Dog Attack/Lone Hen

[Whittehitt]

Howdy guys, our flock of 6 was attacked by two dogs last Friday. 3 were dead when we ran outside, 3 were injured. Two have since passed so now this morning we just have our one brahma. She doesn't have any really damaging superficial injuries, she's super fluffy so I'm thinking that's what might have (potentially) saved her life. She has an okay appetite but is not wanting to walk, which I've read is quite common, esp after a dog attack. She is getting better though to where she can stand for longer periods of time and take a few steps, she even scratched her face today with one of her feet!

My main concern at the moment is her breathing and possible infection. She's breathing with her mouth open most of the time, when she stands she always has it open as if, understandably, standing is taking a lot out of her. This hen in particular has always had breathing trouble though that we've never been able to treat, it's not infectious and never spread to any other flock mates.

We gave her a shot of LA200 a day ago, we couldn't get our hands on Tylan. Any advice for her would be great, we're currently in the middle of a snowstorm so getting out of the house isn't likely. She's in my home office at the moment warm with food and water. Also want to add her poop is watery, white, with green...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry to hear about your losses

Do you have photos of her and the poop?
A video of how she acts may be helpful - for video upload to YouTube or similar platform and provide a link.

Have you looked her over really well and through her feathers for any abrasions, puncture wounds, green skin (bruising)?
If you feel over her body, do you notice anything that feels like air under the skin (like an air bubble), especially near the 9 air sacs? This will help you rule out if the respiratory distress is due to a ruptured air sac instead of respiratory infection.
(see the photo below to help you locate air sacs)

Is she able to sit or is she standing all the time?

Can she drink/eat on her own? I understand she's having some breathing issues, but it's important to encourage her to drink so she doesn't become dehydrated. Electrolytes or a little warmed sugar water would be good. Once she's drinking/hydrated, then offer her a little wet feed, bits of egg, etc. whatever seems to entice her to eat a little something.

Likely the watery/white with green poop is from not getting enough fluids and not eating well.
If the LA200 is what you have then that's what I would use.
Does she seem extremely stressed? You mention she's had respiratory issues in the past. Stress could also exacerbate chronic conditions. Just a thought on that.

Keep us posted on how she's doing.


Take note there are 9 air sacs, so they are basically on both sides of the body (2 at each location) except for the Interclavicular air sac which is just the 1. Hope it's not confusing.

 

[Whittehitt]

I'm sorry to hear about your losses

Do you have photos of her and the poop?
A video of how she acts may be helpful - for video upload to YouTube or similar platform and provide a link.

Have you looked her over really well and through her feathers for any abrasions, puncture wounds, green skin (bruising)?
If you feel over her body, do you notice anything that feels like air under the skin (like an air bubble), especially near the 9 air sacs? This will help you rule out if the respiratory distress is due to a ruptured air sac instead of respiratory infection.
(see the photo below to help you locate air sacs)

Is she able to sit or is she standing all the time?

Can she drink/eat on her own? I understand she's having some breathing issues, but it's important to encourage her to drink so she doesn't become dehydrated. Electrolytes or a little warmed sugar water would be good. Once she's drinking/hydrated, then offer her a little wet feed, bits of egg, etc. whatever seems to entice her to eat a little something.

Likely the watery/white with green poop is from not getting enough fluids and not eating well.
If the LA200 is what you have then that's what I would use.
Does she seem extremely stressed? You mention she's had respiratory issues in the past. Stress could also exacerbate chronic conditions. Just a thought on that.

Keep us posted on how she's doing.


Take note there are 9 air sacs, so they are basically on both sides of the body (2 at each location) except for the Interclavicular air sac which is just the 1. Hope it's not confusing.

Wow thank you for all the info! I'll get a video of her and some pictures of her poop. Also feel her over once more.

So she can sit and stand, she mainly sits. She eats and drinks fairly well when you put it in front of her, she won't go out of her way for either, so I rotate her food and water every 30 mins or so. She has electrolyte water, I've been feeding her their regular feed, flock block bits, corn, grapes, tomatoes, cat food, she's not interested in eggs unfortunately, mealworms but she's not too interested in those. I cut up grapes and put some corn in her water and she loves trying to grab the pieces.

I don't think she's stressed, she seems fairly herself minus the heavy breathing which is mainly when she stands up. She also spreads her wings out too when she stands, as if to either stretch or cool herself off. But yeah she's always had some breathing/sneezing trouble and we've never been able to figure out why.

Oh also want to add that there is quite a temperature difference between our house and their coop obviously. It's around 20 degrees outside and 70 in our house, so she is possibly acclimating as well? I've tried to keep the room semi-cool for her if that helps her. There is also a gurgling coming from her crop (?) Whenever she swallows water?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

she seems fairly herself minus the heavy breathing which is mainly when she stands up. She also spreads her wings out too when she stands, as if to either stretch or cool herself off. But yeah she's always had some breathing/sneezing trouble and we've never been able to figure out why.

There is also a gurgling coming from her crop (?) Whenever she swallows water?

She may be a bit warm if she's had the sudden temperature change.
But...let's look at that heavy breathing when she stands - is there any bloat or feeling of fluid in the abdomen below the vent between her legs? Like tight like a drum?

Gurgling when she swallows water. Is her crop emptying overnight? Feel her crop before she goes to bed, then first thing in the morning before she eats/drinks. The crop should be empty/flat after a night's sleep.
Do you notice any odor (foul or sour) on her breath or any lesions (yellow or white pasty material) inside the beak?

Having her bob for grapes and goodies is a great (idea!) and way to get her interested. While it's ideal to have them eat their normal feed, a lot of times when sick, injured, stressed they will simply just go off their feed, so finding something that they enjoy for a short period of time is a good idea. Melon and tomatoes also seem to be something that they like as well. I've found that once they start to feel better they will go back to their regular feed.


IF the crop is not emptying, then you'll want to address that symptom. The article below outlines the methods I follow when treating a crop problem.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[Whittehitt]

She may be a bit warm if she's had the sudden temperature change.
But...let's look at that heavy breathing when she stands - is there any bloat or feeling of fluid in the abdomen below the vent between her legs? Like tight like a drum?

Gurgling when she swallows water. Is her crop emptying overnight? Feel her crop before she goes to bed, then first thing in the morning before she eats/drinks. The crop should be empty/flat after a night's sleep.
Do you notice any odor (foul or sour) on her breath or any lesions (yellow or white pasty material) inside the beak?

Having her bob for grapes and goodies is a great (idea!) and way to get her interested. While it's ideal to have them eat their normal feed, a lot of times when sick, injured, stressed they will simply just go off their feed, so finding something that they enjoy for a short period of time is a good idea. Melon and tomatoes also seem to be something that they like as well. I've found that once they start to feel better they will go back to their regular feed.


IF the crop is not emptying, then you'll want to address that symptom. The article below outlines the methods I follow when treating a crop problem.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Nothing abnormal I can feel, I left her water and food in her cage overnight but I can take it out tonight and feel her crop in the morning. Hopefully it's not sourcrop. This morning she has been alert and very interested in preening, which is a good sign? Esp since she hasn't been interested since we brought her in. I'm hoping it's not stress related.

I think I'm going to try today to get her to eat more of her feed? And if she won't eat that then I'll give extra treats but really let her peck through her feed, looks to be working so far. I've been starting her morning with a "buffet" plate of various good foods but she's pecking the feed and flock block bits right now. I'm going to the store this weekend so I can pick her up anything else you suggest!

Her breathing looks to have gotten better, I've closed the vent in my office so it's cooler. She got up this morning and turned herself around without heavy breathing. She breathes through her beak some when she's sitting down but to be honest, unfortunately, that's pretty normal for her as she's always struggled with sneezing/breathing problems. She scratched her face again last night/stood on one leg and I've never been happier to see a chicken do that!

Should I be worried about loneliness or anything like that this soon? If she pulls through I'm not sure if I'm thinking she could be a house chicken or getting her some friends and putting her back in the coop. Either way we're upping our predator proofing, I actually had one of those dogs run at me that day I went to check on everyone and found them dead/injured, so I don't leave the house without pepper spray now - it was truly terrifying, seeing my girls dead/injured and having a dog jump at my face.

