Dog attack, chicken won’t stand

[Chickymama94]

please help-
About a week ago my chicken was attacked by a dog. She was in shock so I immediately put her under a heat lamp in our basement to care for her. Right away we noticed she would not stand. It looks like her skin was ripped away on her side but I’ve been spraying her wound with Vetericyn+ and it seems like it’s doing okay. I don’t see any wound on her leg, but it is dangly and she won’t move it, (although I have seen her move her toes a few times!) If I hold her up she will stand on one leg. She seems like she wants to stand. I actually made her a chicken sling yesterday but she doesn’t seem to like it much.. i took her out of it last night to sleep and I haven’t put her back in yet, im just worried it’s doing more harm than good. Should I put her back in?? Do I keep her in it 24/7?
She is still eating and drinking- I’ve been feeding her eggs, Greek yogurt, meal scraps like plain white rice, veggies, fruit… She is still laying every other day. She doesn’t seem to poop much maybe only 1-3 times a day. And sometimes it’s watery. The other day she had green diarrhea with red stuff in it. I included pics.. Also, I’ve noticed a clicking sound her beak makes when she eats, i think it started a couple days ago. It’s almost as if there’s something stuck in her beak? I don’t see anything but she won’t let me get a good look..
I’m trying my best to care for her, but I don’t want her to suffer… I would take her to the vet but we just can’t afford it Advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for reading!

 

[Chickymama94]

Anyone?…

 

[alinas2010]

Hey I’m sorry about your hen. Sounds like she may have a leg injury then? Have you felt up and down the whole leg for any lumps or displacement? Is there any swelling or discoloration anywhere? Could you post a picture of the legs for us so we could see them?

Is she eating chicken feed too? You could try wetting her feed down into a mash, a lot of chickens love that. Mine think it’s a treat. All of the scrap food could explain her watery/off droppings.

I’ll tag some experts for advice @Wyorp Rock @azygous @Eggcessive

 

[alinas2010]

Oh also, along with spraying the wound with Vetericyn, after you spray it, slather ointment such as neosporin (with no pain relief in it) on it a few times a day if you aren’t already. It will aid in healing, protect the wound from bacteria and will be more comfortable for her to have a moist wound versus a dry one

 

[Chickymama94]

Hey I’m sorry about your hen. Sounds like she may have a leg injury then? Have you felt up and down the whole leg for any lumps or displacement? Is there any swelling or discoloration anywhere? Could you post a picture of the legs for us so we could see them?

Is she eating chicken feed too? You could try wetting her feed down into a mash, a lot of chickens love that. Mine think it’s a treat. All of the scrap food could explain her watery/off droppings.

I’ll tag some experts for advice @Wyorp Rock @azygous @Eggcessive

Oh also, along with spraying the wound with Vetericyn, after you spray it, slather ointment such as neosporin (with no pain relief in it) on it a few times a day if you aren’t already. It will aid in healing, protect the wound from bacteria and will be more comfortable for her to have a moist wound versus a dry one

Thank you so much I’ll try that!

 

[Chickymama94]

Hey I’m sorry about your hen. Sounds like she may have a leg injury then? Have you felt up and down the whole leg for any lumps or displacement? Is there any swelling or discoloration anywhere? Could you post a picture of the legs for us so we could see them?

Is she eating chicken feed too? You could try wetting her feed down into a mash, a lot of chickens love that. Mine think it’s a treat. All of the scrap food could explain her watery/off droppings.

I’ll tag some experts for advice @Wyorp Rock @azygous @Eggcessive

I don’t see swelling or discoloration and I don’t really feel any lumps or displacement either I must be missing something . I tried giving her some feed and she ate a little but not much, so I’ve been only giving her scraps. I’ll try wetting some feed for her

 

[Chickymama94]

Okay actually I just felt both legs and it seems like the hurt ine does feel a little different above the knee.. like it dips in or something. I feel horrible poking and prodding at her, when I set her down she just kinda did a nose dove this is what she looks like at the moment… she’s been shivering a bit too..is she suffering?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Sounds like she's in pain if she's shivering.

I agree, I'd apply ointment on the wound.

Hard to know if the leg is broken or not. If the injured one feels a bit different, you can try splinting it. If you decide to put her back in the sling, do so periodically and only when you can monitor her, some birds tolerate a sling, while others will try to get out and injure themselves further. I'll link a splinting manual below.

I'd try to encourage her to eat her normal feed, try offering it wet if she won't eat it dry. Bits of egg, fish or meat can be given for extra protein.

https://theiwrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Duerr_Splinting_Manual_2010.pdf

 

[alinas2010]

Okay actually I just felt both legs and it seems like the hurt ine does feel a little different above the knee.. like it dips in or something. I feel horrible poking and prodding at her, when I set her down she just kinda did a nose dove this is what she looks like at the moment… she’s been shivering a bit too..is she suffering?

Oh gosh I’m sorry, I understand, I hate causing pain or discomfort. Is vet care an option at all? She may do okay with a lot of time and very little activity. There are some threads here where people have nursed chickens with broken legs and they go on to live normal lives. Our neighbor has a chicken who’s leg broke as a pullet and is crooked now, but he didn’t do anything for it and she does just fine now.

 

[PatriciafromCO]

my heart to you. The leg is going to heal, it may not heal straight, but it will mend in time, the body is programed that way. Always good to get past the chance of shock, once that is no longer a concern. Would depend on the individual bird to let them back to the flock, or to keep them with you. Make sure they have water and food at their level. And give them time. I have larger livestock seen them get through being stepped on.