Fox attack - am I on the right track treatment wise? (photos)

[dreamofwinter]

Well, after losing one hen to a fox last week it was no shock to hear them all yelling this morning, and to look out the window and see a fox with one of my little Cochins hanging from its mouth. I went charging outside yelling like a maniac - fox was out of sight but I started walking around, and found one of my Brahmas lying in the grass, alive but not standing. Picked her up, carried her inside and put her in a safe spot, then put on better shoes (fuzzy slippers not great for fox chasing) and went back out. I found my little Cochin hiding under a bush and no foxes anywhere. Her idiot brother/lover was watching anxiously from about 25 yards away - these two are completely inseparable.
Got the injured ones inside and looked them over - the Brahma's feathering saved her, I found piles of feathers all over the yard - her tail/back end is plucked almost bald - but she had only one wound, shallow and about the size of a nickel, where her right wing joins her neck. She was able to stand and aside from heavy panting, seemed okay. The Cochin wasn't as lucky - she's missing about a 2"x2" patch of feathers and the skin there is torn and missing in some spots (photo below). I cleaned both wounds and sprayed with Vetericyn.
The Brahma seemed to be fine, just shaken/shocky, so I put her in the (safe, predator-proof) run with the rest of the flock. I put the Cochin in a pet playpen on my mud porch, along with her brother/lover, figuring that they already have some issues with being picked on by the flock, and being separate would be best.

So, thanks for reading all the way, if you did. I needed to get that out (whew, the adrenaline!). Here are my questions:

- Is it okay that I put the Brahma back with the flock? I've checked them a few times and they're not pushing her or bothering her. She's still got her eyes wide and is panting, and I'm not sure if she would feel better inside (alone and in a less familiar place) or out with her pals.
- Is Neosporin (non-pain-relief kind) what I should be putting on these wounds? Is there any other treatment I should be administering? I'm in rural Maine, no chicken vet but lots of TSC/feed stores.

Off to rethink my free range routine and daytime fencing....

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

- Is it okay that I put the Brahma back with the flock? I've checked them a few times and they're not pushing her or bothering her. She's still got her eyes wide and is panting, and I'm not sure if she would feel better inside (alone and in a less familiar place) or out with her pals.

With the cool weather that we've been having, I'd say she's probably fine as long as she's not in shock. If she's walking around, and nobody is bullying her, she should be alright. Make certain that she does cool down though, being a big bird. I'm in Maine too, and the weather has been cool, so she should cool down quickly. Keep an eye out for any other possible injuries that you didn't see.

- Is Neosporin (non-pain-relief kind) what I should be putting on these wounds? Is there any other treatment I should be administering? I'm in rural Maine, no chicken vet but lots of TSC/feed stores.

I use Neosporin on my birds. At Walmart, I found a Neosporin that is a spray, which I'm really happy about, for it lets me apply it, without touching the wound. If you must touch the wound to apply, please use rubber gloves. For the first cleaning of the wound, you can use Peroxide (found a spray of that too. ). For further cleaning, such as cleaning it once to twice a day, use a Saline rinse (2 teaspoons to 1 quart of water and boil for 5-10 minutes. Let completely cool before use.) Keeping her separated would be best till she heals (at least a month). Make certain that her lover ISN'T pecking or even mounting her during her healing. If he does, separate him immediately. You can, however, keep him in a separate cage next to hers so they can still be together.

 

[dreamofwinter]

Fortunately the Cochins are only about 9 weeks old, so her brother/lover doesn't yet know about mounting I'm keeping a close eye on him to make sure he isn't pecking, but so far he mainly wants to snuggle her.

I'll check on the Brahma and make sure she's cooled down more. She's in the coolest, shadiest part of the run, and all the rest of the flock are being super quiet and calm today (probably everyone got a little shocky, they had just gotten over losing another flock mate last week).

It sounds like I need to do a thorough saline rinse on both wounds, so I will get that done next and then apply Neosporin. Glad I just got a new package of gloves. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Fortunately the Cochins are only about 9 weeks old, so her brother/lover doesn't yet know about mounting I'm keeping a close eye on him to make sure he isn't pecking, but so far he mainly wants to snuggle her.

I'll check on the Brahma and make sure she's cooled down more. She's in the coolest, shadiest part of the run, and all the rest of the flock are being super quiet and calm today (probably everyone got a little shocky, they had just gotten over losing another flock mate last week).

It sounds like I need to do a thorough saline rinse on both wounds, so I will get that done next and then apply Neosporin. Glad I just got a new package of gloves. Thanks for the advice!

Wow. I didn't realize that they were that young. I was thinking that they were all full grown chickens, not still youngstas. You're very lucky that the fox didn't kill them.

 

[dreamofwinter]

I have NO idea how the Cochin survived - she was all the way off into the woods and there's a pile where the fox was clearly starting in on her.
The Brahma is older - 17 weeks - and there are several huge piles of feathers, he must have been stopping to shake her every so often. I'm thinking one of the cockerels jumped in, or else he got tired of the feathers and went for the Cochin instead. Just glad the fox dropped everyone when I ran out screaming in full Mama Bear mode!

I've just finished ordering electric fencing so that they can still be out during the day. I've never lived anywhere with foxes, so this has all been a learning curve! Oof. My biggest fear is that the fox might get one of the ducks - not sure any of us would handle that well as they're such favorites (among all my distant friends as well!)

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I have NO idea how the Cochin survived - she was all the way off into the woods and there's a pile where the fox was clearly starting in on her.
The Brahma is older - 17 weeks - and there are several huge piles of feathers, he must have been stopping to shake her every so often. I'm thinking one of the cockerels jumped in, or else he got tired of the feathers and went for the Cochin instead. Just glad the fox dropped everyone when I ran out screaming in full Mama Bear mode!

I've just finished ordering electric fencing so that they can still be out during the day. I've never lived anywhere with foxes, so this has all been a learning curve! Oof. My biggest fear is that the fox might get one of the ducks - not sure any of us would handle that well as they're such favorites (among all my distant friends as well!)

With the Brahma, most likely what was happening is the fox would go in for a bite, and got feathers only, and no flesh. As a defense, the feathers would of pulled out to help the hen escape. (That is very much a thing. I've grabbed many a chicken, just to realize I only grabbed the feathers, and not the actual bird as it runs away. ) The fix probably gave up on your Brahma for the Cochin looked easier. Going from a close call I had recently with a neighbor's cat, I think your screaming startled the fox so it dropped its catch to escape.

Oh the electric fencing should be good. You probably could use it for your ducks too, as long as you don't have it in the water, if they have a water source, such as pond, stream, and lake. I haven't had fox problems myself, either. I might be moving within the next couple of years, so going from my only-predators-are-my-neighbors-pets to wild predators is kinda a scary thought.

 

[dreamofwinter]

Well, the injured girls are looking really good this morning. The wound on the Brahma is deeper than I thought, but is clean, dry, and well protected under her feathers. The little Cochin is standing and moving better and seems less shocky. I'm constantly amazed at what birds can survive - I volunteered in wildlife rehab for a while and saw birds bounce back from the most incredible things.

No pond for the ducks, just a kiddie pool and a small horse trough. I ordered 200' of fence so should be able to enclose their water features as well as lots of grassy area for everyone to browse on.

Nobody's happy about being on lockdown in the run right now, but it's spacious (8' x 16' with multiple levels for perching) and I've been throwing in blocks of straw occasionally for entertainment. Hopefully that'll keep everyone happy till the electric fence arrives and is set up! I'm letting them out to free range (and for the ducks, to bathe) under supervision in the evenings, since the fox has so far been a morning visitor. I've still got my eye on everyone!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Well, the injured girls are looking really good this morning. The wound on the Brahma is deeper than I thought, but is clean, dry, and well protected under her feathers. The little Cochin is standing and moving better and seems less shocky. I'm constantly amazed at what birds can survive - I volunteered in wildlife rehab for a while and saw birds bounce back from the most incredible things.

No pond for the ducks, just a kiddie pool and a small horse trough. I ordered 200' of fence so should be able to enclose their water features as well as lots of grassy area for everyone to browse on.

Nobody's happy about being on lockdown in the run right now, but it's spacious (8' x 16' with multiple levels for perching) and I've been throwing in blocks of straw occasionally for entertainment. Hopefully that'll keep everyone happy till the electric fence arrives and is set up! I'm letting them out to free range (and for the ducks, to bathe) under supervision in the evenings, since the fox has so far been a morning visitor. I've still got my eye on everyone!

I'm glad to hear that they are doing well! Whenever my chickens are free ranging, I like to be out with them too. Something that some people do, and I actually knew someone who did once, is have a dog out to protect their flock. The person I knew had a Great Pyrenees for her flock. I don't know if that's an option for you, but if it is, maybe you want to look into it?

 

[dreamofwinter]

10-day followup:
The Brahma is good as new, with the exception of missing feathers. And because she's so heavily feathered, even those aren't obvious. I'm so thankful, she's one of my favorites.

The Cochin, despite having the larger and more gory looking wound, is also just fine. Her limp disappeared in about 5 days and the obvious wounds have healed. Her back is quite naked though. She and brother/lover are still living on my mud porch in a pet playpen, but I hope to move them outside early next week when I get a separate little coop built. I've only had them about 6 weeks, and they were not integrating well to the larger flock, and then this happened. So I'll give them their own small coop and run within the larger chicken area, and we'll see how it goes.

Cochin girl's wings mostly cover her naked back, but I do worry whether she'll be warm enough as the temps drop. I think she's about 10-11 weeks old, so maybe there's another juvenile molt coming shortly. I've seen a lot of dropped feathers in the playpen. Here's hoping she feathers in before the real cold arrives!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

10-day followup:
The Brahma is good as new, with the exception of missing feathers. And because she's so heavily feathered, even those aren't obvious. I'm so thankful, she's one of my favorites.

The Cochin, despite having the larger and more gory looking wound, is also just fine. Her limp disappeared in about 5 days and the obvious wounds have healed. Her back is quite naked though. She and brother/lover are still living on my mud porch in a pet playpen, but I hope to move them outside early next week when I get a separate little coop built. I've only had them about 6 weeks, and they were not integrating well to the larger flock, and then this happened. So I'll give them their own small coop and run within the larger chicken area, and we'll see how it goes.

Cochin girl's wings mostly cover her naked back, but I do worry whether she'll be warm enough as the temps drop. I think she's about 10-11 weeks old, so maybe there's another juvenile molt coming shortly. I've seen a lot of dropped feathers in the playpen. Here's hoping she feathers in before the real cold arrives!

I'm so glad to hear the good news! As far as she not having feathers in time, maybe a chicken saddle (aka Hen Saver) might be a good option. Some people use chicken jackets, but that's not always the best idea. (For one, that can house mites, and two, can be painful for when the feathers DO start growing again.)