Close Call with Fox - How do I assess the damage?

littlemamahen

In the Brooder
Jun 12, 2020
26
33
36
I have eight almost 3 month-old chickens that I let roam outside of their run once in a while. This morning a fox showed up and thankfully my dad saw it in time. I ran outside to see it making a run for it with my chicken (who I highly suspect is a rooster) in its mouth. I chased and yelled at the fox until it dropped my chicken, Brina. I think the other chickens are okay, just a little shaken. I put Brina in a warm bath to see if she was bleeding and she wasn’t. She is limping and breathing with her beak open (I suspect this is shock). She’s now separated from the rest of the flock and sitting quietly. What else can I do for her? I don’t know how badly her leg is injured. I know chickens are pretty hardy, so do you think she’ll recover from a sprained leg, or whatever she’s dealing with?
 
Keep her/it (a cockerel might have tried to be a hero) in a warm place and make sure it's drinking. Shock is what you need to worry about initially. Once the shock wears off you can reassess injuries. Warmth, hydration, and quiet for the shock. Once you do that, any pictures of wounds or injuries are welcome, to try to give you answers. Puncture wounds can hide in feathers, so look carefully over the whole body and separate feathers. Wounds can be flushed out with sterile saline, or chlorhexidine sloution (hibiclens), and then apply plain neosporin or plain triple antibiotic ointment. Bruises may show up and will look dark or greenish. The bird may be very sore, hard to say if it was shaken or squeezed, so time will tell. Sprains and strains are not uncommon and can take some time to heal. If the bird is having trouble staying upright you can use some rolled up bathtowels to help prop it up, or use a chicken sling (supervise so the bird doesn't struggle to get out and hurt itself more), examples below.
0fc3977125679ff97e41196d94cdfb6b--broken-leg-recovery.jpg
DIY-Plastic-Bin-Chicken-Sling.jpg

e0342c9d342cb3f8f72cf353724e56d4.jpg
 
She is in shock, and I would leave her in a quiet dim spot near food and water. Look at the leg for swelling redness, or an open wound. Vetericyn wound spray is good for disinfecting wounds, and plain Neosporin can be used twice a day on wounds.
 
Keep her/it (a cockerel might have tried to be a hero) in a warm place and make sure it's drinking. Shock is what you need to worry about initially. Once the shock wears off you can reassess injuries. Warmth, hydration, and quiet for the shock. Once you do that, any pictures of wounds or injuries are welcome, to try to give you answers. Puncture wounds can hide in feathers, so look carefully over the whole body and separate feathers. Wounds can be flushed out with sterile saline, or chlorhexidine sloution (hibiclens), and then apply plain neosporin or plain triple antibiotic ointment. Bruises may show up and will look dark or greenish. The bird may be very sore, hard to say if it was shaken or squeezed, so time will tell. Sprains and strains are not uncommon and can take some time to heal. If the bird is having trouble staying upright you can use some rolled up bathtowels to help prop it up, or use a chicken sling (supervise so the bird doesn't struggle to get out and hurt itself more), examples below.
View attachment 2197482View attachment 2197483
View attachment 2197484
[/QUOTE

Thank you so much for your help! Today he’s been limping around his bin and eating and drinking regularly. He even tried to jump out. I’m optimistic his leg will heal with time! I can’t find any puncture wounds and I’m thinking it’s sprained.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom