Attacked by Racoon, Severe Injuries, Emergency, Plz Help

[biophiliac]

I empathize with your horror story, mine was from a fox. I have Silversulphadiazine which most horse vets carry with them, referred to as "Silvadine". It is the equine equivalent of human burn cream, and it promotes tissue restoration in hours...on my horses usually in 9 hours. Vetricyn is a spray on treatment which you should keep on hand always. You did all the right emergency measures, and I'd expect your hen to be panting, just the huge surge of adrenaline would make her pant after what she's endured. Take her to a vet as soon as you can for treatment especially of the eye, she may stitch a few of the wounds but having had these kind of trauma injuries in my own farm animals, I will say quiet, calm, topical treatment and she will heal quickly. By all means keep her isolated, a dog crate will work just fine...just keep her away from the other hens as they will peck at her wounds and the like the taste of blood, so until her wounds are healed she needs to be by herself. Thank you for taking such good care of her, with such love and compassion!

 

[abraga]

View attachment 1087231 Hi, I'm not familiar with posting in threads like this, am typing w one hand & holding the injured bird w the other- please bear w me & thank you in advance for any help/suggestions/info
A few months back, my son came home from work w 12 chicks (pullets?) from our local Tractor Supply. He's interested in homesteading, has a couple friends & acquaintances w backyard coops & one lent him a book about chickens & he decided to try it.
Late last night he went out just to check the chickens, & as he approached the coop he heard something scuttling away into the brush & saw feathers Everywhere! 2 of the birds were lying in heaps on the ground w their heads covered in blood! We thought both were dead, but one made a little movement as I started to pick her up!
My son held her close while I grabbed my phone & immediately started looking for 1st aid advice-
I was able to find a little info & as instructed, we wrapped her in a towel to help calm her, keep her warm & try tp lessen the shock. I made batch of Dakin's Solution (?) using a 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 Tblsp bleach & 1/2 Gal water. I try to clean her up as best as /I could, as gently as I could.
Most of her comb is torn off, she has an open wound on her head that you can see bone thru, she's most likely lost her right eye, but her left might recover (she did manage to open it a cpl times), she has tears in the skin that attaches around her beak, and is missing some feathers in a couple spots on her chest. Her nostrils are filled with blood and she's breathing thru her mouth & panting. I was able to clear out her some and she did close her mouth for a little bit...
I haven't tried to put any antibiotic ointment on yet, I wanted to find more info & just give her a break & let her try to relax some. I've been giving her water by spraying very small amounts into her beak w a tiny diabetic/insulin syringe (it's all we had available). She is now holding her head up & will drink on her own when offered (doing this frequently) but she's totally blinded rt now...I have pics on my phone & will try to load them.
I guess my questions are...1) How can I tell if she has internal injuries?
2) Should I even put Neosporin/antibiotic ointment on her?
3) Is there another disinfectant I should be using, other than the Dakin Solution (which worked amazingly)? Hydrogen Peroxide was also suggested (as well as some brand name stuff), but none available at the time.
4) Are chickens more susceptible to infection than other animals, like cats or dogs & how hard is it to heal if it does get infected?
5) If she ends up being blind in both eyes, should we put her down/euthanize her because of that (or are there any blind chicken stories out there)?
6)What's the best way to house her during recovery? I'm afraid to let her walk around because she can't see & because of fear of infection of the open wounds on her head...?
Thank you so much for help, so sad for our girls. :'(

Peroxide can burn/agitate the skin. I usually flush with saline and a syringe. I would put Neosporin or triple antibiotic on the wounds. If u can get some nutri drench..drip it on her beak for fluids. I've had chickens pretty torn up by predators survive some unbelievable injuries. It's hard for me to tell if she's lost both her eyes...she may have so much trauma to the area its just swollen with fluid.keep ointment around her eyes so the skin don't harden. There is eye ointment for livestock u can use to flush her eye. THE PREDATOR WILL BE BACK! ONCE THEY know where an easy meal is they will continue to visit your coop. Predator proof it ASAP. Chicken wire is easy to penetrate by coons, fox and weasals. Good luck...hope ur hen does ok...they are really resilient. Let us know how she does!

