Dog got chicken! 😢😡

[SuzetteWV]

Hello all... I just found my dog ‘playing’ with one of my chickens. I feel so horrible. He’s never done this before. I leave him out when they range, for the hawks. She is walking, eating and drinking but has what looks to be a surface wound up on her shoulder where the wing attached. It’s about 1-1/2 x 1”. I put triple antibiotic on it. I’m hoping that’s ok. Please share any insight on what you have done in the past for wounds. Any advice for the dog is appreciated too. Added pic of wound

 

[sourland]

Skin wounds in birds generally heal readily. Continue using the antibiotic ointment. As for the dog watch it closely and don't trust it alone with the chickens.

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

I definitely feel for you! I lost one of my pullets to my huskies a couple months ago. Thankfully she survived and hopefully heal up her battle wounds. Wishing you the best of luck!

 

[Hei 20]

Hello all... I just found my dog ‘playing’ with one of my chickens. I feel so horrible. He’s never done this before. I leave him out when they range, for the hawks. She is walking, eating and drinking but has what looks to be a surface wound up on her shoulder where the wing attached. It’s about 1-1/2 x 1”. I put triple antibiotic on it. I’m hoping that’s ok. Please share any insight on what you have done in the past for wounds. Any advice for the dog is appreciated too. Thanks

Are you sure the dog was playing with the chicken? Maybe the hawks attacked her and the dog was trying to console her.

 

[RainbowHen]

Correction collars are a very useful tool when teaching dogs to behave around chickens. I would keep the dog away from your birds unless closely supervised. Do you have photos of the wound? There may be internal injuries that you cannot see, especially if the dog was mouthing her. Triple antibiotic is great. You can flush the wound with saline or diluted betadine and if you don't have those warm water with a drop of soap works fine. Chickens are amazing at healing themselves, I am rooting for your girl!

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

@sourland made a good suggestion to watch closely. It also depends on the dog, how long have you had chickens (and dog), and @Hei 20 posed some good questions as well..since we don't know the exact details.
For some breeds, even the most well-behaved dog has instincts and most times accidents happen when you're not around to immediately correct them.
I am not a professional dog trainer but since we got chickens (4 months ago) we have been working with our dogs as much as possible on simple commands like, "leave it" or "ignore" or, mostly the Cesar Millan "ttssss!" when our dogs got ahold of our pullet, it was a mere response to the sudden movements when she squeezed through the gate (initially thought she flew over the gate) and tried to flutter back. I was heartbroken but it wasn't the dog's fault. I should have enclosed the chickens better but I didn't plan as well as I should have.
Another user mentioned positive training, instead of just commands alone, to help encourage the desired behavior; so, when I'm outside and the dogs are ignoring the chickens, I give them a treat! Even if my dogs were completely trained, I don't think I would ever 100% trust them to be full-proof alone and unattended with the chickens, especially knowing the breed.
It takes time and consistency is key!

 

[SuzetteWV]

Skin wounds in birds generally heal readily. Continue using the antibiotic ointment. As for the dog watch it closely and don't trust it alone with the chickens.

Thank you!

 

[SuzetteWV]

Are you sure the dog was playing with the chicken? Maybe the hawks attacked her and the dog was trying to console her.

I’m actually not 100% sure. I only saw him standing over her. I didn’t actually see her in his mouth. He takes particular interest in this bird though. I can’t say for sure.

 

[SuzetteWV]

Correction collars are a very useful tool when teaching dogs to behave around chickens. I would keep the dog away from your birds unless closely supervised. Do you have photos of the wound? There may be internal injuries that you cannot see, especially if the dog was mouthing her. Triple antibiotic is great. You can flush the wound with saline or diluted betadine and if you don't have those warm water with a drop of soap works fine. Chickens are amazing at healing themselves, I am rooting for your girl!

Thank you! I edited my post to show you a pic. I was worried about internal injuries but she seems to be ok. She tried flying up on to roost but couldn’t quite make it. I worry about an egg breaking inside her though. What signs do you look for?

 

[RainbowHen]

Thank you! I edited my post to show you a pic. I was worried about internal injuries but she seems to be ok. She tried flying up on to roost but couldn’t quite make it. I worry about an egg breaking inside her though. What signs do you look for?

Ok, doesn't look too bad. Monitor her closely. She should recover nicely. You might want to separate her into a dog cage to minimize movement of that wing while she heals.