Hi, it's been awhile since I've been on the forum. Life gets busy, but now I have an urgent problem.
My chicken tried to hang herself a couple of days ago. I have a chain in the coop that I used to hand lights on. It's about 3 inches long and I guess a fly got on it or something and the chicken lunged and got hooked through her bottom jaw like a fish.
I went out to put the chickens in and they wouldn't go in like normal. I immediately knew there was something wrong in the coop. I thought it was a snake. I finally got them in and opened the big door to see what the problem was. That's when I saw the chicken hanging motionless from the chain.
I went in and found that she was still alive, barely. Her insides were coming out her vent and her eyes were closed. I hurried to get her down and brought her in the house. I tried to revive her and she did seem to perk up. I gave her a little water and tried to fix her insides but decided that was a bad idea. She had been under enough stress that I just needed to let her rest and recover.
I found a clean box and placed her in it in a cool room and left her alone. I checked on her once during the night and her neck was stretched out and she was laying flat on her chest. In the morning she was perked up and trying to get out of the box. I was so relieved, but knew I couldn't let her go back out until I knew she could eat and drink. Her insides had fixed themselves and she even laid an egg that day. But she's still not able to eat and drink.
She has a hole in the bottom of her beak that her tongue comes out it and water comes out it and food comes out it. I fed her today with a syringe and she sat quietly and ate all I could give her.
So I'm thinking that I should put tape on the bottom of her beak to keep her tongue, food, and water in. Is this a good idea? Do you have other ideas? Will her beak heal? I don't know what to do now and hope that you all can help me figure out the next step.
Thanks
My chicken tried to hang herself a couple of days ago. I have a chain in the coop that I used to hand lights on. It's about 3 inches long and I guess a fly got on it or something and the chicken lunged and got hooked through her bottom jaw like a fish.
I went out to put the chickens in and they wouldn't go in like normal. I immediately knew there was something wrong in the coop. I thought it was a snake. I finally got them in and opened the big door to see what the problem was. That's when I saw the chicken hanging motionless from the chain.
I went in and found that she was still alive, barely. Her insides were coming out her vent and her eyes were closed. I hurried to get her down and brought her in the house. I tried to revive her and she did seem to perk up. I gave her a little water and tried to fix her insides but decided that was a bad idea. She had been under enough stress that I just needed to let her rest and recover.
I found a clean box and placed her in it in a cool room and left her alone. I checked on her once during the night and her neck was stretched out and she was laying flat on her chest. In the morning she was perked up and trying to get out of the box. I was so relieved, but knew I couldn't let her go back out until I knew she could eat and drink. Her insides had fixed themselves and she even laid an egg that day. But she's still not able to eat and drink.
She has a hole in the bottom of her beak that her tongue comes out it and water comes out it and food comes out it. I fed her today with a syringe and she sat quietly and ate all I could give her.
So I'm thinking that I should put tape on the bottom of her beak to keep her tongue, food, and water in. Is this a good idea? Do you have other ideas? Will her beak heal? I don't know what to do now and hope that you all can help me figure out the next step.
Thanks