Barred Rock Hen Lethargic/Not Eating, Sticking Tongue Out After Fox Attack on Flock

[moneill100]

Hi, everyone! I've been using BYC threads for a couple years now (still pretty new to this), but I've only just now created my own account to post a thread. My flock of 25 birds suffered their very first fox attack 3 days ago. We lost 5 birds to the fox, the rest seem okay except for one. One of our barred rock hens became very despondent after the attack. I know that chickens can suffer from depression after such a loss, but she's exhibiting other concerning symptoms and now I'm not sure if she was also injured or is now suffering from an illness caused by stress from the attack. Here is what's happening:

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
Barred rock, not quite 2 years old, average weight.
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
Lethargic, not eating, only drinking a little at a time when I hold water up to her, not moving much, pale comb (though she might not have been laying even before the attack, Indiana winters can be pretty rough), sticking her tongue out often (like licking her lips), was wheezing after eating/drinking for a couple days.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
This is the fourth day.
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
No, the other birds are okay.
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
No clear injuries, although I'm concerned something may be wrong with her throat. Her crop is okay, not hard and impacted or squishy and sour.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
Either stress from the fox, injury from the fox, depression from losing her friends.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
Mostly just drinking water with electrolytes in it. Tried to feed her lettuce, boiled egg with a little yogurt, and apple slices. We took her out to spend an hour with the other birds this morning to see if socialization would help. She moved around a bit more than she did before, but still wasn't eating or drinking and seemed pretty lethargic.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Poop is green and kind of like cottage cheese, mucousy, white in some parts. This is probably due to the fact she hasn't been eating.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
She's inside our house in a tub with ventilation holes, we have her drinking electrolyte water, nothing other than that.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
I'd like to treat this bird myself. I would just like to know if she's just traumatized and, if so, how long she could feel despondent. If it's an illness then I'd just like to be able to diagnose it, or at least know that there's an illness present, so that I can be careful about allowing her back with the other birds. The situation doesn't seem too dire, but if she isn't eating I'm afraid she'll starve or her condition will get worse.
11) Describe the housing/bedding in use
We have a mobile coop (a la Justin Rhodes) so there isn't bedding on the floor of the coop, the nesting boxes have rubber mats in them to prevent egg breakage.

Does this sound like injury, sadness, or illness? I really appreciate any and all advice! I've been driving myself crazy googling all the symptoms separately.

 

[The-White-Elephant]

Hi, everyone! I've been using BYC threads for a couple years now (still pretty new to this), but I've only just now created my own account to post a thread. My flock of 25 birds suffered their very first fox attack 3 days ago. We lost 5 birds to the fox, the rest seem okay except for one. One of our barred rock hens became very despondent after the attack. I know that chickens can suffer from depression after such a loss, but she's exhibiting other concerning symptoms and now I'm not sure if she was also injured or is now suffering from an illness caused by stress from the attack. Here is what's happening:

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
Barred rock, not quite 2 years old, average weight.
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
Lethargic, not eating, only drinking a little at a time when I hold water up to her, not moving much, pale comb (though she might not have been laying even before the attack, Indiana winters can be pretty rough), sticking her tongue out often (like licking her lips), was wheezing after eating/drinking for a couple days.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
This is the fourth day.
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
No, the other birds are okay.
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
No clear injuries, although I'm concerned something may be wrong with her throat. Her crop is okay, not hard and impacted or squishy and sour.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
Either stress from the fox, injury from the fox, depression from losing her friends.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
Mostly just drinking water with electrolytes in it. Tried to feed her lettuce, boiled egg with a little yogurt, and apple slices. We took her out to spend an hour with the other birds this morning to see if socialization would help. She moved around a bit more than she did before, but still wasn't eating or drinking and seemed pretty lethargic.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Poop is green and kind of like cottage cheese, mucousy, white in some parts. This is probably due to the fact she hasn't been eating.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
She's inside our house in a tub with ventilation holes, we have her drinking electrolyte water, nothing other than that.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
I'd like to treat this bird myself. I would just like to know if she's just traumatized and, if so, how long she could feel despondent. If it's an illness then I'd just like to be able to diagnose it, or at least know that there's an illness present, so that I can be careful about allowing her back with the other birds. The situation doesn't seem too dire, but if she isn't eating I'm afraid she'll starve or her condition will get worse.
11) Describe the housing/bedding in use
We have a mobile coop (a la Justin Rhodes) so there isn't bedding on the floor of the coop, the nesting boxes have rubber mats in them to prevent egg breakage.

Does this sound like injury, sadness, or illness? I really appreciate any and all advice! I've been driving myself crazy googling all the symptoms separately.

@azygous @Eggcessive

And welcome to BYC!

 

[azygous]

She's likely suffering from shock. It can be immediately life threatening left untreated. Few people remember to treat for shock first following a predator attack, and it can kill before wounds can.

Give her warm sugar water with a pinch of salt and baking soda for the next 24 hours. She probably has wounds you aren't aware of, either because they're hidden under feathers or they're inconspicuous puncture wounds. You need to assess all her wounds, and start an antibiotic if you suspect any puncture wounds. She may have internal injuries, as well.

