Chicken survived predator attack but can’t walk

[calmeter]

It’s been a week since my hen was found limping. Later that day I found a bunch of feathers so I realized that she had been attacked but survived.

A week later she can’t even stand up. I have kept her isolated and made a sling to put her in for some time during the day. She has a small wound on her side, although it looks dry and does not look infected. (Picture of wound was from a week ago) She has had a couple warm baths with epsom salts, mostly to clean off the poop that she sits in. I have given her baby aspirin and made some electrolyte water for her. She does eat some fruit and some chick feed and scrambled egg.

I don’t know if she has a broken back or if her leg was broken or disjointed, but when I take her out of her tote or out of her sling and set her on the ground it seems that she’s just sitting on her breast bone. Although she is alert and she eats, she does sleep a lot and does not make any effort to move. Food and water has to be hand served.

Is there hope that she will recover? Should she have made some progress in a week?

 

[alinas2010]

Poor darling! Sorry this happened. Are you keeping her inside while she heals?

Have you gingerly felt up and down her leg for anything out of place or swollen? A week isn’t a ton of time for healing, but generally they do start to turn around by the week mark. She may have internal damage you can’t see, though.

Trim her feathers away out of the wound to help it remain cleaner. Any wounds you could’ve missed anywhere?

If you wet down some of her chicken feed into a mash, will she eat some of that? Have you tried placing her in site of the flock or taken her out to visit? This sometimes can dramatically improve recovery. They’re such flock animals. If you do take her out to visit, stay with her and watch that she doesn’t get attacked by others or fly strike.