 

[centrarchid]

And please, where & what kind of antibiotics do I get for the water?

I have been getting my medications from either Tractor Supply or the local farmers coop. Rules have changed since my last purchase. The broader spectrum antibiotics I trust only available here as injectable. Check out Tylan.

 

[OG Anomaly]

I have been getting my medications from either Tractor Supply or the local farmers coop. Rules have changed since my last purchase. The broader spectrum antibiotics I trust only available here as injectable. Check out Tylan.

Thank you so much for all the help. We did find another very deep puncture right beside her ear and a small clump of feathers near her butt that were partially torn out. One was very askew and not laying properly, so I snipped it shorter, so it wouldn't catch on the towel or get pushed on while holding her and hurt her more. She's been drinking small amounts of water and even ate a couple tiny bites of food. We're just going to keep holding her in the towel as long as possible. She is laying quietly like that and sleeping on & off. I did put some ointment on her wounds, we live in a fairly small town, and nothing in the area is open today. Her right eye is swollen shut, but we saw her open it a couple times before the swelling got so bad, if she makes it, we think she'll still be able to use it.
Just hoping to keep infection at bay & will get antibiotics asap.
Thanks again for taking the time to help.

 

[centrarchid]

I have dealt with similar health issues many times. Timely response critical. I do not hesitate to drive an hour plus each way to get meds for such.

What you doing to protect balance of flock from a repeat tonight?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Getting her hydrated is very important.
You can offer her a little chopped egg, tuna or beef liver in addition to her normal feed once she is drinking well. Most feed stores carry poultry vitamins - add those to her water, look for Poultry Nutri-Drench, Rooster Booster Poultry Cell or something similar.

For the eyes, flush them out with saline to help remove any debris. This can be purchased saline or you can make your own - 1/2tsp salt per cup of water boiled for 15minutes. Place in a sterilized jar - make a fresh batch every day.

Triple antibiotic ointment or vetericyn can be used on the wounds. For the eyes there is Vetericyn eye gel, Terramycin eye ointment or some people use plain neosporin.

As far as I know, Tractor Supply still carries injectable antibiotics. Look for Procaine Penicillin G in the refrigerated section. Procaine Penicillin G (PenG) dosage is 1/4 ml or cc injected into the breast muscle 1/4" deep daily for 4days. Alternate sides each day. Use a 20guage needle for your injection.

Place her in a box, tote or cage inside if possible so you can monitor and attend to her.

Just my thoughts.

 

[abraga]

Thank you so much for all the help. We did find another very deep puncture right beside her ear and a small clump of feathers near her butt that were partially torn out. One was very askew and not laying properly, so I snipped it shorter, so it wouldn't catch on the towel or get pushed on while holding her and hurt her more. She's been drinking small amounts of water and even ate a couple tiny bites of food. We're just going to keep holding her in the towel as long as possible. She is laying quietly like that and sleeping on & off. I did put some ointment on her wounds, we live in a fairly small town, and nothing in the area is open today. Her right eye is swollen shut, but we saw her open it a couple times before the swelling got so bad, if she makes it, we think she'll still be able to use it.
Just hoping to keep infection at bay & will get antibiotics asap.
Thanks again for taking the time to help.

Sounds like shes doin really good! If ur keeping Antibiotic ointment on her wounds and she seems to be healing and no infection and esting a bit...thats a great sign.

 

[centrarchid]

You have to survive through at least day three without infection or fly strike setting in before I would relax.

 

[OG Anomaly]

I empathize with your horror story, mine was from a fox. I have Silversulphadiazine which most horse vets carry with them, referred to as "Silvadine". It is the equine equivalent of human burn cream, and it promotes tissue restoration in hours...on my horses usually in 9 hours. Vetricyn is a spray on treatment which you should keep on hand always. You did all the right emergency measures, and I'd expect your hen to be panting, just the huge surge of adrenaline would make her pant after what she's endured. Take her to a vet as soon as you can for treatment especially of the eye, she may stitch a few of the wounds but having had these kind of trauma injuries in my own farm animals, I will say quiet, calm, topical treatment and she will heal quickly. By all means keep her isolated, a dog crate will work just fine...just keep her away from the other hens as they will peck at her wounds and the like the taste of blood, so until her wounds are healed she needs to be by herself. Thank you for taking such good care of her, with such love and compassion!