 

[Whittehitt]

Here's a picture of her poop, she's acting a lot more chicken like today which is amazing to see. Pecking her feed, haven't given as many treats today because she's eating a good bit on her own. Preening quite a bit, still vocal. I'm feeling hopeful! Oh also want to add the heavy breathing has stopped since I cooled my office off.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It's good that her breathing is better.
Cooling the office was a good idea.

Preening a little and having interest in her regular feed is also very good. Keep up with what you are doing.
She may benefit from extra poultry vitamins a couple of times a week, but it sounds like she's holding her own for now.

I'm so sorry that you are going through this. That must have been horrific. The dog jumping at you is a concern too. Do you know who the dogs belong to?
I know it's been a few days since this all happened, but if you have a good animal control where you live, you may want to consider at least reporting the incident to have it on record. Nothing will replace what you have lost, but if the dog(s) come back or are threat to you and your hens (livestock!) you will already have established this is not a one time incident. A lot depends on where you live as to what you can do as well, so look at your local laws concerning roaming/loose dogs.

 

[Whittehitt]

It's good that her breathing is better.
Cooling the office was a good idea.

Preening a little and having interest in her regular feed is also very good. Keep up with what you are doing.
She may benefit from extra poultry vitamins a couple of times a week, but it sounds like she's holding her own for now.

I'm so sorry that you are going through this. That must have been horrific. The dog jumping at you is a concern too. Do you know who the dogs belong to?
I know it's been a few days since this all happened, but if you have a good animal control where you live, you may want to consider at least reporting the incident to have it on record. Nothing will replace what you have lost, but if the dog(s) come back or are threat to you and your hens (livestock!) you will already have established this is not a one time incident. A lot depends on where you live as to what you can do as well, so look at your local laws concerning roaming/loose dogs.

Oh we did! I took pictures of both of the dogs once I got safely back inside, then we scared them off our property. It's crazy how even in the moment you're still thinking proof! We need proof! Because I'm going to find out who owns these dogs. Then we started assessing everyone, moving the survivors to the coop for the moment, then I called the police and warned our other neighbors with livestock through text. They sent a deputy over to our place and he took more pictures and even went through the woods to follow their footprints! We have snow on the ground so it was quite easy to see thankfully.

I'm apart of the local Facebook groups and it surprisingly was not hard to search the word "dog" and get a picture of one of them. Apparently they get out often. Let the deputy know the owners name and he went over and got us "compensation" at $30/hen for all 6 even though 3 were still alive just injured. He also got them labeled as dangerous dogs. He said the owners were sorry but he knows that doesn't mean much.

I hate to jump the gun but I'm actually thinking about getting her some new friends, after upping our predator proofing of course. I think she's going to pull through No clue how to do that though since it's still very cold out (10 degrees right now!). She's going to have to be an inside chicken for quite awhile. I've got a vitamin packet and probiotics that you add to their water, I've been giving electrolyte water and regular water, alternating the two, but I can switch to those as well. She ate mostly feed yesterday! Only treats I gave her were a few grapes and corn, she loves both. Her walking is better, I made her a bigger area to walk and she practiced walking a ton yesterday. She was a lot more chicken-like yesterday

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm glad to hear she's improving.

I think finding some friends for her is a good idea, hopefully your weather will warm up soon so you can start working on that.

 

[Whittehitt]

I'm glad to hear she's improving.

I think finding some friends for her is a good idea, hopefully your weather will warm up soon so you can start working on that.

It got up to 50 degrees here yesterday which felt awesome, thought she'd enjoy some time in the sun and she had so much fun! Working on making their run dog proof with motion detecting cameras, I can start that once the snow around the run melts so possibly this weekend.

Not sure what to do as far other chickens, there's tons of chicks for sale around me but I really prefer young hens to be honest so you don't have to go through the raising portion. But young enough that you can still get them comfortable with you and social. Also I feel like Gretchen would benefit from hens her age instead of adding new chicks. I could keep her inside and raise the chicks next to her but I don't know how much comfort that would bring her? Also I doubt she wants to be inside that long... ugh! No clue what to do here. Preferably I can find some younger hens and introduce them to her eventually.

Also just wanted to say thank you for all your help! It's so comforting to have someone to bounce ideas off of when you're trying to help an injured hen, or just have someone to listen. Thank you!