Chicken was attacked by canine, what to do next?

Mountain_artist

Songster
5 Years
Apr 6, 2018
51
60
126
Western North Carolina
Hi,
My favorite Barred Rock, Chickpea, was attacked today by what I think was a coyote. She is a big girl, but no idea how much she actually weighs. She had a beautiful huge tail that probably saved her life, and that tail is gone now. She has a HUGE tear in her skin/muscle, behind her wing all the way to her tail, and her tail is chewed up.
My husband heard her screaming and spooked the attacker away as he went through the woods to get to her. She ran up the mountain on her own, and was pecking for food immediately, trying to act fine while I caught her.
I brought her inside to inspect her wound and it looks pretty terrible, but the whole time, she was walking around and pecking at specks on the floor, and as soon as my daughter brought in food and water, she started eating and drinking! She is acting 100% fine, but does not look fine at all. Just by looks alone, we were more considering euthanizing, but her behavior made us reconsider.
Anyway, I washed the wound out with saline, then applied bactine, and my doctor friend actually came over and sutured her up, and we put antibiotic ointment all over her. Despite the stitches, she has lots of raw skin and open punctures. She is in a crate in the house right now.

My questions are: 1. does she need antibiotics? (I think so, but what is the best for a coyote bite? I know nothing about antibiotics for chickens.) I have penicillin pills for humans, but is it true that oral antibiotics are not ideal for this situation? Will she be ok until tomorrow afternoon when I can go to the ag store to get antibiotics, or should I try to give her part of a crushed pill now? She eats anything, and I bet she'd eat it.
2. How long do we keep her inside? Her wounds are awful and despite the stitches, there are several deep punctures and raw open sores. How long should we just leave her to rest indoors before we try to put her back outside? It's currently winter here in western NC, in the teens at night and anywhere between 20-55 during the day--will she freeze at night without her tail? Will her tail ever regrow? It was so magnificent, almost like a tom turkey before.
3. What do we do about keeping her integrated with the flock? Should we put her back in the run in her dog crate during the day and bring her into the house at night only? For how long?
4. Should I cover the wounds at some point? Doctor friend thought to leave them open and not trap germs inside, but at some point would I want to cover them if she goes back outside? If so, HOW do I even bandage a chicken?!
Thanks in advance!
 
Please post clear photos.
Clear enough that those who might be able to help can really zoom in.
It’s the only way to form a game plan.
Good lighting. All angles.

I’m the meantime she will go into shock, or is despite eating and drinking.
She needs to be indoors in a warm dim room. 24/7 for at least a couple of days.
A dog crate box or laundry basket with towels will be needed.

clean the wounds with saline or an antiseptic like hibiclens, providine or even mild dish soap.

It’s helpful if the wound is cleaned up and sometimes feathers trimmed away too before taking photos, and it helps during healing to keep dirty feathers out of the wounds.

For tonight you’ll need triple antibiotic ointment, the kind without pain reliever.
 
Thank you for responding, yes, she is in a crate in our bathroom right now, sleeping. I did clean the wounds with betadine/iodine and my doctor friend cleaned again and stitched up the biggest wounds, then applied antibiotic ointment.
I will get pics tomorrow--I couldn't get any good ones today because she was moving so much, my camera is too slow.
What does shock mean? Do I need to do something for her during shock?


Please post clear photos.
Clear enough that those who might be able to help can really zoom in.
It’s the only way to form a game plan.
Good lighting. All angles.

I’m the meantime she will go into shock, or is despite eating and drinking.
She needs to be indoors in a warm dim room. 24/7 for at least a couple of days.
A dog crate box or laundry basket with towels will be needed.

clean the wounds with saline or an antiseptic like hibiclens, providine or even mild dish soap.

It’s helpful if the wound is cleaned up and sometimes feathers trimmed away too before taking photos, and it helps during healing to keep dirty feathers out of the wounds.

For tonight you’ll need triple antibiotic ointment, the kind without pain reliever.
 
Thank you for responding, yes, she is in a crate in our bathroom right now, sleeping. I did clean the wounds with betadine/iodine and my doctor friend cleaned again and stitched up the biggest wounds, then applied antibiotic ointment.
I will get pics tomorrow--I couldn't get any good ones today because she was moving so much, my camera is too slow.
What does shock mean? Do I need to do something for her during shock?
I'm not sure of the scientific definition, but basically she's just surprised by what happened, her body temp might get low (so it's good that she is warm) and she should have electrolytes. They will help to counteract the shock.
 
The body responds to a physical or emotional trauma with shock. It’s a varied list of symptoms that can include lots of different body systems.
A few examples are: systemic depression
respiratory difficulty or low oxygen
Inability to regulate body temperature
Shaking and chills
blood loss due to internal bleeding from a crushing or shaking injury
Anorexia
Dehydration
Even cardiac arrest

Keep encouraging her to eat and drink over the next few days

Electrolytes are good. The chicken kind is best obviously but in a pinch, water with a little sugar and a few grains of salt will do, or even
pedialyte if you have it.
Tempting, high protein foods tomorrow.

Make sure the bathroom she’s in is nice and warm tonight (80 degrees if you can achieve it), soft towels or blankets to snuggle down into. Do you have a safe space heater maybe?
That was really nice of your friend to help out.
 
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You’ve done a great job so far by the way. I’m sure this was a horror to go through.
Chickens have an amazing ability to heal.
Just keep that in the forefront of your mind.
You’ve done everything right.

After you are finished tending to her tonight, turn off the light so she can sleep.
I’ll check on you guys in the morning.
 
Can you post some photos?
It's good that you Doctor friend was able to assist you with the wounds and stitch her up. Any other wounds that are still open, I'm sure you have cleaned/flushed by now. Trim back any feathers that are in the way and apply a triple antibiotic ointment. Don't cover them with a dressing.

You ask about anitbiotics. Personally, yes! I would administer antibiotics, especially if a wound is stitched up. You mention you have Penicillin - can you post a photo of the bottle?

It's always hard when you have a chicken that is injured when it's cold! How is your coop/run set up? After a couple of days, if you have room, you can place her in the coop inside a kennel to help keep the flock familiar with her. A lot depends on the wounds and how well she's doing. On warm days, you can definitely put her in the kennel and bring her in at night. If you feel that she needs to be covered while outside, you can make or buy a chicken saddle for her.

Look forward to your photos and more information.
 
She slept soundly all night, and woke up this morning hungry! She ate a cooked egg and drank a ton of water. I put crushed aspirin in her water (I followed the guideline of 5 pills per gallon of water.) She has very smelly watery poops and I'm wondering if that's why. After being held down and getting gravel and dirt picked and rinsed out of her wounds, then getting 10 stitches without any anesthesia, which took a good 40 minutes, I was so worried about pain.
Her wounds are already looking better--still a mess, but healing is happening. She wants to explore the bathroom and keeps flying up on the sink and window sill whenever I'm not in the room. So I guess she's still mobile. She keeps investigating her wounds and tried pecking at the stitches but quit after one peck, so I hope she realizes that's a bad idea.
Thank you all for your help! I am working on pictures now...she moves faster than my camera can click so everything I get is a blur, but I'll keep trying.
 

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