Dog rips both her wings off!!!

[Jenski]

Sorry to hear about your hen, but since the thread is open to suggestions mine would be to quickly and mercifully cull. Sorry. Too much suffering going on already in this case.

I do wish you good luck with whatever you decide, though.


Ed. for crummy spelling **

 

[bluie]

If she is comfortable and eating, and it would only take a quick snip, I would just get it over with and cut the wing the rest of the way off. It will only hurt for a second and then she can really begin her recovery. I imagine she would be able to survive fine without wings, just keep her in a safe place. She might not be able to get up on high roosts anymore.

 

[jenni2142]

I think you are right to give her the chance to recover. If she makes it,

you might consider making a simple saddle to help her stay warm. maybe add a small front piece or cross the straps so it will stay on since i think they normally go around the wings. good luck.

 

[Cheryl]

I think if she is eating and drinking well, moving about and getting antibiotics for possible infection and it isn't costing a fortune you should hold onto her. Obviously if she were in shock and a zombie then the opposite would probably make more sense, but the way you describe her, it sounds like she just might be a physically challenged chicken! Good luck...

 

[Zookeeper9000]

Would the numming meds you find over the counter for toothache work to numb the skin. I think I would of done it while she was in shock but I was having shoulder surgery so didn't see this till now.

Good luck with your hen. And boy I understand about the dog. Hang in there.

 

[Bandana]

I posted this on another thread a while back. Hope it helps.

"I'd separate her for a couple of days, at least, until the wound closes. Keep her in a nice clean environment. As long as the wound isn't visible when she's walking around, and the others aren't pecking at her, she'll be ok.

Years ago, a neighbor's dog got out of it's kennel and killed some of my flock. One of my hens was badly injured. There was a big chunk of flesh and feathers missing from her back. I could see her innards through the thin membrane that was left. I put her in a big box in the house, and put Neosporine on the wound several times a day. That not only kept her from getting infection, but kept the membrane from drying out and cracking. Eventually the skin grew back as well as many of the feathers. She had a bald spot on her back about the size of a silver dollar which she learned to cover by holding her wing back a little. That bird turned out to be my second best layer ever."

 

[mypicklebird]

I am sorry this has happened, and I know you don't want dog or culling comments, but I feel the need to make them anyway. I have to have this 'talk' with people on a regular basis- never pleasant, but must be said.

Having a dog that attacks chickens is not unusual, many have a strong prey drive, if we choose to keep prey items and dogs/cats in the same household, we do our best to keep them apart. What bothers me is NOT that the attack happened (though it is sad), but that the dog did not stop when you intervened. My dog has attacked a chicken twice, I intervened- he knows drop it, he knows come, ect. One chicken was killed, one ended up being fine- but I never had any doubt about my ability to control him once I realized what was happening (he is a 90lb dog). If this dog has a prey instinct strong enough to rip apart and chicken, and it is not trained or not socialized- it should not be at your house, rescue or not- it is a dangerous dog. Dogs are social animals, and should not be kept alone in a pen (for 3 years) this type of set up promotes aggression and territorial behavior. If this dog cannot live as a social animal because it had a bad puppyhood and cannot be trusted- you should have it euthanized. Next time it might be a cat, a small dog, several chickens or a child.

For the injured chicken- living with no wings will be hard, but not impossible- chickens are very adaptable. She will have trouble dust bathing, getting on and off of perches, and will fall over alot as she will have trouble with balance. You will need to create low perches, and watch her more carefully for lice.

As we cannot see her, we cannot really asses her injuries- but if she has had her wings ripped traumatically off by a dog (think bacterial contaminated wounds) - she should see a vet- she deserves pain medication stronger than aspirin. She needs systemic antibiotics, she needs dead tissue removed, and healthy tissue closed over any exposed bone. This will give her the best possibility of a good outcome, and she will heal faster and with less pain. I think if you cannot do this for her, you should humanely end her life.

 

[chilling in muscadine]

Quote:
This sounds like a good idea but I just now looked at the active ingredients in a tube and its benzocaine. I hear thats a no no.

 

[farmergal]

I think other posters may have mentioned this, but have you put her on oral antibiotics yet? You can usually get them from a feed store for just a few dollars -- in powder form that dissolves in water.
I had a 4 week old chick who was bitten by a fox. I called the vet, who said that fox bites have tons of bacteria, and that the bird needed to be put on oral antibiotics. (I could have gone to the vet for $80, or gone to the feed store for $5... yeah I picked the feed store.) Apparently infections can become systemic, and even if your bird survives the trauma, she could still die 2 weeks later from a whole-body infection.
I think the ratio I used was 1/4 TSP for a 1 quart waterer (this is for Pfizer's Terramycin), but you can figure it out by division based on the ratios on the box. And don't give her any other sources of water -- if she drinks, she should be drinking the medicated water.
My chick pulled through (I named her Hope), and I really hope yours does too!!!

Sorry for your awful tragedy...

 

[SpottedCrow]

OMG! the poor bird!
Danged dog!
You're doing everything correctly for her...You're right on the benzocaine...you can't use it.

Hope she'll pull through for you.