Fox attack - how can I help my girl?

[Chickflick29]

Hello all!
My dear Delaware girl, Clarice, was grabbed by a Fox late yesterday afternoon. It looks like she was grabbed by the neck, I got out to the pasture fast enough to scare off the fox before any more damage was done. She wasn’t moving and I feared the worst when I found her, but as I picked her up she opened her eyes. She had trouble supporting her own head for an hour or so, but is now able to hold it up on her own.
There are two fairly deep teeth punctures on her neck - I cleaned them with mild soap and water, flushed the bite marks with hydrogen peroxide, and covered the area with Red Kote antiseptic (the only chicken-safe ‘ointment’ I could find on hand at 8pm)

I’ve moved her into a crate in the guest bedroom to keep the flies away and give her a quiet spot to recover. She is having trouble pecking at the ground level, but will readily drink the water/Sav-A-Chick electrolytes if I hold the cup up for her. She also shows slight interest in food, but she’s too weak to eat much and her tries don’t get anything in. She managed to eat one soaked mealworm treat, and seems interested in food. She’ll stand and lay down, but hasn’t really moved since I put her in there. What worries me most is that she seems to breathe with a rasp now and then, it’ll come and go at random.

We love this girl as much as any of our other pets, and we’re absolutely heartbroken that this happened.. is there anything else I can/should do to help her? I don’t want to hold onto her if it’s just too painful, but if she can come back from this we’re willing to do whatever we can to help her feel better. The pic is from this morning, her neck is mostly red from the antiseptic ointment.

 

[CalBickieMomma]

Poor bean! I’m guessing she’s having a tough time eating because her neck is sore. You could try syringe feeding her wet, mashed up chicken pellets or hard boiled egg yolk (but I’m thinking it needs to be liquid-y enough to be very easy for her to swallow). It’s good that she is showing interest in eating and drinking, though. You could also try adding NutriDrench to her water or just syringe feed it directly into her mouth. Fortunately, I’ve not had any bad predator attacks, so I can’t be too much help for you. So far it sounds like you‘re doing everything right. Hopefully someone with more experience can chime in. Best of luck!

 

[JCinNM]

Raise her food and water a couple inches or more. Onto a 2x4 or brick. I’m sure her neck and throat are very painful after the attack. My chickens LOVE mush: water and chicken crumbles/pellets mixed about 50/50. Hold a dish up to her face so she can smell the mush. Don’t force her to eat tho. Fluids are more important. And lots of rest in a dim, quiet area.

 

[MROO]

Give her some electrolytes, too. If you don't have them specifically for chickens, don't worry. You can use Pedialyte for kids or even Gatorade. Chickens are very resilient. She may well surprise you with a bounce back! Good Luck ... and keep us posted, please.

 

[JCinNM]

Give her some electrolytes, too. If you don't have them specifically for chickens, don't worry. You can use Pedialyte for kids or even Gatorade. Chickens are very resilient. She may well surprise you with a bounce back! Good Luck ... and keep us posted, please.

Yes! But don’t use sugar-free. Sugar substitutes are not good.

 

[Swbertrand1]

Try to avoid

There are two fairly deep teeth punctures on her neck - I cleaned them with mild soap and water, flushed the bite marks with hydrogen peroxide, and covered the area with Red Kote antiseptic (the only chicken-safe ‘ointment’ I could find on hand at 8pm)

I’ve moved her into a crate in the guest bedroom to keep the flies away and give her a quiet spot to recover. She is having trouble pecking at the ground level, but will readily drink the water/Sav-A-Chick electrolytes if I hold the cup up for her. She also shows slight interest in food, but she’s too weak to eat much and her tries don’t get anything in. She managed to eat one soaked mealworm treat, and seems interested in food. She’ll stand and lay down, but hasn’t really moved since I put her in there. What worries me most is that she seems to breathe with a rasp now and then, it’ll come and go at random.

Surely, she's in shock, so removing her to a quiet location is exactly what you want to do and have done. Good job! There is the possibility of internal injuries, hence the raspy breathing, but there is little you'd be able to do for that short of $$$ surgery and anesthesia - your call on that.

I'd add to try to avoid hydrogen peroxide as it kills live tissue, especially in extended use. Saline is a better alternative followed by antibiotic applied to the wounds. You also do not want to get H2O2 into any body cavities for the same reason, i.e. into those puncture wounds.

If you have an antibiotic cream/paste like Neosporin (without pain reliever) that would work fine. You want to keep the wounds clean but moist, and don't close them or you risk trapping infection inside the body. Dressing them is fine, but you need to change the dressings a few times per day. Keep the wound clean with saline as necessary, apply the antibiotic, and let her rest. That's all you can do except for some quiet visits by you with some reassuring soft talk to let her know she's safe now and you're there for her...

We wish her a speedy recovery!

 

[Chickflick29]

Thank you all so much for the wealth of helpful knowledge! She’s very sad, but she’s a tough girl and I don’t think she’s done fighting. I was able to get some vetericyn hydrogel for her wounds, and she’s being a very good patient about it all.

I’ve added nutridrench and she’s still drinking well, and I even got a few pieces of scrambled egg into her this afternoon! She has stories to tell me whenever I go sit with her, I’m hopeful that these are all good signs. I’ll keep y’all updated!

 

[Chickflick29]

Update: it's been about 2 1/2 days, and she seems more alert and has eaten bits of blueberries, crumbles, and electrolyte water! Poop is normal and frequent, if not seemingly a little painful for her to pass. She is still sleeping most of the day, and we've kept her in a cozy crate in the house to avoid heat (South Texas in August, yuck), predator scares, and flies. Her wounds do not appear redder and seem to be trying to heal well, and they're being treated daily with vetericyn.

She can walk slowly, and she's breathing a tad easier - still raspy at times, but she's beeping when I enter the room and making "the predator noise" when a bird flies by the room's window. However, she can't put her head down, i.e. if she drops food, she can't reach it to peck at it on ground level, and when she starts to sleep it tilts back (her beak points upward, almost toward the ceiling). I've elevated her food and water so she can reach it, and she's eaten/drank on her own. She's most comfortable pecking a little sideways, with her head slightly turned. I'm most worried about the fact that she can't lay down - she'll slowly sink down, as if she's going to get cozy and go down for a nap, but as soon as she lowers herself completely she'll stand back up again. She does this multiple times, and I'm not sure if it could be swelling, general pain, or something worse. I couldn't find any scratches or wounds, and she doesn't seem to be noticeably limping on one leg or the other - just generally slow and careful about her movements.

Is this a very bad sign? Or could she just be swollen and in pain still, especially since she was bitten on the neck? We're hopeful because of progress made, but still feel there's a long way to go..

 

[Swbertrand1]

I would guess that she's likely still sore, just like we would be a few days (2) after an attack. We've successfully used towels to create a sort of pillow with a hole in the middle (looks like a donut) for our birds to rest in.
They can basically stay in the same position as they do when standing if you gently put them down into the hole in the middle, and help them rest their head on the raised portion.
You might give that a try... Glad to hear she's doing a little better!

 

[african chickens]

my duck was attacked by a coyote she had a hole in her chest and we brought her to the vet shes doing better and is finally out with her sister I hope you birdie has the same miracle