Crazed squirrel attack!

[Kimber]

YIKES!!! I heard all kinds of sqwaking and my roo was screaming, and I ran out of house to find a squirrel INSIDE my Momma/chick Tractor. Momma is going after it like white on rice, and the squirrel of course is going nuts tearing around till it finally gets out the way it came in. It dug a hole under the frame and was trying to get the chick feed.

Anyway, 3 of the chicks all have eye injurys, one looks like the eye is complety out, just hanging.....I'm thinking the squirrel scratched them whilst spasing out trying to get out of there. The chicks are running around and eating and drinking like normal, and I've cleaned up the eyes and one beak the best I could with warm water.

How do you know if a chick is in pain or not?

And will they adjust, I mean one will probably only have one eye, and perhaps 2 will only have one eye. The third one is swollen but it looks like the actual eye is still intact.

 

[cjeanean]

wow, talk about unexpected injuries. Don't know what to tell u, but I gotta say I was surprised to see the topic title. Good luck, keep us updated.

 

[hinkjc]

I'm sorry for what happened and can't offer any help on the injuries, but did want to mention that squirrels are known to kill/eat baby birds, so an attack on baby chicks is not out of the question. Mama may have put a stop to it, but that brazen squirrel may be back. Just something to think about.

Jody

 

[SpottedCrow]

I chased a squirrel off one of my feeders and it went right up a tree and stuck it's paw into the sparrow's birdhouse and ate one of the chicks right in front of me and the horrified parents...
And I had one ambush Obelisk. It jumped out of a tree onto her back and started bashing her on the head with it's fists.

Stupid buttons...grr...

I hope your babies will be okay. See if you can flush their eyes with a sterile saline solution.

 

[Kimber]

WOW! I didn't know squirrels actually went for the chicks themselves. I thought the chicks just got in the way of it's frantic escape.

I've already dispatched 6 of the fuzzy tailed rodents in the past few days, but it's like trying to empty a lake with a slotted spoon! THEY are everywhere.

I'm going to screen in floor with hardwire, which is a shame ''cause they love to have their dustbaths.....and dig in the dirt.

Thier eyes are reallyl swollen and crusty.

Oh, and how do you know if they are in pain? They don't cry or make any other noise other than their typical cheeping for treats when I come by.

 

[tiki244]

You can actually give them some aspirin crushed in water but it would have to be a very very very small amount. Like just a small crumble in a cup of water and drip a little in their beaks or let them drink it.

Maybe cleaning the eye in saline solution and some preservative free eye drops for them. Can you get some eye drops from a vet? They should be relatively inexpensive and I think have an antibiotic in them.

 

[chuck12]

Quote:
I feel bad for laughing at that but I could not help it...lol

Perhaps some traps for thr tree rats are in order.

 

[mgibbzzz]

Wash the eye and eye socket eith sterile saline (water), try not to twist the vessels and gently put it back in. I know it sounds horrible, but that is how it is done at the hospital. I actually know a couple of people and treated a dog that had their eye poped out and back in place. Good luck.

 

[mar123]

I`m sorry about your chickens. Did any survived after the attack? A squirrel just killed one of my mini chicken and attacked the bit the silkie, too. I`` m heartbroken. I never knew about squirrel attacking chicken, I should had searched for chicken predators before it happened. He bit on the minis head and on the silkie leg, I guess the silkie tried to protect the mini because the bit mark is in one spot only and in both chickens. I hope the silkie will survive. Please, let me know if yours survived and if there is any medicine you used that was safe for them.