Dog Attack

[matojack]

One of my hens was attacked by my parent's dog on Christmas. She lost many feathers, has some very deep wounds, and is limping on the leg where most of the injuries are. Her leg is not broken but looks to be very bruised. We have been cleaning the wounds and using corona salve every one to two days. We have separated her from the flock for fear of them hurting her further. Once the wounds heal, I hope that she starts to use her leg more.

My biggest worry is that she seems very depressed being away from her flock. I ensure that I visit her regularly and do not leave until I see her eat and drink a little bit. Originally, she was eating berries, eggs, and oatmeal mostly from my hand. Today, I finally softened her own food which she vigorously ate but not great amount. I am most worried that she is so depressed that she will stop eating and drinking unless I'm forcing her to do so. We do give her some time outside next to the pen where her flock is. Her wounds are so bad that we don't dare let the others out to be with her plus is 30 degrees which is too cold given the amount of feathers she's lost.

If anyone has any other ideas of how we can help her feel better, let me know. I sincerely hope she feels better soon and comes out of her depression. She is the most social of my hens and loves hanging out in the yard with her sister.

 

[Debbie292d]

Could you bring her sister in too, like next to her so she could talk to her but the sister couldn't hurt her?

Someone should come along @Wyorp Rock or others that know how to deal with dog bites better, but you may want to consider getting an antibiotic for her as since you said the dog bit deep, that will most likely become infected. Amoxicillin as in Fish Mox or Aquamox is available online like here or at aquarium fish stores.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

One of my hens was attacked by my parent's dog on Christmas. She lost many feathers, has some very deep wounds, and is limping on the leg where most of the injuries are. Her leg is not broken but looks to be very bruised. We have been cleaning the wounds and using corona salve every one to two days. We have separated her from the flock for fear of them hurting her further. Once the wounds heal, I hope that she starts to use her leg more.

My biggest worry is that she seems very depressed being away from her flock. I ensure that I visit her regularly and do not leave until I see her eat and drink a little bit. Originally, she was eating berries, eggs, and oatmeal mostly from my hand. Today, I finally softened her own food which she vigorously ate but not great amount. I am most worried that she is so depressed that she will stop eating and drinking unless I'm forcing her to do so. We do give her some time outside next to the pen where her flock is. Her wounds are so bad that we don't dare let the others out to be with her plus is 30 degrees which is too cold given the amount of feathers she's lost.

If anyone has any other ideas of how we can help her feel better, let me know. I sincerely hope she feels better soon and comes out of her depression. She is the most social of my hens and loves hanging out in the yard with her sister.

Welcome To BYC

Can you post photos of the wounds?

Do any of the wounds seem infected?

Triple antibiotic ointment may be better to use than Corona Salve if the wounds are deep and extensive.

Work on hydration and encourage her to eat. Her normal feed is best, but you can also offer tidbits of other things like egg, fish, meat. Small pieces of fruit or other things that may interest her.

Being separate can be stressful, but she should eat/drink as normal even while away from the flock. Taking her to visit the flock or bringing in a pal for visits can also be helpful and may encourage her to eat.

 

[matojack]

We have used corona and vetericyn. My cousin sent the pictures to her vet who recommended corona. There is one spot that looks like it might have infection, but the vet said it would work itself out. She is limping on the side of the attack. These pictures are as of a few days ago.

We are giving her outdoor time next to the pen with the other chickens during the warmest part of the day. I worry that she’ll get cold because of her missing feathers.

We put a mirror in her enclosure today and it seems to be perking her up. I also petted her more and am playing music for her too.

Any thoughts on her leg? Thanks for looking at these for us.

 

[LuciferRoo]

Chickens are very resilient. I had a dog attack few weeks ago. Most of those that were not killed by the dogs survived. However, these were roosters. Some of them got almost no treatment as I could not catch them.
Some got no more then spray of Blue-Kote from a foot.away, which is as close as I could get. Some got a good amount of Blue-Note and also another spray, which name I cannot recall.

