Chicken not eating after dog attack, please help.

[rachelrenee1]

On Saturday two dogs from the farm across the street broke through our fence and killed our rooster and we caught them running off with a hen. They dropped her and we brought her in. The main wound we can see is on her back. About 3 inches long and 2 wide. Mostly torn skin, but a gouge in the muscle in one spot. We rinsed it off with a salt water solution and used Vetrycin gel. She was standing tentatively and even walking a little bit yesterday. This morning she seems very tired and listless. Not much eating or drinking. The wound does not seem infected. I'm not sure if this is a normal stress reaction or if it portends something more ominous.

Her face is not pale and she's not panting. She will lift her head up from time to time, and crack her eyes open, but not much.

She is in a crate in my room with the heater running and a clean dry towel to lay on.

What should I do or watch for to help her heal and regain strength?

 

[Eggsoteric]

You can offer her scrambled eggs; yogurt; canned corn; spaghetti, leafy greens - anything you can think of that you think might pique her appetite. Sounds like she could still be in a bit of shock. I think as long as you have a dark, quiet, indoor space out of the elements you can keep her in, she probably doesn't need an additional heat source. You may want to give her another good once over to check to make sure you haven't missed any wounds (feathers can hide a lot and puncture wounds can be sneaky).

You can place her in a warm bath; scrub the wounds (I like to use betadine); pat the wound area dry and apply the Vetericyn gel or Neosporin. Depending upon the severity of the wounds, you may want to do this more than once a day (unless you feel it would stress her further), though I have to admit that every wounded bird I've placed in a warm bath seems to find it soothing.

If her appetite doesn't return any time soon, you may want to do a search and read some of the threads dedicated to tube feeding.

Best of luck with your girl. So sorry for the loss of your Roo.

 

[rachelrenee1]

Sadly my sweet Juliet died. She slipped quickly the same day I posted. I wonder if there were more serious internal injuries that were not readily visible.