Attacked by Racoon, Severe Injuries, Emergency, Plz Help

[Wyorp Rock]

She may be very sore or could have some internal injuries as well that is making it difficult to swallow.

 

[OG Anomaly]

Breath, you're doing fine

Are you keeping her inside?

Go with the Tylan the Vet gave you. Adding the honey sounds good, from what I understand Tylan is a bit bitter. Like @centrarchid says, keep them going.

Chick starter is fine, Nutri-Drench is my personal go-to, but any poultry vitamins will work. Nutri-Drench can be given direct ( 1cc per 3lbs of weight). At this moment, once she is hydrated, if she will eat, let her have what she wants - chopped egg, beef liver or tuna are sometimes well received.

Dankin's Solution may be harsh around the eyes/face, saline is more gentle.
Keep the wounds moist with ointment/spray - any of those you have listed will work. Terramycin eye ointment is an antibiotic ointment for the eyes, if you can't find that you can use Vetericyn ophthalmic eye gel.

Again, getting her hydrated is important, minimum fluid requirement is 23 ml per pound per day.

http://lafeber.com/vet/tube-feeding-birds/
Casportpony's thread has videos and show's what supplies you need for tube feeding: http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/805728/go-team-tube-feeding

Yes, she is inside. We're keeping her in a clean dry tote box with bedding and a towel loosely stretched over the top to keep it dark but vented and hopefully, flies out.
I don't wanna jinx myself, but we've been really lucky with keeping flies out. Usually a few will get in, in the summer, but so far I haven't even used the flyswatter this year!

I converted the ml to teaspoons and it's equal to about 4.5 tspns, I think we're doing ok there.

I did give her some tuna water & she seemed to like it, so I added it to her Tylan water. She seemed to like that too, but then started to slowly open & close her beak & stretch her neck out, made me think she was going to vomit..? I'm not sure if I should keep giving it to her now.

The Nutri-Drench has arrived, so I will try that next.
And the Vetricyn and will use that on her next flush too.

We can't get Terramycin OTC here anymore, so I have a call into the vet.

Thanks for the links, too, I'll definitely check them out

 

[OG Anomaly]

She may be very sore or could have some internal injuries as well that is making it difficult to swallow.[/QUOTE

That makes complete sense, but she didn't do it until I gave her the tuna water.
Could it be she just wasn't used to the taste? Kind of like if we eat something really sour & makes us pucker up?

 

[abraga]

She seems a little better, thanks!
But- I just gave her some tuna water mixed in with her Tylan water & I thought she liked it, but she started to slowly open & close her beak & straighten her neck out and seemed like she wanted to vomit? She did stop, but I don't know if I should do that again?

Proply was the yuky taste of the tylan..when I need to give my old horse(he's 30) his pain meds..i mix it with honey or applesauce and use a syringe to get it down..if she won't eat it in her food u may need to mix it in something sweet..helps with the bitter taste of the medication.im glad she's hangin in there...tuff little lady! I had a chicken once that was tore up really bad by 2 Rottweiler. I thought he was dying so I put him in a box outside in a pretty shaded spot to pass on...a few hours later he was up and around. They pretty much plucked him...he was a pitiful sight..his hens were scared of him! He was at the bottom of the pecking order till he grew back his feathers...then he went and confronted the other roos and got his ladies back!

 

[lcwmt]

Thank you, that's a great tip about keeping the eyes soft, too, I didn't even think about that! Really hoping it is just fluid.
We did get the gap fixed asap & are now locking them in the coop itself at night, at least until we know for sure the creep is gone and finish further fortifications.
I've seen Nutri-Drench mentioned many times and I have added it to my list along with eye ointment and several other things.
I also think the same about the predator and are trying to be prepared.
I've read some really sad stories now, people losing 20-30 birds in one night!? Awful!
I also didn't know chicken wire was easy to get into...will look into that as well.
It's hopeful to hear you've had some survivors of bad injuries!
If her eyes calm down and I can keep her from flies & getting infected...she might make it. She even laid an egg this morning.

*I posted a really long, detailed update with pics, but did it as a reply,(face palm) do you think should I paste/copy & make it an actual thread post?
Thanks again for the advice

We live in N Central Montana, have 16 week old pullets, so no eggs yet. We've been buying local eggs from a neighbor for the past 3 years, with a few lulls when their hens cut back. Sunday afternoon they called: "No more eggs, the raccoons got ALL the chickens."
These folks are experienced with all sorts of livestock, they've been at it a long while, the eggs have been a major incomes stream for them.... and they still lost all their birds.
My point is, it's hard, it's sad and can happen to even very experienced chicken keepers.
You and your son are doing everything you can, it seems to me. Hang in there. The fact she laid an egg this morning is a good and hopeful sign it seems to me!

