Chicken attacked by mystery predator

[Hep44]

Our poor Bertha girl got attacked today. She is limping, has a small amount of blood on her foot, and a gouge on her back (fairly large, but superficial). We have her separated and resting. Any other advice for how to treat this? I'm not sure the extent of her injuries....I didn't want to distress her more while assessing her

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Sorry to hear your girlie got hurt but glad it's minor and she survived. Was she free ranging at the time? Wash her good and dry her and check carefully for any other wounds that may not be easily visible such as under her wings. I would suggest putting her in a crate and keeping her inside and quiet and watching for shock. I'm also going to tag a couple of experts for their advice. Keeping her in the house will protect her from flies.
@Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock

 

[Hep44]

Sorry to hear your girlie got hurt but glad it's minor and she survived. Was she free ranging at the time? Wash her good and dry her and check carefully for any other wounds that may not be easily visible such as under her wings. I would suggest putting her in a crate and keeping her inside and quiet and watching for shock. I'm also going to tag a couple of experts for their advice. Keeping her in the house will protect her from flies.
@Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock

Yes, free ranging.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Yes, free ranging.

Well that's good in a way, at least you know nothing has breached your protections around your coop and run. Thinking about your description of your hen's injury, it sounds like possibly an aerial predator may have raked her from above.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Second thought, the injury on her foot may have been defensive.

 

[Hep44]

Second thought, the injury on her foot may have been defensive.

Thats what we were thinking. Our rooster had a very similar injury the other day after one of our hens was attacked by what we think was a raptor of some sort

 

[Hep44]

Sorry to hear your girlie got hurt but glad it's minor and she survived. Was she free ranging at the time? Wash her good and dry her and check carefully for any other wounds that may not be easily visible such as under her wings. I would suggest putting her in a crate and keeping her inside and quiet and watching for shock. I'm also going to tag a couple of experts for their advice. Keeping her in the house will protect her from flies.
@Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock

Question.....do you think its possible this is from our rooster? Both him and Bertha are Brahmas, so he's pretty big. He just started mating with the hens, but we haven't noticed him being super aggressive with them or anything, not like our old rooster

 

[Eggcessive]

If your cockerel has sharp spurs, he could have wounded her back. Do you have pictures of the wounds? Something like Vetericyn (or a similar wound spray) or 2% chlorhexidene are good to spray on wounds. You can then apply plain antibiotic ointment twice a day. Look for any puncture wounds from an animals teeth.

 

[Hep44]

If your cockerel has sharp spurs, he could have wounded her back. Do you have pictures of the wounds? Something like Vetericyn (or a similar wound spray) or 2% chlorhexidene are good to spray on wounds. You can then apply plain antibiotic ointment twice a day. Look for any puncture wounds from an animals teeth.

He doesn't have spurs yet, but I'm wondering if it might been from him. He usually doesn't mate unless they squat for him, so I dunno

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Our poor Bertha girl got attacked today. She is limping, has a small amount of blood on her foot, and a gouge on her back (fairly large, but superficial). We have her separated and resting. Any other advice for how to treat this? I'm not sure the extent of her injuries....I didn't want to distress her more while assessing her

Thats what we were thinking. Our rooster had a very similar injury the other day after one of our hens was attacked by what we think was a raptor of some sort

Question.....do you think its possible this is from our rooster? Both him and Bertha are Brahmas, so he's pretty big. He just started mating with the hens, but we haven't noticed him being super aggressive with them or anything, not like our old rooster

Can you post photos of the injuries?
You now have had 2 hens total with injuries plus the rooster?

How old is the rooster and the hens? You mention he just started mating, so a cockerel I assume - they be aggressive with pullets especially or docile older hens.