Okay so a bit of background info first. I have a 2 year old Yellow Lab mix puppy, who has an outdoor underground fence system. I have five chickens who free range in a large area encompassed by 5 foot tall hog wire from Tractor Supply. It is supported by about 10 posts made from 2 by 4's. It is a very sturdy fence, and we've only had problems with it in VERY strong winds. All my chickens have clipped wings, so they can't fly over. My dog has shown very little interest in the chickens, even though about 3/4ths of their free range area overlaps with his fenced in yard. Today, me and my family left for about 4 hours for a picnic lunch thing.
When we got home, Barley was in the fence. However, the strange thing is, the fence was STILL UP. We have NO idea how he got in. All the posts are still firmly in the ground, and there's no way the fence could bow enough to let him over without pulling out the posts. There are no holes under the fence, or in the wire. The opening was still fastened with the hooks we use, with only about two inches of a gap IF you force it to open. We tested the elasticity of the wire, and feel like if he jumped and tried to bow it over to climb in, it would have just bounced him back, or pulled the posts out. So there's a mystery.
Anyway, all the chickens were in the coop, hot but seemingly okay. No open wounds, no feathers pulled out. However, one of them has a tiny bit of blood on her nostril/beak area. Her eyes are bright, she drank some water, and is keeping up with the others. I'm sure they all have some shock, because Barley most likely chased them around. I was thinking either she is having some kind of heat/stress nosebleed (does that happen in chickens?) or ran into the fence while he was chasing her. I feel like if he had caught her she would be dead, or have much more severe injuries. Am I taking this too lightly, could it be internal bleeding or something really serious? Or will she be okay?
When we got home, Barley was in the fence. However, the strange thing is, the fence was STILL UP. We have NO idea how he got in. All the posts are still firmly in the ground, and there's no way the fence could bow enough to let him over without pulling out the posts. There are no holes under the fence, or in the wire. The opening was still fastened with the hooks we use, with only about two inches of a gap IF you force it to open. We tested the elasticity of the wire, and feel like if he jumped and tried to bow it over to climb in, it would have just bounced him back, or pulled the posts out. So there's a mystery.
Anyway, all the chickens were in the coop, hot but seemingly okay. No open wounds, no feathers pulled out. However, one of them has a tiny bit of blood on her nostril/beak area. Her eyes are bright, she drank some water, and is keeping up with the others. I'm sure they all have some shock, because Barley most likely chased them around. I was thinking either she is having some kind of heat/stress nosebleed (does that happen in chickens?) or ran into the fence while he was chasing her. I feel like if he had caught her she would be dead, or have much more severe injuries. Am I taking this too lightly, could it be internal bleeding or something really serious? Or will she be okay?