One of my roosters looked bad enough that I separated him and put him in a dog create and inside the house. He could not stand up.
He only had spent one night in the house and joined his flock the following day.

One rooster ended up with a hidden infection. He was getting worse and after few days, would just lay and could hardly keep his eyes open. I put him on fish antibiotics (Amoxicillin) and following morning he looked more alert.
I gave him antibiotics twice a,day for seven days. He survived but was probably a day away from dying.

 

[Jakemedic]

I am sorry your girl is going through this. But I am hopeful as she has a great chicken parent who is going to nurse her back to health. Keep up the good care, I genuinely hope all goes well!
Jake

 

[matojack]

I am sorry your girl is going through this. But I am hopeful as she has a great chicken parent who is going to nurse her back to health. Keep up the good care, I genuinely hope all goes well!
Jake

Thanks so much. I appreciate the support. It’s just upsetting because she is my most social girl and is so down.

 

[matojack]

Could you bring her sister in too, like next to her so she could talk to her but the sister couldn't hurt her?

Someone should come along @Wyorp Rock or others that know how to deal with dog bites better, but you may want to consider getting an antibiotic for her as since you said the dog bit deep, that will most likely become infected. Amoxicillin as in Fish Mox or Aquamox is available online like here or at aquarium fish stores.

Yesterday, we let her sister out of the pen with her. She seemed to peck once but our girl put her in her place. They spent at least 30 min together. Her mood seemed to pick up.

Do you know where I can get the Aquamox to at least have on hand? Thanks for the reply.

 

[matojack]

Chickens are very resilient. I had a dog attack few weeks ago. Most of those that were not killed by the dogs survived. However, these were roosters. Some of them got almost no treatment as I could not catch them.
Some got no more then spray of Blue-Kote from a foot.away, which is as close as I could get. Some got a good amount of Blue-Note and also another spray, which name I cannot recall.

One of my roosters looked bad enough that I separated him and put him in a dog create and inside the house. He could not stand up.
He only had spent one night in the house and joined his flock the following day.

One rooster ended up with a hidden infection. He was getting worse and after few days, would just lay and could hardly keep his eyes open. I put him on fish antibiotics (Amoxicillin) and following morning he looked more alert.
I gave him antibiotics twice a,day for seven days. He survived but was probably a day away from dying.

Sorry about your chickens. Thanks for letting me know how resilient they are. Our chicken spent time with her best friend today in the yard. It seemed to perk her up. And we put a mirror in her enclosure. She was drinking a lot while watching her “new friend.”

Please let me know how to get the fish antibiotics. She has one really bad wound where a piece of muscle is exposed, so I’m watching it closely until heals, however it heals.

 

[matojack]

Welcome To BYC

Can you post photos of the wounds?

Do any of the wounds seem infected?

Triple antibiotic ointment may be better to use than Corona Salve if the wounds are deep and extensive.

Work on hydration and encourage her to eat. Her normal feed is best, but you can also offer tidbits of other things like egg, fish, meat. Small pieces of fruit or other things that may interest her.

Being separate can be stressful, but she should eat/drink as normal even while away from the flock. Taking her to visit the flock or bringing in a pal for visits can also be helpful and may encourage her to eat.

I posted a new message versus replying. I wanted to know at what point should we stop treating the wounds? We clean and put Corona on every other day right now. Most of the wounds are scabbed over except for the puncture closest to her neck. She gets upset when we try to put salve on her backside. There are two puncture wounds within an inch or two from her anus with a lot of bruising that I saw a few days ago under her skin. These seem to be very painful and the injuries that we suspect are causing her to limp/use her leg sparingly. She is patient with us though and understands we are helping her. I was giving her one baby aspirin two times per day with a raspberry, but she's not interested in the treat anymore so I stopped yesterday.

Any additional advice is welcome. Thanks.