kwphotomom
Chirping
Thursday, our Cocker spaniel got hold of our bantam hen, lost some tail feathers but can't find any other external injuries. A few hours after the attack, we found clear gooey fluid stuck to her rear feathers under the vent, a little smelly but not terribly fowl odor. Soaked her in warm bath for about 15 minutes, then used olive oil to search inside for broken shell, but couldn't find anything, although I wasn't brave enough to dig around much! She tolerated that fine, and didn't seem to be tender anywhere on her body. We dried her off and put her in a small box with her nest and some shavings (in the house) with a heat lamp so she could rest and recover from the shock of the attack. Was lethargic for a few hours, but then seemed to perk up and has been acting normally ever since, eating and drinking fine as well.
Friday she continued to eat and drink, seemed alert and enjoyed being held and cuddled, not tender anywhere on her body that we could tell. In the evening we let her out to stretch her legs, and she pooped some clear fluid with a little bit of yellow foam (about dime sized drop), but after that all poop was "normal". The shavings in her box appear to have some yellow fluid on them, but nothing solid, just looks like yellow urine soaked into them. What could this be??? Her vent seems to be continuously opening and closing (it was doing that on Thursday following the attack as well), and her tail feathers bob up and down, it's as though she's trying to pinch off a poop or something...hard to describe. Is this just normal? Could there be a broken egg in there?
Background: We are VERY new to chickens. She was given to our neighbor, he had her for a few weeks but his chickens were picking on her, so he asked us to take her. We have only had her for about 10 days, she never laid eggs while with our neighbor (but apparently did for the previous owners), but she laid her first egg here with us the day before the attack. She is a tiny bird, I'm assuming a bantam, and I have no idea what breed. Solid black, grey/black clean legs, tiny bit of red on the top of her head. The one egg she laid here was a tiny white egg. Shell was thick, we have not cracked it open so not sure what the inside looks like!
Thanks so much for reading, I appreciate any help anyone has to offer!
Pictures of our sweet hen, Lucky, with my 9 year old daughter. My sweet daughter has always loved birds, she has been bonding with Lucky since we got her, checking on her several times each day, holding her and loving on her. When Lucky escaped the coop as I was trying to install a heat lamp to keep her warm from the incoming snow storm, she was there to witness the dog grab her and run off with her in her mouth. Poor kiddo was crying and screaming bloody murder as the dog ran around the backyard trying to get away from me.
And yes, that is our master bathroom, sweet Lucky has been in a cardboard box with her nest and a heat lamp or space heater under my sink ever since the attack. My daughter goes in there and lets her walk around the bathroom to stretch her legs, Lucky of course just climbs in her lap and settles in to be loved on, so sweet!
This is how Lucky looked about an hour after the attack, she just laid down with her head down and eyes closed. You can see how many feathers she lost in her tail, those few pieces in the background are all that came off of her lower back. She really emerged unscathed for the most part, externally anyway. Praying her insides are all good too!
Sunday Evening (1-8-17)
Lucky is doing GREAT! She's still eating, drinking and pooping, and she seems to be feeling fine! Moved her out to her coop this afternoon and she seems to be happy to be back in there. A few pictures from this afternoon...
Friday she continued to eat and drink, seemed alert and enjoyed being held and cuddled, not tender anywhere on her body that we could tell. In the evening we let her out to stretch her legs, and she pooped some clear fluid with a little bit of yellow foam (about dime sized drop), but after that all poop was "normal". The shavings in her box appear to have some yellow fluid on them, but nothing solid, just looks like yellow urine soaked into them. What could this be??? Her vent seems to be continuously opening and closing (it was doing that on Thursday following the attack as well), and her tail feathers bob up and down, it's as though she's trying to pinch off a poop or something...hard to describe. Is this just normal? Could there be a broken egg in there?
Background: We are VERY new to chickens. She was given to our neighbor, he had her for a few weeks but his chickens were picking on her, so he asked us to take her. We have only had her for about 10 days, she never laid eggs while with our neighbor (but apparently did for the previous owners), but she laid her first egg here with us the day before the attack. She is a tiny bird, I'm assuming a bantam, and I have no idea what breed. Solid black, grey/black clean legs, tiny bit of red on the top of her head. The one egg she laid here was a tiny white egg. Shell was thick, we have not cracked it open so not sure what the inside looks like!
Thanks so much for reading, I appreciate any help anyone has to offer!
Pictures of our sweet hen, Lucky, with my 9 year old daughter. My sweet daughter has always loved birds, she has been bonding with Lucky since we got her, checking on her several times each day, holding her and loving on her. When Lucky escaped the coop as I was trying to install a heat lamp to keep her warm from the incoming snow storm, she was there to witness the dog grab her and run off with her in her mouth. Poor kiddo was crying and screaming bloody murder as the dog ran around the backyard trying to get away from me.
And yes, that is our master bathroom, sweet Lucky has been in a cardboard box with her nest and a heat lamp or space heater under my sink ever since the attack. My daughter goes in there and lets her walk around the bathroom to stretch her legs, Lucky of course just climbs in her lap and settles in to be loved on, so sweet!
This is how Lucky looked about an hour after the attack, she just laid down with her head down and eyes closed. You can see how many feathers she lost in her tail, those few pieces in the background are all that came off of her lower back. She really emerged unscathed for the most part, externally anyway. Praying her insides are all good too!
Sunday Evening (1-8-17)
Lucky is doing GREAT! She's still eating, drinking and pooping, and she seems to be feeling fine! Moved her out to her coop this afternoon and she seems to be happy to be back in there. A few pictures from this afternoon...
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Not sure what a black d'Anver is, but I'll look it up, thanks for the info!
They are such great dogs, we have had our Gracie for 7 years. We found her running in the middle of a busy street during a snow storm, couldn't locate her owners so we eventually accepted the fact that she was staying, haha! She has never chased a bird in our yard, I am wondering if she was trying to "help" us catch Lucky. She watched us chase the chicken for about half an hour outside of the fence, then within a minute of that bird flying back over the fence the dog had her...crazy! Not too shabby for an older dog 
