Chicken was attacked by canine, what to do next?

[Mountain_artist]

Wyorp Rock, I see your are in the "southern NC mountains!" I am too, in Whittier. How about you?

 

[llombardo]

Coyotes are out in full swing and are in groups more then ever. A couple just killed a pit bull, badly injured a second pit bull and minor injuries to the small dog the pit bulls were probably protecting. This was at 3 pm in a fenced yard

It's mating season, it's cold, they are hungry. Now is not the time to free range, there will be guaranteed losses.

 

[Mountain_artist]

Coyotes are out in full swing and are in groups more then ever. A couple just killed a pit bull, badly injured a second pit bull and minor injuries to the small dog the pit bulls were probably protecting. This was at 3 pm in a fenced yard

It's mating season, it's cold, they are hungry. Now is not the time to free range, there will be guaranteed losses.

That's the truth! We were all outside with the flock, even our dog who always watches over them, but somehow Chickpea went down the mountain on her own. She must have only been gone a minute when it happened That's all it takes I guess. Last night, we heard a cat screaming in the same exact spot, so I think we have some hungry predators lurking too close to our house for comfort. My neighbor has a bunch of calves that were born this past summer out to pasture right across the way too. It's only a matter of time before another one of them gets taken. Time to go hunting!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Chickpea is feeling and looking much better today! She is very unhappy staying in our bathroom. I made her a new fuzzy vest that covers her injuries (she was able to remove the pink shirt.) When can we take her back outside? Will she need to be in a crate in the run, or can we let her mingle with the flock so long as her wounds are covered? It's about 66 degrees in the bathroom she's been in for the past 36 hours, but only 44 degrees outside right now. Will she be too cold?
I'm concerned she will hurt herself in the bathroom--she keeps trying to get out the window or through the mirror, and the floor is slippery for her so she keeps skidding around, which can't be good for her stitches!

Wyorp Rock, I see your are in the "southern NC mountains!" I am too, in Whittier. How about you?

What is your coop/run set up like?
Is she a Barred Rock?
Are all the wounds scabbed over?

She may enjoy a visit outside, but with stitches and new scabs, I would be worried about her opening up any deep wounds.
It's always ideal for them to be near the flock so you have less problems integrating them once they heal.
With the loss of feathers she might be a little chilly, but getting outside for an hour or so monitored may lift her spirits.

Oh! Whittier! I'm about 1.5hrs from you further East

 

[Mountain_artist]

What is your coop/run set up like?
Is she a Barred Rock?
Are all the wounds scabbed over?

She may enjoy a visit outside, but with stitches and new scabs, I would be worried about her opening up any deep wounds.
It's always ideal for them to be near the flock so you have less problems integrating them once they heal.
With the loss of feathers she might be a little chilly, but getting outside for an hour or so monitored may lift her spirits.

Oh! Whittier! I'm about 1.5hrs from you further East

Her wounds are healing but there's lots of redness and raw skin still. I still feel the need put gobs of antibiotic ointment on all the raw skin, so yea, still pretty vulnerable.
Here are some summer pics of our coop/run. We only have 4 barred rocks in there, counting Chickpea. The spot under the coop is now enclosed in windows to make a greenhouse/sunporch that gets much warmer than the rest of the run. After realizing there's not much floor space in the run to put a crate, my husband is currently adding some hardware cloth to separate that little sunporch area from the rest of the run for her to relax during the day while still seeing her flock! He's also putting some plywood down on the floor with some hay on top so she can't dust bathe. The "sunporch" is too low for her fly anywhere to roost and pull out her stitches. It will probably be safer than what she's currently trying to do in our bathroom, and we'll bring her in at night to sleep in the crate.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Cute coop!
Great idea about sectioning of the "sun porch", this sounds just perfect. I think she will be much happier and calmer outside.
I hope she recovers soon, thank you for the photos! Please keep us posted.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How is she doing?

 

[Mountain_artist]

She is doing well! Thank you for asking. She is back in the coop with her flock, her wounds are healing up, and we give her a spray of blue kote every morning, but everyone is leaving her alone so far. I DO worry about how cold it gets at night (in the teens) and she has a bald butt, but when I checked on her the first night, she was roosting with the others and her body felt warm enough. I made her a vest and a fine little coat, but she can get out of both.
Although she is with the flock and I see no aggression, she is keeping her distance, mostly hanging out on the roosting bar instead of scratching and pecking with the rest. Is this just for self-preservation, or is she under the weather? She does seem sad about losing half her feathers--she was the biggest hen before and now she's so pathetic looking!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She is doing well! Thank you for asking. She is back in the coop with her flock, her wounds are healing up, and we give her a spray of blue kote every morning, but everyone is leaving her alone so far. I DO worry about how cold it gets at night (in the teens) and she has a bald butt, but when I checked on her the first night, she was roosting with the others and her body felt warm enough. I made her a vest and a fine little coat, but she can get out of both.
Although she is with the flock and I see no aggression, she is keeping her distance, mostly hanging out on the roosting bar instead of scratching and pecking with the rest. Is this just for self-preservation, or is she under the weather? She does seem sad about losing half her feathers--she was the biggest hen before and now she's so pathetic looking!

Glad to hear she is doing well.
I would watch to make sure she is eating/drinking. She may be feeling a bit vulnerable and her wounds are probably still a bit tender too. Once the healing really begins she will start to feather back in, this can make them really sensitive as well. Even with normal molting a bird will often keep their distance from the others. All you can do is keep close watch. It would be a good idea to check her crop a few times a week when she goes to roost, just to be sure she is filling her crop.

Thank you for the update

 

[Mountain_artist]

Glad to hear she is doing well.
I would watch to make sure she is eating/drinking. She may be feeling a bit vulnerable and her wounds are probably still a bit tender too. Once the healing really begins she will start to feather back in, this can make them really sensitive as well. Even with normal molting a bird will often keep their distance from the others. All you can do is keep close watch. It would be a good idea to check her crop a few times a week when she goes to roost, just to be sure she is filling her crop.

Thank you for the update

That is great advice about checking her crop...I did that last night and found hers was a bit smaller than the others, and our next biggest girl is bullying her badly now, chasing her away from the food and water. I isolated her back in the sun porch, but now the other one, Venus, is also attacking ME when I go in to check on Chickpea! I am tempted to just isolate Venus the bully instead, but I'm letting Chickpea have some time to herself to eat and drink in peace for today. They are going nuts being cooped up these past 2 weeks! I know that's not helping the aggression, but I don't know what to do.