Badly Injured Chicken

[dimag333]

I have a SLW that appears was attacked by either a intruder or by the other chickens, one side of face swollen and blood coming from top of head, large hole under feathers on her back. Don't think she is gonna make it, I dressed the wounds with antiseptic. Question is, the bird is in pain, very weak, what is the best way to cull if she is not making improvements in the next day. She is about 1.5 years old

steve

 

[KittyKat3756]

You can break her neck in the same way that you would for killing off for food. It's pretty quick if done properly and you wouldn't need any equipment. If you've never done that, using a broom handle might be a good idea.

 

[dimag333]

I was thinking of decapitation, bad idea?

steve

 

[Eggcessive]

I was thinking of decapitation, bad idea?

steve

I slit the neck quickly, getting the jugular, and they bleed out in less than a minute. It's never pleasant, but that is very quick. I watched a good video on how to humanely butcher a chicken, and was impressed with how he hung the chicken upside down with the legs tied together to a tree. He cut the jugular, and just held the chicken for a minute or so. It did not suffer.
How is she doing? Chickens can recover from some really bad wounds, but it depends if she is alert or in shock. Surface wounds can close, but if there are internal injuries, she may suffer. Can she drink water if you hold it up to her? Injured hens can take some chopped egg, or feed with water added. Let us know if you need any help.

 

[dimag333]

actaully I just checked and she seems to be doing better, will keep an eye out. Her one eye was swollen shut but now she can open. I got water with nutradrench and some feed in a cage for her

steve

 

[dimag333]

I am worried if I put her back, the other chickens will peck her, I am pretty sure she got a scratch above the beak and then the other chickens pecked her up bad

steve

 

[Eggcessive]

I would try getting her to eat some egg and the soupy feed, then offer water with electrolytes as often as you can. I would keep her inside until she is eating on her own. Keep her wounds cleaned with saline and apply antibiotic ointment twice a day. When she is better, place her in a cage or dog crate with food and water, and leave her in the coop or run with the other chickens for a week or so for them to become familiar again. Then put them together outside for supervised visits to make sure that she is not attacked, although they will peck her a little to show her the pecking order.

 

[KittyKat3756]

Decapitation is a good way to go about it, but bloodier than breaking neck so more cleanup.

One of ours was attacked by a fox in a similar way to how you describe. She was indoors on antibiotics for a week before getting put outside. She went out when she could get out of her cardboard box every 5 minutes without fail and went on to live for many years.