Chicken breathing heavily after fox attack

[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.

 

[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]

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!

 

[coach723]

I'm very glad she's doing better. She's really fortunate to have survived the attack. That she has made it this far is really good, and hopefully she will continue to improve. It's hard to know exactly what could have happened, but shaken and squeezed are very common. If nerves are damaged, they can take a long time to heal. Tubing seems scary, but in reality it isn't that bad. I will link to a few great threads, if you PM the author she will likely walk you through it, if you have the materials.
Best of luck with your hen!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/go-team-tube-feeding-updated-12-29-2019.805728/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tube-feeding-q-and-a.1215032/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...res-under-construction.1064392/#post-16201671

 

[Abriana]

Very happy to report that Alassë is now back out with the flock she is still a bit unsteady on her feet but she can jump up onto the roosting bars and go up the ramp at night. A big improvement from not being able to stand at all! Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions/advice!

 

[coach723]

That's great news! So glad she's recovering so well. Hope she continues to do better, she's a very lucky girl. A fox attack very often ends otherwise. So glad this time it's a happier outcome.