Chicken breathing heavily after fox attack

[Abriana]

Hey everyone! It has been a *while* since I’ve posted on here

After 8 years of keeping chickens we had our first fox attack yesterday in BROAD DAYLIGHT. Unfortunately our dogs were not outside and we didn’t realize the fox was in the chicken yard until it had killed a bird already (it ran off before he could take her with/eat her, or before we could shoot it, unfortunately).

One bird had blood in her mouth but seems fine now and is acting normal, but my little hen Allassë is not doing very well. She wobbles when she stands, she is breathing very heavily (like opening her beak to breathe) and I can hear a sort of clicking sound at every breath I can’t tell if that’s from her opening her beak or inside. She ate a whole egg last night that my sister cooked up for her, but this morning she isn’t really eating but she drank a lot. She lays favoring her right side a bit more. Right now she’s in my laundry room in a box, she’s been laying with her eyes closed since I brought her in yesterday. I’ve never had experience with a fox attack, could this just be shock and she will be ok maybe after 24 hours has passed? I’m worried the fox broke her back/she has a damaged lung. I don’t want her to suffer if she isn’t going to get better

 

[coach723]

I'm sure she is sore. Some birds get very stressed being away from the flock. If she has friend who doesn't pick on her being ill, try putting them together. It can sometimes help. Make sure the other bird isn't going to hurt her. You can try offering egg again, some canned tuna, or even canned cat food. Mixing her regular feed with water to make a mash may help,it will also help with hydration. Nutridrench can sometimes help with appetite, since she's not drinking well I would give it directly. I have hand fed birds on occasion, which may help also. Sometimes if you can get them started, they will go on their own. You can also tube feed her if it comes to that, there is a good thread here on how to do that. Since we don't know for sure if she might have internal injuries I wouldn't recommend aspirin for pain, it may cause bleeding. If she can tolerated it you can use a sling to help hold her upright and make her more comfortable, easier to eat and poop. Some examples below. You do have to supervise so she doesn't hurt herself trying to get out of it. You can also use rolled up bath towels placed around her.

 

[Abriana]

I'm sure she is sore. Some birds get very stressed being away from the flock. If she has friend who doesn't pick on her being ill, try putting them together. It can sometimes help. Make sure the other bird isn't going to hurt her. You can try offering egg again, some canned tuna, or even canned cat food. Mixing her regular feed with water to make a mash may help,it will also help with hydration. Nutridrench can sometimes help with appetite, since she's not drinking well I would give it directly. I have hand fed birds on occasion, which may help also. Sometimes if you can get them started, they will go on their own. You can also tube feed her if it comes to that, there is a good thread here on how to do that. Since we don't know for sure if she might have internal injuries I wouldn't recommend aspirin for pain, it may cause bleeding. If she can tolerated it you can use a sling to help hold her upright and make her more comfortable, easier to eat and poop. Some examples below. You do have to supervise so she doesn't hurt herself trying to get out of it. You can also use rolled up bath towels placed around her.
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She is able to stand now, and I often find her standing rather than laying down. She doesn’t have much interest in eating but does not seem particularly sluggish/lethargic. She will drink. I’ve been giving her warm water mixed with nutridrench and she will drink it from a dropper. Her breathing seems better to me. Her balance is very off which I can’t seem to figure out the cause for, tomorrow will be warm and sunny where I live so I’m planning on bringing out our run to the pen so she can spend the day outside with the rest of the flock in a safe environment where they can’t pick on her.

I would consider tube feeding but it does make me very nervous, I’m so scared she will aspirate. Although I am a pre-vet student so I suppose I shall have to conquer my worries at some point haha

So sorry to hear of your encounter with Monsieur Renard, I hope you catch him and end his rein of terror over your girlz,
Sorry that’s not very kind of me but, hey, we have to put our loved ones first I say. I agree with sourland; he will return.
I hope, also, your girl recovers, with all the love and care you are giving her she has as good a chance as any,
Hugz

Oh yes, if he comes around again it’ll be his last! We’ve already take out two foxes over the 8 years we’ve had our flock, and quite frankly I’m surprised we haven’t had issues with them before now. This is only our second encounter with a ground predator—our coop is built like Fort Knox. The weather is nice and our dogs are outside the whole day now until the chickens get put away, so I’m sure that helps.

