OlyChickenGuy
Songster
I just moved and ended up at a new place that has been intending on getting chickens but has not yet made accommodations for them. I have five pet chickens and have been letting them free range in the front where they stay fairly close to the front door. Just today a raccoon tried to take off with one of my sweet girls. Here's the description from the YouTube video which can be found here :
"Several hours after Eddie was attacked by a raccoon, and everyone was brought inside for the night ( they sleep in a kennel with a soft blanket bottom in my room as temporary lodgings ), Bo ( my rooster ) stumbled over her while trying to get comfy for the night, startling her, and she started making a strange honking noise. During my initial physical exam I only found wounds on her left wing ( which I check near the end of the video ), and still that's the only place I can find any external wounds. I used the stethoscope around my neck to check her breathing when she's not honking, and her respiration sounds fine.
Eddie naturally has a funny voice - she's had a different voice since she was a baby, and honestly has never sounded much like a chicken. She's over a year old and not laying - her cloaca hasn't even started to look like it's developing and her comb is still pink. She's a healthy weight and just generally unusual - I'm suspecting that she might be infertile or a hermaphrodite - neither of which are incredibly rare for chickens.
The raccoon came out today and watched the chickens. A house mate shot at it and it ducked away. I chased the bugger off several times and then it just leapt out of the bushes, grabbed Eddie, and started biting and shaking her. One of the house mates and myself ran out of the door and chased the raccoon into the forest until it eventually abandon her.
I am wondering if this is just stress and if she'll get better. When I shined a flash light down her trachea everything looked normal. She's currently NOT honking and sleeping on my belly, but if I move her or startle her she'll start honking again.
Another chicken I have, Faust, caught on fire when she was a baby and she suffered smoke inhalation. She wheezed for several weeks afterward but eventually got better. I wonder if Eddie will follow the same path.
I JUST moved and my box of medical supplies has gone missing, so I'm extremely short on supplies. I'm just sitting with her and loving her right now, and she's fast asleep. I pray that she will be okay.
Also you can see throughout the video that she's still bright-eyed and curious. She's behaving normally other than the honking / wheezing and being a little more clingy than usual... which is understandable since she was attacked by a raccoon and is quite understandably upset by that."
In unrelated news, I posted awhile ago about my sickly rooster suffering from sour crop and a rash on his face. I am happy to report that today he has some scabs on his face but otherwise is 100% better! He's not behaving fearfully of me, he's not scratching his face much anymore, he's eating and drinking just fine, no more gurgling and falling off his perch at night... he's spectacular!
"Several hours after Eddie was attacked by a raccoon, and everyone was brought inside for the night ( they sleep in a kennel with a soft blanket bottom in my room as temporary lodgings ), Bo ( my rooster ) stumbled over her while trying to get comfy for the night, startling her, and she started making a strange honking noise. During my initial physical exam I only found wounds on her left wing ( which I check near the end of the video ), and still that's the only place I can find any external wounds. I used the stethoscope around my neck to check her breathing when she's not honking, and her respiration sounds fine.
Eddie naturally has a funny voice - she's had a different voice since she was a baby, and honestly has never sounded much like a chicken. She's over a year old and not laying - her cloaca hasn't even started to look like it's developing and her comb is still pink. She's a healthy weight and just generally unusual - I'm suspecting that she might be infertile or a hermaphrodite - neither of which are incredibly rare for chickens.
The raccoon came out today and watched the chickens. A house mate shot at it and it ducked away. I chased the bugger off several times and then it just leapt out of the bushes, grabbed Eddie, and started biting and shaking her. One of the house mates and myself ran out of the door and chased the raccoon into the forest until it eventually abandon her.
I am wondering if this is just stress and if she'll get better. When I shined a flash light down her trachea everything looked normal. She's currently NOT honking and sleeping on my belly, but if I move her or startle her she'll start honking again.
Another chicken I have, Faust, caught on fire when she was a baby and she suffered smoke inhalation. She wheezed for several weeks afterward but eventually got better. I wonder if Eddie will follow the same path.
I JUST moved and my box of medical supplies has gone missing, so I'm extremely short on supplies. I'm just sitting with her and loving her right now, and she's fast asleep. I pray that she will be okay.
Also you can see throughout the video that she's still bright-eyed and curious. She's behaving normally other than the honking / wheezing and being a little more clingy than usual... which is understandable since she was attacked by a raccoon and is quite understandably upset by that."
In unrelated news, I posted awhile ago about my sickly rooster suffering from sour crop and a rash on his face. I am happy to report that today he has some scabs on his face but otherwise is 100% better! He's not behaving fearfully of me, he's not scratching his face much anymore, he's eating and drinking just fine, no more gurgling and falling off his perch at night... he's spectacular!
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