Dog attack

[Kristyh119]

So this morning my husband gets a call from one of our neighbors saying dogs are attacking our chickens. So apparently last night, when I closed them up, some how I Missed the only door that really matters. My main coops doors only open into the run, but I put an addition on this fall and that has a door outside of the run. Of course that’s the one I missed. So this morning when the younger ones got up they went out that door, so they where loose in the yard. All the older ones were still roosting. When it’s cold out they don’t come out until about 830. So luckily 18 of the the 23 were still safe. By the time we got the call the dogs were gone. We found one pullet in a tree and 4 others were missing. My ee/polish cockerel’s feather were everywhere. Then I found I much smaller pile of one ee pullets feathers. About an hour later 2 other pullets came back with no sign of injury. Now it’s been a few hours and there is no sign of the pullet or cockerel whose feathers I found. Im assuming that my adorable, sweet little dude is probably dead because it looks like every feather he had is on the ground. I do still have hope for my ee pullet though. Does anyone have any idea If she would try to come back if she’s injured? And how long would she have before infection set in if shes wounded?

 

[chickensuz]

So sorry for the trauma! We had a similar situation this past Sunday when a dog broke through our fencing and chased the hens. We thought we had lost one because it took an hour for her to come back. I imagine her instincts are strong to want to be "home" that she will come back if she can. Infection comes with puncture wounds but will take a day or two to fester. Just make sure you clean any wounds thoroughly and keep them open/draining so no infection is sealed inside. I love Vetercyn spray as it does not sting but works like a charm. Good luck.

 

[staceyj]

Oh gosh what a nightmare!
I’m so very sorry.
If your bird does come back,
Post here -DON’T START A NEW THREAD- and I’ll try to help as much as I can. I’ll watch this thread for updates.
-Staceyj

 

[FluffTheDuck]

So this morning my husband gets a call from one of our neighbors saying dogs are attacking our chickens. So apparently last night, when I closed them up, some how I Missed the only door that really matters. (I caught myself doing that, thank goodness I safely closed it!) My main coops doors only open into the run, but I put an addition on this fall and that has a door outside of the run. Of course that’s the one I missed. So this morning when the younger ones got up they went out that door, so they where loose in the yard. All the older ones were still roosting. When it’s cold out they don’t come out until about 830. So luckily 18 of the the 23 were still safe (Whew!). By the time we got the call the dogs were gone. We found one pullet in a tree and 4 others were missing. My ee/polish cockerel’s feather were everywhere. Then I found I much smaller pile of one ee pullets feathers. About an hour later 2 other pullets came back with no sign of injury. Now it’s been a few hours and there is no sign of the pullet or cockerel whose feathers I found. Im assuming that my adorable, sweet little dude is probably dead because it looks like every feather he had is on the ground. I do still have hope for my ee pullet though. Does anyone have any idea If she would try to come back if she’s injured? And how long would she have before infection set in if shes wounded?

So, if she has a leg injury that's extremely bad, like where she's limping, she will just give up, most likely. Unless she really wants to go back home and take the risk of running into another predator and being hurt even more. It really takes up to a week for an infection like bumblefoot completely starts around 5-6 days and that's when they start limping. If she doesn't come back by a week she's dead.

 

[Kristyh119]

Thanks everyone.. I’ll keeping looking for her for at least a few days then.