Dog attacked my chickens! Two dead, one injured - how do I treat her?

[LDSmama]

Two big huskies got in our yard and attacked our chickens, killing two and injuring one. The injured one (a Speckled Sussex) has at least 3 puncture wounds on her breast. They are not actively bleeding, and she is calmly sitting on a paper towel on our couch while my daughter gets ready to bathe/clean her.

The dogs had collars/tags, we called the owner, and they came over, arriving at the same time as animal control (my husband had called them on his way home from work). According to the owners, the dogs are current on their shots, so that eases some worry.

I do have VetRx and Nutri-Drench. My husband is setting up our brooding/hospital cage (a small section attached to the coop, separated by hardware cloth) with water, food, and plenty of nice soft bedding. Should we put in a warming light? Other than cleaning her wounds, should I do anything else?

 

[LDSmama]

also, it is currently 52 degrees, and projected to drop to 35 during the night. We are in northern Utah.

 

[coach723]

I would flush the wounds out well, use an oral syringe if you have one, punctures can harbor bacteria since they tend to close off from air. If you have any veterycin spray, or chlorhexidine use that. Then apply plain neosporin or triple antibiotic ointment. Check her over for any wounds you might have missed, they can hide in feathers. If she did not get any internal injuries, she will likely be fine, but she may have been shaken or squeezed, so time will tell. She may be very sore for a while, bruising that may show up will often look greenish. I would keep her in a warm place tonight to make sure there is no residual shock which might make her hypothermic, make sure she's eating and drinking and pooping normally. Then reassess tomorrow. I will often use my second bathroom with a hospital crate when they need to be warm for a while.

 

[ChickNanny13]

2x I would keep her indoors at least for tonight.

Hopefully your neighbor offers to pay you the cost of replacing those that you lost & any Vet bills that may happen

 

[Eggcessive]

I agree with everything that @coach723 has said. Try to keep her inside tonight, but at least keep her warm while she may be in shock. Wounds should be cleaned twice a day, and then the antibiotic ointment should be applied. Either use the Vetericyn wound spray, the chlorhexidene (Hibiclens) and water, Betadine, or Saline for cleaning.

Puncture wounds can sometime form abscesses in a couple of days, so watch for signs. Good signs are when they can stand and walk, eat and drink. Hopefully, she will survive.

 

[DiYMama540]

Hoping for the best here...keep us posted!

 

[trumpeting_angel]

Yes! We all hope for the best outcome for your hen. Best
Of luck! You’ve gotten advice from the best.

 

[LDSmama]

Thank you everyone - you have been very helpful! The injured chicken I asked about earlier is doing much better, and is even back in the coop with the rest of her flock.

But now I have another question...

On the day of the attack, one of the chickens had gone missing. Another Speckled Sussex. She turned up yesterday, seemed fine, although she wouldn't let us near her. Today, when my daughter took the first injured hen out to the coop, this 2nd Sussex let her pick her up. When she did, she discovered a serious wound under her wing. This one appears to have penetrated the intestines, as she now has poop leaking out of that hole. Plus we can see all the way in to the abdominal cavity.

Even if we were able to get the wound clean and keep it clean, with the perforation of her intestine, I can't imagine being successful. I'm amazed she has survived this long. Yesterday she seemed reasonably active and able, but today she is definitely not. I'm pretty sure she already has an infection. I think if we tried to treat her, she would just be in pain, and would die anyway. I thought about just leaving her untreated, but then she would just be miserable until she passed. So I think the best thing to do is put her down.

How do we do that? What is the quickest, most humane way to put her out of her misery?

 

[aart]

How do we do that? What is the quickest, most humane way to put her out of her misery?

This has worked very well for me.

Cervical Dislocation is shown in this video at about 1:00,

Click the 'Watch this video on YouTube'

it's the only CD video I've found that doesn't remove the head.

-Notice the slight divot in the ground under the stick and neck, this will keep the bird from being choked.

-Notice that she slowly stretches out the neck and legs before giving the short sharp jerk that breaks the neck close to the skull, this is key to success IMO.

I've found this technique to be very effective.

 

[Eggcessive]

Thank you everyone - you have been very helpful! The injured chicken I asked about earlier is doing much better, and is even back in the coop with the rest of her flock.

But now I have another question...

On the day of the attack, one of the chickens had gone missing. Another Speckled Sussex. She turned up yesterday, seemed fine, although she wouldn't let us near her. Today, when my daughter took the first injured hen out to the coop, this 2nd Sussex let her pick her up. When she did, she discovered a serious wound under her wing. This one appears to have penetrated the intestines, as she now has poop leaking out of that hole. Plus we can see all the way in to the abdominal cavity.

Even if we were able to get the wound clean and keep it clean, with the perforation of her intestine, I can't imagine being successful. I'm amazed she has survived this long. Yesterday she seemed reasonably active and able, but today she is definitely not. I'm pretty sure she already has an infection. I think if we tried to treat her, she would just be in pain, and would die anyway. I thought about just leaving her untreated, but then she would just be miserable until she passed. So I think the best thing to do is put her down.

How do we do that? What is the quickest, most humane way to put her out of her misery?

I agree with you—there is no way she will survive with a perforated intestine. She probably is suffering from sepsis already and pain. I usually cut their jugular veins which causes them to bleed out within a minute or two. It works best if you can tie their legs to a tree with the head down or place them upside down in a cone.
Some use the broomstick method to dislocate the spinal cord. Sorry about your hen. Here is the method I use: