fox attack aftermath

[raffe]

hey everyone,

seems as though a fox got to my chickens last night. living on a small urban block my bedroom window is about 5m from their nesting box. as soon as i heard the ordeal i jumped out of my window and must have scared the fox away. two survived unscathed and the third 'biggg smalls', a large black australorp is just surviving.

although she has no puncture wounds and seemingly no broken bones she is heavily in shock, not eating, and only drinking when i spoon feed her. I have moved her to the ICU in my shed (a cardboard box with hay, food and water).

its now aprx 20 hours post attack and she is still very generally motionless/ disinterested in food and unaware of me entering the shed. her head is usually at rest on a jumper i lined the box with. she does however, lift her head unaided while drinking water.

im not sure what to do with her... keep doing the same thing? use another approach? or send her to chicken heaven?

any advice would be highly appreciated.

 

[staceyj]

Is where you live warm? it warm in the shed?
She may be in shock.
I'm not an expert but
I'd bring her inside and put her on a heating pad and give her another good beak to tail examination to check for injuries.
Can she stand?
A scrambled egg, or warm oatmeal breakfast might help.

 

[raffe]

hey staceyj.

I gave her a good examination about an hour ago. she seemed pretty fine.

i live in Australia and its spring so should not go below 15C (60F) tonight. i dont want to disturb her now as its almost midnight but if you think it will be good for her ill make her a scrambled egg first thing in the morning.

she is able to stand gingerly if i disturb her but i have been trying to keep everything nice calm as i feel shock and dehydration are her two biggest enemies now.

 

[staceyj]

Sometimes they find hard boiled eggs or scrambled eggs hard to resist. Mine also like yogurt and applesauce.

 

[raffe]

awesome, thanks for the help. ill give her the full buffet in it morning

 

[coach723]

Keeping her warm and hydrated is most important when treating shock, food is less important in the beginning. Adding vitamins and electrolites to the water can help. Keep her in a warm, quiet, low light area. Usually shock symptoms will improve within a few hours up to 24 hours. Even though you found no wounds it's possible that she could have internal injuries from crushing, or muscle/ligament injuries which will make her very sore and not wanting to move much, she may have been shaken. It's hard to know when you don't see the attack happen. All you can do is give her supportive care and time. Many chickens recover quite well given a bit of time and support. Unless you see signs that she is taking a turn for the worse, I would give her a little time to recover. Here is a short link to info on shock in chickens for future reference: https://www.tillysnest.com/2013/12/shock-in-backyard-chickens-html/
Good luck with her and hope she recovers.

 

[raffe]

thanks very much for the reply coach 723.

she is showing gradual signs of revival this morning. she ate a small amount of egg and generally more lively than last night. i think her neck is her main injury, just bruising i hope.

thanks very much for your advice, i will take it all on board.

cheers,

raffe