eat or Drink

[SharonMurtaugh]

My sweet Angelina was attached by a predator and badly injured around the head area. She won't eat or drink and she stumbles. I'm treating the wounds and giving antibiotics, pain meds and a little water via syringe. She won't eat or drink on her own. This is day 2. Her eyes seem okay, but can she be blind? How can I get her to eat and drink on her own?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My sweet Angelina was attached by a predator and badly injured around the head area. She won't eat or drink and she stumbles. I'm treating the wounds and giving antibiotics, pain meds and a little water via syringe. She won't eat or drink on her own. This is day 2. Her eyes seem okay, but can she be blind? How can I get her to eat and drink on her own?

Hi @SharonMurtaugh Welcome To BYC
So sorry to hear about your hen.

Can you post some photos of her injury?
What are you using to treat her wounds and type of antibiotics are you giving?

A chicken that has suffered a head injury may need some time to come around. She may be very sore or still in shock, it's hard to know.
Are the eyes injured as well (swollen or closed tightly)?
Have you looked her over for other injuries that may be hidden underneath feathers?
Can she walk or stand on her own?

Do you have any idea what attacked her?

 

[coach723]

If you can post some pictures of the injuries it would be helpful. You may have to hand or tube feed her, you need to do fluids first, they can get dehydrated quickly, you don't want to feed a dehydrated bird. Tubing may be necessary until she recovers enough to eat on her own. She may just be very, very sore, or she may have internal injuries that are not obvious.

Good links:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...res-under-construction.1064392/#post-16201671
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/updated-go-team-tube-feeding.805728/

From another post (here is the link to the original, it's very long and this is from post #54444):
"Almost all sick birds will be hypothermic and need to be kept in a warm room in the 80-85 degree range. Then hydration must be corrected before feeding. There are a few ways to hydrate a bird and the one most people can do if they're willing to go buy a few items is tube feeding. Tube feeding with the right sized tube is much safer than syringe feeding, period, and I am will to help anyone learn how.

Here is some helpful info from my favorite book:


Supportive Care

SICK-BIRD ENCLOSURES
Sick birds are often hypothermic and should be placed in heated (brooder-type) enclosures b (Fig 7.7) in a quiet environment (see Chapter 1, Clinical Practice). A temperature of 85° F (29° C) with 70% humidity is desirable for most sick birds. If brooders are not equipped with a humidity source, placing a small dish of water in the enclosure will often supply adequate humidity. A moist towel that is heated and placed on the bottom of a cage or incubator rapidly humidifies the environment, as indicated by the fogging of the acrylic cage front.

FLUID THERAPY
Oral Administration
Oral administration is the ideal method of giving fluids. This method is more commonly used in mildly dehydrated birds or in conjunction with subcutaneous (SC) or intravenous (IV) therapy. Oral rehydration (30 ml/kg PO q 6-8 h) also may be used in larger birds (eg, waterfowl) that are difficult to restrain for parenteral fluid therapy.

"A sick or debilitated bird should always have its hydration corrected prior to attempting to initiate oral gavage-feeding""

 

[SharonMurtaugh]

Hi @SharonMurtaugh Welcome To BYC
So sorry to hear about your hen.

Can you post some photos of her injury?
What are you using to treat her wounds and type of antibiotics are you giving?

A chicken that has suffered a head injury may need some time to come around. She may be very sore or still in shock, it's hard to know.
Are the eyes injured as well (swollen or closed tightly)?
Have you looked her over for other injuries that may be hidden underneath feathers?
Can she walk or stand on her own?

Do you have any idea what attacked her?

The vet indicated the eyes look okay and no bones are broken. She can walk, but is wobbly and doesn't seem to see where she's going. Is she blind even if her eyes look okay? We are keeping her warm. Should I just keep hydrating her?

 

[SharonMurtaugh]

Vet also gave gave me oral pain meds once every 24 hours for 5 days

 

[SharonMurtaugh]

Hi @SharonMurtaugh Welcome To BYC
So sorry to hear about your hen.

Can you post some photos of her injury?
What are you using to treat her wounds and type of antibiotics are you giving?

A chicken that has suffered a head injury may need some time to come around. She may be very sore or still in shock, it's hard to know.
Are the eyes injured as well (swollen or closed tightly)?
Have you looked her over for other injuries that may be hidden underneath feathers?
Can she walk or stand on her own?

Do you have any idea what attacked her?

Hi @SharonMurtaugh Welcome To BYC
So sorry to hear about your hen.

Can you post some photos of her injury?
What are you using to treat her wounds and type of antibiotics are you giving?

