Dog got ahold of a chicken

[mattcarolynbechard]

One of our 17 week hens was grabbed by one of our dogs today. The hen decided to fly over the six foot fence (impressive) at the exact moment that my kids let the dog out of the house. Talk about timing... She (our dog) wasn't vicious about it and clearly thought she was playing, but obviously traumatized the hen pretty bad by holding onto her for a good minute.

I currently have the hen in a separate safe, dry, and warm place with some water and food. She was bleeding a bit, but nothing too crazy. I only noticed when I carried her into the house. I think her feathers did a lot of the protecting but she has no bare spots.

That being said, I don't know how much internal damage was done. I couldnt see any specific teeth marks, but I assume there must be some underneath all those feathers because there was a bit of blood? The attack happened 3-4 hours ago and she hasn't eaten yet. She did do a nice normal looking chicken poop though and pee. She prefers not to move right now. I've disinfected her back end and was thinking of bathing her tonight to get a better look at potential injuries, but would that just cause her more paint at this point?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

P.S - the attached photo was taken just after it happened. Her beak is no longer hanging open like that. She is now hanging out in the corner of the box with her eyes open.

 

[coach723]

She was likely in shock due to the attack. You can put some electrolites in her water if you have them, she needs to stay hydrated. so watch for drinking. Don't worry too much about eating yet, hydration is more important. Keep her in a warm, quiet place and let her rest. Then look her over well for any wounds, you will have to look carefully between feathers. Clean any wounds you find with saline, vetericyn spray, or soapy water. You can put plain neosporin on any wounds if needed, or just use the vetericyn. If you see any greenish areas, those are likely bruising. If she has no internal injuries from crushing and nothing gets infected, she will likely be fine. She may be sore for a while, so give her some time. She may bounce back quickly once the shock is worn off.

 

[Silver Sebright]

First, . But she should be fine in a few days she will be traumatized for a few days (worst case over a week). Did you look under her feathers for the exact places where she is bleeding?

 

[mattcarolynbechard]

First, . But she should be fine in a few days she will be traumatized for a few days (worst case over a week). Did you look under her feathers for the exact places where she is bleeding?

Thank you! I can see the area where she likely was held onto, but couldn't see any open gashes. I'm thinking if I give her a proper washing tonight I may be able to see better? Just waiting for my husband to get home so he can watch the three kids (under 6 - oy)

After googling other peoples images of attacked chickens, I'm thinking our girl got off pretty easy. My only real concern is if there are some internal injuries I'm not seeing, but I guess there's really no way to know...

 

[mattcarolynbechard]

She was likely in shock due to the attack. You can put some electrolites in her water if you have them, she needs to stay hydrated. so watch for drinking. Don't worry too much about eating yet, hydration is more important. Keep her in a warm, quiet place and let her rest. Then look her over well for any wounds, you will have to look carefully between feathers. Clean any wounds you find with saline, vetericyn spray, or soapy water. You can put plain neosporin on any wounds if needed, or just use the vetericyn. If you see any greenish areas, those are likely bruising. If she has no internal injuries from crushing and nothing gets infected, she will likely be fine. She may be sore for a while, so give her some time. She may bounce back quickly once the shock is worn off.

Thank you so much!

 

[Silver Sebright]

Thank you! I can see the area where she likely was held onto, but couldn't see any open gashes. I'm thinking if I give her a proper washing tonight I may be able to see better? Just waiting for my husband to get home so he can watch the three kids (under 6 - oy)

After googling other peoples images of attacked chickens, I'm thinking our girl got off pretty easy. My only real concern is if there are some internal injuries I'm not seeing, but I guess there's really no way to know...

Washing it sounds like a good idea although she may not like it. My hens never like it when I need to bathe them in water. She got off lucky, I used to own a dog that would literally kill my chickens and then eat them feathers and all. So we had to get rid of the dog. I hope she doesn't have any internal injuries

 

[mattcarolynbechard]

I’ve just bathed her and the wound is much worse than I imagined. She has a gaping hole about two inches by one inch. I can see her insides though I couldn’t tell you what I was seeing. She let me clean it and wash her body and put some polysporin on it and she gently balked at me. She’s wide awake and was able to stand. As far as I can tell she still hasn’t eaten or drunk. Is this hopeless? Can hens heal from something like this??

 

[Silver Sebright]

I’ve just bathed her and the wound is much worse than I imagined. She has a gaping hole about two inches by one inch. I can see her insides though I couldn’t tell you what I was seeing. She let me clean it and wash her body and put some polysporin on it and she gently balked at me. She’s wide awake and was able to stand. As far as I can tell she still hasn’t eaten or drunk. Is this hopeless? Can hens heal from something like this??

It isn't hopeless I have had chickens in worse condition and nurtured them back to good health. Just keep putting medicine on it and keep it from getting infected and keep it separated from the other hens because they will hurt her more. Make sure to keep checking her every few hours and try putting some vitamins or some electrolytes in her water.

 

[mattcarolynbechard]

It isn't hopeless I have had chickens in worse condition and nurtured them back to good health. Just keep putting medicine on it and keep it from getting infected and keep it separated from the other hens because they will hurt her more. Make sure to keep checking her every few hours and try putting some vitamins or some electrolytes in her water.

Thank you! We’ve picked up some anti infection powder for her water so we’ll try that along with keeping her wound clean. All things considered she doesn’t seem TOO bothered

 

[Silver Sebright]

Thank you! We’ve picked up some anti infection powder for her water so we’ll try that along with keeping her wound clean. All things considered she doesn’t seem TOO bothered

You welcome