I nearly died last night when I returned home and couldn't find my chickens in MY yard. After some searching, I find my youngsters hiding behind a pallet leaning against my house with one of my bigger girls. This in itself was odd because the bigger girls and the younger ones formed 2 seperate flocks. We found 3 dead chickens. 2 Rocks and an Americana. The rocks were my favorite. They'd always run to me as soon as I went out with their little wings spread and heads down. It always reminded me of children playing airplane. Anyway, my daughter found the missing Red... She's hurt and I'm not sure what to do. I can't afford to take her to the vet. It seems her right leg is paralyzed. Left leg and both wings are fine. I found a small puncture wound low down on her back on the right side. She's drinking lots and eating. She doesn't appear to be in any pain. I've wrapped her leg up so it doesn't drag. She likes to stand, but i can't walk her around everywhere. What should I do? Would she learn to walk with just one leg?
Sorry to hear about your losses! Her leg might be paralyzed because she suffered some neurological damage during the attack. Many birds that get attacked have side affects like trouble walking, trouble breathing, etc. She may regain the use of the leg. Keep her isolated from other birds, and provide feed and water closeby. Exercise the leg (move it up and down with you hands) every day so that the muscles don't degenerate. I've heard that chickens can adapt to move with just one leg, but I've never experienced it myself. Just let her rest, and hopefully she'll recover (though it will probably take weeks-- leg injuries take a long time to heal). In regards to the puncture wound, put some antibiotic ointment (without painkillers or "caine" ingredients) on it. Keep an eye out for signs of infection, like swelling, discoloration, and heat. If you see any signs, treat with antibiotics like Penicillin.
I would flush any wound with saline(salt water), then betadine, then campho-phenique, then triple antibiotic ointment. Do this twice a day. Chickens hide their pain quite well. A baby aspirin crushed and mixed with water will help.
