Dog attack!!

[buckaroo's wife]

I've always heard that you feed canned corn to them along with their reg food - something about the sugars in it help them heal? Very well could be an old wives tale...but I did it for mine and she liked it and it seemed to help. I would put the scratch in a feeder. Sad part is, feathers just don't grow back THAT fast...so it'll take her a little while.

 

[mkearsley]

what's a chicken saddle? how would I make one?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Another thing you have to remember is chickens are cannibals and if they have a chance to get to your girl they will so please don't leave her unattended at all. I've read right here about chickens eating their flock mates. I know it's something you don't want to think about, but it's true. Most people say to feed canned dog food [beef] but I think thats is just for a few days.If you can get her some mealworms thats great protein and they love it. Google hen apron or saddle they are used to keep the roo from hurting the hen during mating

 

[mkearsley]

Well, I just gave her a shower/bath to try to remove more feathers that I missed. Her wound smells really really bad, can't really describe it! When I got home & checked her again, it was kinda oozy & reeked (which is why I gave her the shower/bath to clean it off). I tried a little soap, making sure to rinse it off well, but I just don't know what else to do. I don't know what to put on the wound to make it not smell & to help it heal & something that won't hurt her if she ingests it from preening her almost-none-existant feathers. I have BluKote & Wonder Dust, but it appears the BluKote didn't do much since it smells & was oozy, although I'd be OK with the oozy because that's just the body's way of cleaning things out. The Wonder Dust is mostly charcoal, so I don't know if that'd mess with her digestive system if she eats it

She's acting normal: eating, (still haven't seen her drink), pooping, preening, all that. I was told by a friend that the vets here don't mess with birds, so its up to me to make sure she makes it OK. I think I'll just keep her in the house until she's all better - hope the other girls dont' get ticked

 

[buckaroo's wife]

Keeping her segregated for at least a week is absolutely necessary. If you can, go to your local feedstore and get Vetricyn. Spray her with that 2+ times a day. It works wonders.

 

[they'reHISchickens]

We went through this about 2months ago. we did not find our black orp till the next morningn because it was after dark and they had been free ranging.
first, bluekote in a dauber bottle stays on much longer than the spray. we had to spray daily.Dauber application lasted three days. you MUST keep it covered or they WILL pick. We did use subcu injectible antibiotic for 2 or 3 days and stopped it when all seemed to be doing ok and was stable.
We thought we were saving a hen, but it turned out that is was a 6 month old roo. We left him in the coop the whole time because he was one of the larger birds and he was the oldest in the bunch. He was in with 7 others.
All in all,it was amazing how badly he was injured and how well he survived. It WILL take time tho. Two months later he was processed and his tail was still missing. Feathers had just begun to completely cover his tail. it was one of the reasons we did not know he was a roo!

 

[mkearsley]

Hopefully this works. Here's two photos of her wounds. This is right after I showered her, otherwise you can't see the wounds because the upper feathers cover it up.

 

[mkearsley]

(referring to the above photos) The purple/blue is from the BluKote I put on her. The bottom picture shows the really deep wound I'm most worried about.

 

[buckaroo's wife]

I definitely wouldn't put her with the other hens right now. Your best best is to keep her calm and quiet, sprayed with Vetricyn, with fresh water (with electrolytes/vitamin E mixed in), canned corn, and regular feed. You will be amazed at how she looks in a week. I had one suffer a dog attack two weeks ago, and she is still segregated in the "chicken hospital". I put one other hen in there with her for comfort, but only after observation so I knew she wouldn't get pecked. I followed the above routine and she is doing amazing. Just today I let her out to free range with general population and they left her alone. I won't put her back in the coop for awhile though. Good luck!!

 

[mkearsley]

should I drain the corn or give it to her with the juice & everything?