Chicken attacked by Labs this afternoon

[mishellez]

Hi everyone:
I've been a lurker on the site and reading the posts since May. My husband and I got our 10 chicks then and I've been educating myself. Today I came home to my husband telling me that 2 Labradors came into the yard and attacked one of our hens. We have her in a laundry basket in the house tonight...she was limping, had most of her tail feathers pulled out and chewed off..and her right wing was hanging. She's quiet now and sleeping. Earlier she kept limping underneath us to hide. She won't take water or eat. I'm thinking that if she makes it through the night we'll have to deal with a possible broken leg and broken wing. Any advise?
Thanks all!

 

[luvchicks8]

First of all

. I am sorry this happend but chickens are quite tough. I would make sure there are no open woods. If there are you can rinse them with peroxide and keep it clean. Also for the eating I would offer her yogurt or even some hard boiled eggs. Good luck

 

[mishellez]

Thanks for your reply! She's a little muddy underneath...we live on a lake and my hubby rescued her from the second attack by the reeds. The only wounds we can see are where the dogs ripped the feathers out of her tail. She was distressed and panting hard for awhile and she laid an egg, then seemed to calm down a bit after that.

 

[happytxchick]

The eating/drinking thing is key. I had the same thing happen to a roo, but his intake was not affected...he cont'd to desire food/drink. Chickens heal quickly, but if she won't eat or drink then you have a major problem. Try chipping up watermelon and soaking it in Pedialyte to temp her...electrolytes are very important to the injured chicken.

If you choose to "doctor" her wounds, do not use a "-caine" antibiotic spray (one that contains benzocaine, etc)...Neosporin spray qualifies. Triple antibiotic ointment can be spread on wounds after a thorough wash and spray.

I will attempt to find the helpful posts from the day my chicken was injured and give it a bump so that you can find it........found it and bumped it...it is entitled "Injury from a neighbor's dog - help."

 

[Rebel Rooster]

luvchicks8 is right... Chickens are quite tough indeed. I think that your hen is going to be just fine! She just needs some time to heal up... and:

PS I lurked around BYC for months and learned bunches before joining up! You won't be sorry!

 

[mishellez]

Thanks HappyTxChick, I found your thread and read it. Doesn't look like any skin ripped off, just pretty much all her tail feathers. I think they pounced on her and maybe chomped her tail. I'm most concerned about her drooping wing and her limp. For right now she's safe and warm and dry in the house.
Tomorrow we'll spoil her with Neosporin spray and yogurt and Gatorade. (Our girls love the yogurt!) For tonight I'm thinking to just let her rest and recover a bit.
Thank you!

 

[mishellez]

Thanks for your kind words Rebel Rooster...this is a great site!

 

[mishellez]

Well...she made it through the night (12 hours since attack) and moved over a bit in the laundry basket ER we made for her. BUT....this morning she won't even drink and she's very lethargic. DH wants authorization from me to give a quick end to her suffering. I'm leaning that way because if she won't even eat or drink (and I know how much our girls love to eat!) then I know she's not improving. We're all for giving her a fighting chance but we don't want to prolong her suffering.

 

[SurprisingWoman]

So sorry.

Have you tried dribbling water/pedialyte in her beak from the side? You may have to help her for a while.

 

[SurprisingWoman]

Here's a great post for wounds:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=204960