Hi and thank you! I'm new to this site (and to using 'threads' in general) and have been checking for alerts, but didn't see any new ones. I came to post an update and only just saw the other posts, so I apologize about that! I'll get this figured out soon, lol.

I'm sorry you were attacked as well! I know it's nature and all, but still very sad.
I thought ours might've been a fox, we have those around too, but we actually saw the raccoon & then I read they will attack, so...
I've never really worked with birds before (I'm generally more into mammals, lol) so I have a lot to learn.
She's doing pretty well so far, and I have a list of supplies I'm going out for tomorrow. Vetricyn is on it and..(another topical-something I already forgot & have to look up again, but it's the OTC stuff next to Hydrogen Peroxide) as well as baby chick food. Looks like she's going to be sticking around, for a few days at least, and she's going to need to eat & get her strength back up.
I saw some people make a slurry & feed with a syringe or cath tubes (I would have to research tube feeding, I've not even seen a pic, but it's an option I want to look into).
Our vet was kind enough to talk to us over the phone & let us pick up an antibiotic called Tylan. He reminded me a couple times that he really doesn't do chickens, but I really appreciated that he called us back, twice!
I really wish he'd look at her or the pics though. I put in a request at the co-op extension for a chicken person and will hopefully hear back tomorrow.
What I'm most concerned about right now (other than infection & flies) are her eyes. They're so swollen shut! It's heartbreaking
I was positive she'd lost the left one, but she seems to be reacting to light changes & that's really good news! My son reminded me that it's only been a day...idk if a chicken swells up like a person, something else I have to look into.. it just
The vet said I could hold cool, wet, soft cloths over them a couple times a day, to try and lessen it, but if there are some expert tips on this, it would be great!
I've irrigated the wounds a couple times with Dakins solution and then slathered on triple antibiotic ointment. I know there's a debate/preference about using ointment, I usually start with it & see how it goes. I think because I want that gaping hole to close up quickly & because it's summer, I'm going to go with the hydrogen-like stuff..chlor-something, the vet knew what it was & said he thought it was a good idea..?
During the day, I've been holding her on my lap & almost constantly offering water. The antibiotic is mixed in there now & am also giving her 'aspirin' water, but she can't have any more of that after tomorrow.
I saw some people said they gave their chickens honey? I figured it couldn't hurt..? Some kind of electrolytes are also on my list.
We have her in a larger size tote with clean shavings and a lightly secured towel over the top so flies can't get in. I'm going to hook up a screen covering, too.
Today I learned that chickens have an air sac (?) you need to watch out for when handling & that they don't sweat...I'm going to freeze up some watermelon for her & try to find some ground meal worms or something like that for the slurry....I think that's it...this is probably way too long...I apologize, I just don't want to miss anything.
Almost forgot the pics... Poor little thing :'(

 

[OG Anomaly]

I have dealt with similar health issues many times. Timely response critical. I do not hesitate to drive an hour plus each way to get meds for such.

What you doing to protect balance of flock from a repeat tonight?

My son didn't have the top mesh of the coop/enclosure properly fastened down & we'd been letting the girls choose whether or not they wanted to sleep inside the coop or not...the raccoon got in through a gap in the wire. He fixed that and we are now making the chicken go into the coop itself at night & are locking them in.
We let them outside to free range from about 11a- until just before dark.
We're pretty sure our cat is trying to help as well, haha. Although he's fixed, he'll still spray occasionally, and that's what he did.
He walked all the way around the coop and sprayed along the outside of it...not sure what the chickens make of it, but hopefully the raccoon will think twice.
We're also looking into traps and some kind of early warning system.
I'm usually up and will be listening, and we will probably shoot it, if given the chance.
Now that it's gotten in and killed once, I'm pretty sure it'll be back.