Close Call

[Stephine]

Chickens were out in the meadow (as they are every day when it’s not raining) with our dog on watch duty and I was inside taking a nap. Woke to very alarmed calls by chickens and barks by dog. Raced out in my house shoes to find dog patrolling the area and the rooster having herded his hens into a corner by the gate. My big slow Brahma and one of my Welsumers were just rounding the corner of their coop to join the rest. I did a head count and they were all there. I called them into their run with treats and all but the two usual stragglers and that Welsumer went in. I walked over and the Welsumer didn’t budge, I could pick her up without a fuss (very unusual, non of my hens are happy being handled at all). I looked her over and saw a few loose feathers and some blood from one of her waddles. She was breathing with an open beak. Went around the coop and saw a pile of her feathers in one spot. Dog sniffed intensely around the area. I put some vetericyn on the wound and checked her all over - nothing else. More loose feathers in her neck area and under her wings. I set up a pen in the coop with a pile of hay and feed and water. Offered treats but she didn’t want them. Her breathing got a bit better after a while and an hour later she looked a tad livelier, so I hope she’ll be fine. I wonder what it could have been? I wonder if it was a hawk, and that’s why the dog missed it? But the location of the loose feathers suggest something might have tried to carry it off? And what about the injury to the wattle?
Anyway - does this ring a bell for anyone? And do chickens go into some type of shock with an attack that could explain why she was so droopy even without showing much injuries?
Thanks!

 

[cmom]

I would suspect a fox. If you have a game camera, put it up because whatever it was will be back and then you will know what's lurking around looking for an opportunity. Most of the predators here roam mostly at night but this is the time of the year when they are mating and having their young so they may come out more often during the day. I love my cameras. Good luck...

 

[Stephine]

Ugh, she didn’t make it - I just buried her. Either she had internal injuries or I just couldn’t help her to get over her shock.
At least whatever it was that attacked her didn’t get to eat her.
She was top hen, so the flock will be upset for a bit - already saw two upper tier hens fighting yesterday, with chest bumps and all...
Thanks for your support everyone!

 

[AprilsZoo]

Can’t help with predator ID... but I can tell you that the ones who “rounded the corner together” when you called them in, were all prob. traumatized to some extent. I’d be sure to check the others over, too. Their wounds, if they have any, are probably minor... but it would help you to figure out what the predator(s)

Good luck.

 

[Folly's place]

It sounds like you have your hands full! No building project (except on TV) ever goes as planned, either in time or money spent.
Your hen might do fine, or have internal injuries that aren't obvious. Offer goodies, warm wet food, bits of apples, anything to get fluid and calories into her.
All the best,
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

Here our worst single day loses have been to a fox, once (sick mangy guy, ten hens) and two years ago, to one of our own dogs, when our fencing failed. That time several birds were alive but had bite wounds, and the one injured survived, while the four hens died, all in spite of care. i think that egg laying hens have more chances for fatal internal injuries, with infection after broken eggs especially.
Your dog is fantastic!
We used to have dogs who helped guard the birds, but now have two who aren't bird safe at all.
Your current hawk will give up after a couple of weeks, very likely, so keep your birds in at least that long. And one dog can't be everywhere at once!
Mary

 

[Callender Girl]

I hope your girl is okay; congrats to your dog and your roo for doing their jobs.

After a predator attack on her coop mates, my remaining hen from that coop was traumatized for a long time. Usually a very bossy hen, she wasn't herself for quite a while. That MAY be the case with your girl. Best wishes for her full recovery.

 

[littledog]

I've had a couple airlifted by a hawk (before we quit free-ranging a few years ago, and built them a large predator-proof run) and the others were traumatized and didn't lay for a few days. It sounds like your girl will be OK, sounds like just some superficial wounds and lost feathers. You did the right thing to give her a secure place to recover.

 

[CluckerFamily]

They may all be in some sort of shock for a little while.
I’m glad everyone did their jobs!

 

[Stephine]

Hen looks ok today, but not good. She is still not moving more than a step or two and closing her eyes a lot. But she is sitting up, looking at me and has a bit of color to her comb and wattles. I lined her wire pen with empty paper feed bags, on the bottom and up two sides so it is nice and draft free. Put the big pile of hay back in and hid a warm water bottle under a thin layer of hay, hoping she will cuddle up to it. No dice so far, but at least she rests next to it. Of course today the weather turned cold.... There is no way I can bring her inside or do anyting else for her warmth wise, because we are camping out in our „studio“ right now: 4 people and a dog and all our belongings in a 25x25‘ space, a porta potty outside and a camping stove (our contractor is way behind on finishing up our wildfire rebuild and our landlady at our temporary home wants to finally sell her house, so she kicked us out on the 1st. It’s been a long week and who knows how much longer.... grrrr.) Anyway, I just can’t bring her inside...
I dripped some more Nutridrench on her beak and I think I got a tiny bit of that into her. Will go back every couple of hours and check and try for a drip of nutridrench. I also don’t want to stress her out more than strictly necessary. Wish me luck, please!