I have a Dominique hen who was missing for a day beginning two days ago. We found her under the house yesterday afternoon after the neighbor's dog apparently had chased her under. After pulling her out, we discovered several feathers missing from her tail, one wing way lower than the other, and a quarter size puncture wound on her underbelly. She had bled a good bit from the puncture wound, but it had already dried and scabbed over. I cleaned her up as best I could and cleaned the wounds with peroxide and applied Neosporin. I also started on antibiotics in her water. I separated her from the others in a dog crate. She has been eating and drinking well. Tonight however, as I went to check on her I noticed a pungeant (sp?)odor and her being very lethargic and twitching her head as she stares at the ground. I also cleaned her wound and applied more Neosporin. She still is not moving her wings and walking funny. I have had other chickens attacked by who knows what and treated them the same- all have rallied like nothing ever happened. This one is baffling me with the head shaking thing and lethargy. Could someone please help me out? Thanks.
puncture wounds can be very dangerous, I'm assuming she has a bad infection spreading inside her. She probably needs a vet to determine if penicillin or other med can help her at this stage. Her wound should have drained - scabbing over prevented that. You could post in detail on emergencies, diseases, injuries, cures," thread but personally I would want to get her seen by a professional as soon as possible.
To BYC! Drumstick Diva has given you some good advice. If she were my bird, I would take her to a vet. Great to have you aboard and enjoy BYC!
This head twitching is not good,,, Are you keeping her warm ? I might suggest a couple of things .... 1. Let's try a little sugar in her water ,, this is to give her a little energy ... 2. hard boiled egg peal smash real good and serve ,,,, this is to give her some protein ... Check her entire body you might have missed or overlook something broken bone or wound .... And keep up what you are doing .....
Welcome to BYC. It does sound as if there are possible internal injuries. Options include continuing to treat as you are (realizing that if things get worse you may have to euthanize her) or taking her to the vet spending a lot of money and (realizing that you may still have to euthanize her).