 

[OG Anomaly]

Proply was the yuky taste of the tylan..when I need to give my old horse(he's 30) his pain meds..i mix it with honey or applesauce and use a syringe to get it down..if she won't eat it in her food u may need to mix it in something sweet..helps with the bitter taste of the medication.im glad she's hangin in there...tuff little lady! I had a chicken once that was tore up really bad by 2 Rottweiler. I thought he was dying so I put him in a box outside in a pretty shaded spot to pass on...a few hours later he was up and around. They pretty much plucked him...he was a pitiful sight..his hens were scared of him! He was at the bottom of the pecking order till he grew back his feathers...then he went and confronted the other roos and got his ladies back!

Hahaha, that's a great chicken story! Well, I mean the ending is!
And that is an
old horse, Cool
I am honestly amazed at how tough these little birds are!
I've only dealt with birds a few times & it never ended well (a couple finches and some mallard ducks) and they always seemed really fragile to me.
Obviously, chickens are not, lol.
I agree that the Tylan probably tastes terrible, it smells awful, but she was previously drinking the plain Tylan water without doing that. I got the Nutri-Drench and will just give her that & not worry about it for now.
Pretty sure I'm going to have to start tube feeding soon, not looking forward to that.

 

[OG Anomaly]

We live in N Central Montana, have 16 week old pullets, so no eggs yet. We've been buying local eggs from a neighbor for the past 3 years, with a few lulls when their hens cut back. Sunday afternoon they called: "No more eggs, the raccoons got ALL the chickens."
These folks are experienced with all sorts of livestock, they've been at it a long while, the eggs have been a major incomes stream for them.... and they still lost all their birds.
My point is, it's hard, it's sad and can happen to even very experienced chicken keepers.
You and your son are doing everything you can, it seems to me. Hang in there. The fact she laid an egg this morning is a good and hopeful sign it seems to me!

Such a sad story! I knew raccoons could be a nuisance and but I never knew just how predatory they are!
Best of luck with your new chickies and thanks so much for the support!

 

[OG Anomaly]

Like Centrarchid said, be sure to protect her from fly-strike and start anti biotics.. And with the supportive care he advises you give her the best chance to recover.
If you would like to try a Homeopathic remedy in addition [I'm thinking Arnica Montana in any potency available to you] and need info on that you can PM me. Very best wishes in your effort to save her.

Hi, I've been going back over the first day of posts & just saw your' offer on the homeopathic remedy & am very interested, I've used Arnica myself before.
Do I 'start a conversation' with you as a pm?
And thank you for the support and comments!

 

[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!

Thanks so much for the info and support, so sorry to hear about the fox
I was going to get the silvadine, and forgot! I'll try to get it tomorrow it sounds amazing. It's been a little crazy around here and I'm going back over the comments to see if U missed anything, and I sure did!

 

[abraga]

Hahaha, that's a great chicken story! Well, I mean the ending is!
And that is an
old horse, Cool
I am honestly amazed at how tough these little birds are!
I've only dealt with birds a few times & it never ended well (a couple finches and some mallard ducks) and they always seemed really fragile to me.
Obviously, chickens are not, lol.
I agree that the Tylan probably tastes terrible, it smells awful, but she was previously drinking the plain Tylan water without doing that. I got the Nutri-Drench and will just give her that & not worry about it for now.
Pretty sure I'm going to have to start tube feeding soon, not looking forward to that.

Nutri drench is my favorite go to for everything ailing by chickens. U can give a couple drops full straight to. I put it in my newbirn chicks water. Anytime i change things and my birds r stressed i use it.is ur chicken not eating good yet? If not..offer her the normal feed..mayb soaked a bit to soften it. My old horsey is blind now. Had him since he was 4. We put a lot of miles on him..we have another that is 18 (got him @6mo).they have a 8ac pasture. The younger horse has become his quide and he gets around the pasture really good. Our chickens go out and keep the poo and flies down by scratching/spreading it around. They like to follow the horses around eating bugs around thier feet, grain they drop...and even pick at the hay with them!