Chicken attacked by opposum.... HELP!

[mbrenay]

OK, it is 2:45 a.m. right now and my hands are still shaking cause I just shot an opposum that had gotten into my chicken coop. I thought it had killed one of my chickens, but it turns out that it was playing dead while the opposum was on top of it. She cannot walk on her one leg and I cannot see any wounds other than some tuffed up feathers. I have NO IDEA WHAT TO DO! I placed her in a plastic bin with hay, water, and food. We only have two chickens, they are basically pets and are about 5 months old. I have never even owned a bird before. I feel horrible. I don't even know how to go about evaluating her condition. I've had cats and dogs my whole life. My husband is the one that takes care of the chickens and he is away at military training, so I cant even reach him for the next 3 weeks. Do I take the chicken to the vet?? Will any vet see her? Is there anything I can do right now?? My heart goes out to her. I'm a total city girl, and I don;t really know how to handle chickens, but I will do whatever it needs if anyone can just give me some tips. Thank you soo much.

 

[meme9726]

It sounds like you are taking great care of her. Hang in there.

 

[patyrdz]

I'm so sorry!

I know you must be scared! I would be!!! You are doing everything great! Try giving her some sugar water to boost her a little. Keep her warm and calm then when you and her both calm down you can re evaluate her condition. I hope she is ok, and you stopr shaking soon. I would be shaking for days!

By the way.....

 

[CMV]

It may be quite difficult (and expensive) to find an avian vet. When I needed one they were in pretty short supply. Get some electrolytes in the bird, either Pedialyte, Gatorade, or actual electrolytes from an agricultural store. That will help her to rally. She has no wounds you say? That's great- takes a whole long element out of the equation. Check her all over for them in any case, they can be well hidden. You only have 2 chickens? Good because it means you don't have to remove her from her flock unless your other chicken starts picking on her. Put your chickens in a warm, dim place in a cage that somewhat restricts movement. You want to keep them quiet and secure. They are probably pretty rattled from the whole experience.

Evaluating for broken bones is more complicated if you have no knowledge of anatomy. If your hen doesn't have any obvious displaced breaks or bones jutting out, then chances are she can survive any simple fractures and will most likely heal. Keeping her quiet will help to accomplish any necessary healing. If she does have more complex fractures then that's beyond me...

Chickens are remarkably resilient. Things that would have us screaming don't seem to phase chickens much at all. I hope your chickens are OK. Good luck.

 

[mbrenay]

hey everyone. Ok, so its morning, and the chicken seems to be doing ok. I haven't picked it up because it has been huddled with the other chicken and I feel that that is what I would want in that situation, a whole lot of cuddling. She is eating and drinking and stood up a little bit before, moved around, and laid back down next to her friend. So I think im gonna give her a little time to relax. Hopefully she will be aright. That stupid opossum!!! I have never killed anything before in my life, and I really didnt want to shoot him, but such is life. He must have been working on the coop for a while, because he managed to pry a latch we had nailed into the siding right off. Thank you everyone for their comments and help. It just helped having someone understand

I will keep you posted.

 

[CMV]

I am glad to hear it.

Stupid predators.

 

[meme9726]

Quote:
I am glad she is doing well, she was very lucky. You did the right thing, predators don't stop coming back when they know there is easy prey.

 

[mbrenay]

hey everyone,
I just figured I'd let everyone know that my chicken is doing awesome! Yay! I finally took her out of the box yesterday and looked her over. She has a cut under her wing, but its not deep at all. I cleaned it out with a cotton ball and some water and put some bacitracin on it ( i have no idea if that will do anything but i didnt want it to get infected, and it was the only thing i had on hand). Today I let them out and she is walking around fine, and her cut is starting to scab over. So it all turned out OK. Thank you soooo much to everyone that helped me out!!!