And thank you! She is recovering very well and seems to be getting better everyday!

 

[sourland]

How is she today? Hopefully it was just shock. Get your gun ready. The fox will return.

 

[Abriana]

How is she today? Hopefully it was just shock. Get your gun ready. The fox will return.

It has been 24 hours and she is still breathing heavily and sitting very quietly. I gave her a little nutridrench in her water as well.

And yes, it is ready, don’t worry

 

[coach723]

She may have been shaken or squeezed, those can cause injuries, sometimes internal, that are hard to see. Have you gone over her completely, parting feathers everywhere, looking for any injuries? Punctures in particular can be easy to miss. Bruising may show up later and look dark or greenish. Sometimes it's just very sore and they are inactive for a while. I would try to get some fluids in her. If you've got electrolites use those, give them orally or tube them, alternating with plain, fresh water. Warm the fluids so they are slightly warm, not cold. If you do it orally with syringe, go very slowly and be careful she doesn't aspirate.
this link might help.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/
Tubing is even safer, if you have the means to do that.

 

[coach723]

Does the spot feel like fluid or could it be air? She could have a ruptured air sac if it's air, and that could be the reason for the breathing. If it gets bigger, or if the breathing continues to seem labored or gets worse, I would be inclined to release the air. You just use a sterilized sewing needle, apply some antiseptic to the skin, pinch it up between your fingers, and poke a hole in just the skin with the needle to release the air. Then apply a dab of plain triple antibiotic ointment or plain neosporin to the spot. It may have to be done more than once if it fills again. Releasing the air and the pressure on the sac may allow it to heal. Sometimes it will resolve on it's own, so it's kind of a judgement call on your part if you think it's time to intervene.
Here is one article that talks about it:
https://centerforanimalrehab.org/first-aid-and-your-pet-bird/

 

[Abriana]

Does the spot feel like fluid or could it be air? She could have a ruptured air sac if it's air, and that could be the reason for the breathing. If it gets bigger, or if the breathing continues to seem labored or gets worse, I would be inclined to release the air. You just use a sterilized sewing needle, apply some antiseptic to the skin, pinch it up between your fingers, and poke a hole in just the skin with the needle to release the air. Then apply a dab of plain triple antibiotic ointment or plain neosporin to the spot. It may have to be done more than once if it fills again. Releasing the air and the pressure on the sac may allow it to heal. Sometimes it will resolve on it's own, so it's kind of a judgement call on your part if you think it's time to intervene.
Here is one article that talks about it:
https://centerforanimalrehab.org/first-aid-and-your-pet-bird/

I have sterile needles that I could use. It definitely feels like there could be air or fluid in there. I will check again in the morning and see if she’s still breathing labored, if so I will try to release the air.

 

[Loving my girls]

So sorry to hear of your encounter with Monsieur Renard, I hope you catch him and end his rein of terror over your girlz,
Sorry that’s not very kind of me but, hey, we have to put our loved ones first I say. I agree with sourland; he will return.
I hope, also, your girl recovers, with all the love and care you are giving her she has as good a chance as any,
Hugz

 

[Abriana]

She may have been shaken or squeezed, those can cause injuries, sometimes internal, that are hard to see. Have you gone over her completely, parting feathers everywhere, looking for any injuries? Punctures in particular can be easy to miss. Bruising may show up later and look dark or greenish. Sometimes it's just very sore and they are inactive for a while. I would try to get some fluids in her. If you've got electrolites use those, give them orally or tube them, alternating with plain, fresh water. Warm the fluids so they are slightly warm, not cold. If you do it orally with syringe, go very slowly and be careful she doesn't aspirate.
this link might help.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/
Tubing is even safer, if you have the means to do that.

I have tried to look for bruising/wounds, I can look more closely though.

I have nutridrench that I can mix with some warm water, she seems to be drinking on her own when she wants to though. She is eating very little. I have tubed in the past but I’ll probably stick to the syringe for now, not sure where my tube is.