A chicken that has suffered a head injury may need some time to come around. She may be very sore or still in shock, it's hard to know.
Are the eyes injured as well (swollen or closed tightly)?
Have you looked her over for other injuries that may be hidden underneath feathers?
Can she walk or stand on her own?

Do you have any idea what attacked her?

I believe she was attacked by a raccoon. My other 2 didn't make it.

 

[coach723]

It's always possible that there are neurological issues from a head injury. I would hydrate her, give her a bit of time to see if she comes around. Sometimes time and patience is the hardest thing. Also it's a factor how much time you are willing and able to spend. If she takes a turn for the worse, you can always reassess. If you have some poultry nutri drench, give her some of that. It's rapidly absorbed and can help give them a bit of a boost, may help encourage appetite. Some of them recover from some really awful injuries, it's just very hard to predict.

 

[micstrachan]

You are already receiving good advice, but I wanted to offer moral support. Best wishes!

 

[cottagecheese]

In the case of wild life rehabilitators, their problem when receiving a wounded animal is two-fold, because the animal is not only physically injured, it is at the same time terrified (to be handled by humans). So their secret is using homeopathic medicines, administering a first one for fear, and when the animal starts eating, they give it the main one, Arnica, which is the one for physical trauma. Seeing that you have already seen a vet, and assuming that you have already perused some of the innumerable predator attack emergency threads, this is the thing that would give her not that little extra, but that enormous extra. I could post twenty links, yesterday (for a different chicken) I was in a hurry (but still wanted to help) and posted a very good introduction to the homeopathic Arnica, but unfortunately it was on a survivalist site, as part of a 'bug out bag' so my friend duckduckgo.com the search engine played a prank on me LOL. Getting organized and finding better links, since it's smart to go through life using the best that all systems of medicine have to offer, and not assuming that what Big Pharma doesn't know or doesn't want to know because it cannot make money out of it - is not worth knowing. Any health food store that carries homeopathics would have Arnica30 it's the most used of all or you could get an emergency delivery from amazon.

https://joettecalabrese.com/blog/emergency-remedy-series-you-know-arnica-or-do-you/
Additional links about Arnica at this page.

This guy teaches at a homeopathic college and says everything that needs to be said, but has a delivery that tends to put people to sleep. Fortunately, it's just a short video.

The one for the 'bug out bag' haha, because I mentioned it. Nobody needs a bug out bag, or that's for people who saw too many movies, but everyone should keep Arnica30 around.
https://survivalmedicine.joettecalabrese.com/homeopathic-remedies-belong-bugout-first-aid-kit/

Having a bit of trouble finding the correct amazon link, because Arnica is a bit too popular. Here it is, in case you don't have a health food store close https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012DRM98I/?tag=backy-20

If you're giving her Arnica, we have to discuss her medication plan, please don't launch into it by yourself.
I'll check back later for your answer.

 

[MomJones]

In the case of wild life rehabilitators, their problem when receiving a wounded animal is two-fold, because the animal is not only physically injured, it is at the same time terrified (to be handled by humans). So their secret is using homeopathic medicines, administering a first one for fear, and when the animal starts eating, they give it the main one, Arnica, which is the one for physical trauma. Seeing that you have already seen a vet, and assuming that you have already perused some of the innumerable predator attack emergency threads, this is the thing that would give her not that little extra, but that enormous extra. I could post twenty links, yesterday (for a different chicken) I was in a hurry (but still wanted to help) and posted a very good introduction to the homeopathic Arnica, but unfortunately it was on a survivalist site, as part of a 'bug out bag' so my friend duckduckgo.com the search engine played a prank on me LOL. Getting organized and finding better links, since it's smart to go through life using the best that all systems of medicine have to offer, and not assuming that what Big Pharma doesn't know or doesn't want to know because it cannot make money out of it - is not worth knowing. Any health food store that carries homeopathics would have Arnica30 it's the most used of all or you could get an emergency delivery from amazon.

https://joettecalabrese.com/blog/emergency-remedy-series-you-know-arnica-or-do-you/
Additional links about Arnica at this page.

This guy teaches at a homeopathic college and says everything that needs to be said, but has a delivery that tends to put people to sleep. Fortunately, it's just a short video.

The one for the 'bug out bag' haha, because I mentioned it. Nobody needs a bug out bag, or that's for people who saw too many movies, but everyone should keep Arnica30 around.
https://survivalmedicine.joettecalabrese.com/homeopathic-remedies-belong-bugout-first-aid-kit/

Having a bit of trouble finding the correct amazon link, because Arnica is a bit too popular. Here it is, in case you don't have a health food store close https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012DRM98I/?tag=backy-20

If you're giving her Arnica, we have to discuss her medication plan, please don't launch into it by yourself.
I'll check back later for your answer.

Girl after my own heart! Thanks for posting this.