 

[stargirl]

Does she have heat? Heat and darkness for the shock, then move her onto heat and a shorter daylight cycle, eg by a window for a few hours a day.

She needs some nutrition as a priority, especially if she’d normally be laying. It’s going to be hard to know exactly what’s a symptom and what’s just low energy and shock until she’s got some food inside her.
Is she swallowing ok?

There’s a supplement called Guardian Angel that I use with all sick birds that’s usually easy to get hold of. Alternatively, you could try some baby bird/chick food, made runny, and gently spoon it onto her beak. You can bend the sides of a spoon with pliers to make it sort of beak shaped which makes this easier.

In an ideal world I’d say tube/crop feed her, but it can be quite intimidating if you’ve never done it before.

Do you have any pain relief for cats or dogs by any chance? Metacam maybe?

 

[moneill100]

Thank you so much for both of your responses. We're giving her electrolyte water now, but I'm wondering how long she should be kept inside? Until she recovers? I know this may sound like a silly question, but I just want to make sure that I can provide her the ideal space.
The spoon feeding idea is great, too. I think tube/crop feeding is a bit advanced for me. /She's swallowing okay, but she's not taking in too much water at once.
How long can shock last before a chicken gets better? I know they aren't guaranteed to get better, but I'm curious.

 

[azygous]

Shock interrupts the chemical balance in the victim. Giving electrolytes will restore the balance within 24 hours. Shock produces symptoms of lethargy, balance issues, and weakness. When those symptoms disappear, it indicates the victim has recovered from shock.

Keeping the victim warm during treatment for shock is important. She can go back out with the others when her symptoms are gone.

 

[stargirl]

Thank you so much for both of your responses. We're giving her electrolyte water now, but I'm wondering how long she should be kept inside? Until she recovers? I know this may sound like a silly question, but I just want to make sure that I can provide her the ideal space.
The spoon feeding idea is great, too. I think tube/crop feeding is a bit advanced for me. /She's swallowing okay, but she's not taking in too much water at once.
How long can shock last before a chicken gets better? I know they aren't guaranteed to get better, but I'm curious.

No such thing as a silly question!

Keep her in until you’re happy she’s able to fend for herself in terms of eating, drinking etc. As she improves you might want to do what you did earlier and give her some social time outside, then bring her back in.

For heat you can use a hot water bottle, sit her near a heat source or buy a cheap heated pet mat off Amazon or similar (about £20). I find them useful for loads of things so always recommend having one around!

It sounds like she’s past the acute shock phase - normally birds die quite quickly if that isn’t resolved. Now it’s just a question of supporting her body to recover properly. The previous post re: electrolytes is a great step. Heat and darkness are the other two big supportive things for shock, but keep in mind that a bird won’t eat in the dark, so she needs enough daylight hours to get her appetite up and running.

It’s fine for her to just be taking small bits of the water mix here and there - chickens don’t drink a ton normally. Better to give her small amounts than too much, as then there’s a risk of it going down into her lungs and giving her a chest infection down the line. A small syringe can work too, but point it into the side of her beak rather than directly down her throat,

If you haven’t already it might be worth mixing some of her usual pellet food with hot water and letting it soak until it’s a mushy porridge. You can try spoon-feeding her this, offering it on a finger or even smearing it on her beak so she eats a little while trying to get it off!

There’s a great how-to on the tube feeding somewhere on this site - I was terrified too but it’s actually a lot easier than it looks/sounds. I’ve done it to tiny baby budgies, sparrows, ducks, magpies… it’s a life saver! Not something to worry about for now, but I promise you, you could do it if you ever needed to.

 

[moneill100]

No such thing as a silly question!

Keep her in until you’re happy she’s able to fend for herself in terms of eating, drinking etc. As she improves you might want to do what you did earlier and give her some social time outside, then bring her back in.

For heat you can use a hot water bottle, sit her near a heat source or buy a cheap heated pet mat off Amazon or similar (about £20). I find them useful for loads of things so always recommend having one around!

It sounds like she’s past the acute shock phase - normally birds die quite quickly if that isn’t resolved. Now it’s just a question of supporting her body to recover properly. The previous post re: electrolytes is a great step. Heat and darkness are the other two big supportive things for shock, but keep in mind that a bird won’t eat in the dark, so she needs enough daylight hours to get her appetite up and running.

It’s fine for her to just be taking small bits of the water mix here and there - chickens don’t drink a ton normally. Better to give her small amounts than too much, as then there’s a risk of it going down into her lungs and giving her a chest infection down the line. A small syringe can work too, but point it into the side of her beak rather than directly down her throat,

If you haven’t already it might be worth mixing some of her usual pellet food with hot water and letting it soak until it’s a mushy porridge. You can try spoon-feeding her this, offering it on a finger or even smearing it on her beak so she eats a little while trying to get it off!

There’s a great how-to on the tube feeding somewhere on this site - I was terrified too but it’s actually a lot easier than it looks/sounds. I’ve done it to tiny baby budgies, sparrows, ducks, magpies… it’s a life saver! Not something to worry about for now, but I promise you, you could do it if you ever needed to.

Thank you so much! This was incredibly reassuring to hear. I tried the mushy food today and found her eating some of it!