Chicken attacked by dog - no open wounds

[callmehaley]

It sounds like she's doing fine. I would just check on her periodically, by the end of the day she may be over it. If she seems OK, and goes to roost normally, then I'd just leave her with the rest of the birds rather than stress her out more.

My thought would be to keep an eye on her, but generally leave her be. Extra excitement and stirring her around isn't something she needs right now.

Don't be too hard on yourself. We all make mistakes. I left a door open an let one of my huskies get out and get hit by a car and killed. It's hard to live with mistakes like that. You have to own the mistake, but move on.

My huskies killed three cats that got into our fenced-in back yard. They were very sweet dogs, but some just have a strong prey instinct. To them, it's like a cat with a mouse. You can't judge them by human standards.

Good luck. I hope everything turns out okay. Sounds like it is.

Hi both - just wanted to say thanks again for your advice. Tomorrow will mark one week since the attack and I'm happy to say Chickie Baby is doing great! She was virtually back to normal the next day and I haven't noticed any long term issues. I'm so happy!

 

[coach723]

Thank you for the update, so glad she's doing well!

 

[John2510]

Hi both - just wanted to say thanks again for your advice. Tomorrow will mark one week since the attack and I'm happy to say Chickie Baby is doing great! She was virtually back to normal the next day and I haven't noticed any long term issues. I'm so happy!

Thanks for posting back to let us know. I'd wondered how she was doing. I didn't lose any sleep over it... but I wondered
Glad to hear it worked out and you won't have that hanging over your head

 

[miles2go480]

Shock is very common. Make sure she's drinking, put her in a quiet place with low light, and let her rest and calm down and feel safe. If you have a crate, then a crate in a quiet room works well. And it lets you monitor how she's doing, make sure droppings are normal and she's drinking and eating. If being alone stresses her then leave the crate in a cool place with the other chickens so she can see them and they can see her, but remain safe. As long as there are no internal injuries, she should recover fine. She may be sore, depending on where and how hard she was grabbed. She may be nervous and easily startled, and hide for a while, all normal behaviors after an incident like this.

Thanks so much for info on shock. My little blue Americana was attacked by a stray awhile ago. I found an area under his/her left wing where several feathers were ripped out that had a little blood but no open wound. Panting and pooping. Poop went from normal to watery. Dribbled water in the beak. Put in a secured area in the coop with water and food. Hope by morning he/she will be better