Dog licked chick almost to death, now what? *Update*

[AHappychick]

how is she doing? I was thinking her whole body ios sore and maybe a warm soothing bath with oatmeal in the water would help. if it hurts for her to sit maybe you can make a nest out of something soft to help prop her up.

Food is the most important think right now. I would boost her vitamin e as well and squeexe a capsul in her food each day. Maybe even buy the liquid kind and put on her wounds once they have scabbed or where her skin is thin.

You need to be careful of infection from the licking too as dog mouths are dirty (*not as much as ours though) so put neosporin. or bacitracin where ever you see that the skin was broken.

sending good vibes your way.

oh and dont beat your self up about it these things happen and we all just must learn from it.

 

[klf73]

I believe the purple stuff is blukote, I think it is a spray on antiseptic which also disguises the wounds so the others don't pick at it. I know you have it separate but since it is made for animals.....also if you use neosporin do NOT use any with pain relief, it can kill the chick. The blukote is sold at the feed store and I have a can here somewhere for emergencies. Good luck

 

[Mark's Menagerie]

Edit to remove reply to flame, please use the report button

 

[juniperyogi]

So she is okay now. Her eye was swollen all yesterday, but she was fine in the evening to go back with the other girls. Her eye is now open and she has bounced back as the leader of the pack. We have figured out the scenario of what happened. The real abuse came from the other chickens.

The sliding glass door was left open when I went to run errands, and the dog went out with the chickens. He loves this one, and follows her around everywhere. When D. came home she was wet from him licking her, but what we realized is that he didnt' lick her to a bloody mess. Since she was kinda wet and stunned from being licked, the other chickens came over and pecked at her. We just couldnt' figure out how he could have licked her bloody only around her eye and vent on that side, but a friend who we bought the chickens from said if she was just sitting in the grass waiting to dry off, the others would have come over to investigate and peck at her. SHe's okay now. She did enjoy some alone time, but was def. glad to be back with her friends. I on the other hand feel a bit nervous with the other girls. I guess knowing that they can inflict that much damage in that little time is...an eye opener.

 

[klf73]

yep, that is why the blukote is good. Apparently it also "disguises" the wound because if something is injured and red they just keep at it. I had chicks start picking on one certain chick before I realized I put the white light on them instead of the red. glad to hear she is doing better

 

[newdock]

Aw, I hope she's better soon. It sounds like you are working hard to make that happen.

My dog has a facination with licking my chicks too...I've always wondered if she is mothering them or tasting them and have never wanted to find out! She leaves the big birds alone though....

 

[merryberry]

I am glad she is better! My dog caught a juvenile squirrel in our backyard once and cornered it against the fence. I was sure I was going to go find a bloody mess after I called the dog off. Instead, I found that the squirrel's fur on the side closest to the dog was licked completely flat, and the other half of the fur (the fence side) was still puffy and perfect looking. The squirrel had no injuries at all, other than being shocked. I wondered what kind of dumb dog I had that would corner something and just lick it - glad to see mine isnt the only one!

 

[juniperyogi]

Quote:
LOL! I felt so bad when we realized that all he did was just lick her on one side. Like maybe she laid on her side in the grass and he licked the side that was up. I've never heard of a dog just licking chickens before!