Fox attack, injured chick found

[dlynne1123]

Woke up to all but two of my hatched chicks missing or dead. Caught the fox with head almost stuck in the netting of my tractor. Found one later in the morning after we went looking for the fox.

He's stressed but there seems to be bite wounds on each side of his body, under the wings and a couple random smaller holes around the face. I left him today, alone and warm. I'd like to investigate further. Anything I should watch out for? Can I give him anything? He was walking around with a droopy wing so I'm hoping he'll be ok, but without antibiotics I'm not sure .

I work at a vet so I can get just about anything I may need.

Suggestions?

The store dud t have any electrolytes today. Something else I can give?

Thanks

 

[Stiggy]

Keep him warm and comfy, he will be in shock. also keep him hydrated. keep the wounds clean and dry and use an antiseptic wash/ cream to keep it clean. good luck

 

[iwiw60]

Sorry for your losses. You can put Neosporin on those wounds...just make SURE there is no "caine" in it, just the plain kind. You might put a little sugar in his water to give him a little boost.

The more important question is this: how did the fox gain entrance to your coop? Can you see where the scumbag got in? What kind of wire are you using? Using plain old chicken wire is no good against predators...they'll tear it up like it was butter. Give us a little more information and we can better help you....pics would be GREAT!

 

[dlynne1123]

It was a tractor I made with chicken wire. It held up for several weeks giving me false security.

Chicken wire, zip ties and a wood frame for the door. I used an old greenhouse frame. He tested it until he found a weak spot it looks. Thankfully it isn't my coop or big run. But this was my grow out tractor before they were big enough to blend.

Now one is not looking well one is screaming for the other, and 4 are def dead.

I'll scavenge around here to find some kind of safe cream. I might have a triple without steroid.

What safe to clean it with? I don't want to stress him more? But is it worth it to get a better look?

 

[dlynne1123]

Ps, I put the wire on the ground too to avoid sneaky ones from digging under. I felt it was secure but one corner wasn't right enough so he spread the wire until it puckered open.

 

[dlynne1123]

Cleaned him up and found vetericyn spray! None of the punctures look life threatening so long as I can keep them for infection. I'm not sure if anything is broken or he's just painful. Droopy wing, sagging to the side and down. He's unbalanced but can walk.

 

[iwiw60]

Cleaned him up and found vetericyn spray! None of the punctures look life threatening so long as I can keep them for infection. I'm not sure if anything is broken or he's just painful. Droopy wing, sagging to the side and down. He's unbalanced but can walk.

Vetericyn spray is very good....put it on all his little wounds. Keep him WARM...not hot, but warm. He's stressed for sure. Make sure also that he drinks and possibly eats, but drinks for sure. If he refuses you might take an eye dropper and drop bits into his beak.

Quote: Well, I'd ditch the tractor if it were me...way too risky. Chicken wire should be outlawed. It's no good for nothin' .... while it is more expensive use only 1/2" hardware cloth. This goes for your coop and run, too. If you're using chicken wire on your coop/run you can just slap the hardware cloth over the existing. Sadly, now that this scumbag fox knows where 'dinner' is believe me he'll be back! Do you have a trap so you can catch him? If not I'd be sitting outside at night with a .22 .. but then that's me. Good luck, and keep me updated as to his progress, K?

 

[dlynne1123]

Thanks! He's much perkier today. Seems to standing more than squatting. He's coming out of his box to eat his mush I made for him! Still dropping the wing. If there is a break somewhere are they likely to heal with tlc? Maybe just be deformed? Or is it very bad?

 

[dlynne1123]

One note, as I'm cleaning him up today. The worst wound is right under his armpit, where we would take blood from. So there's a vessel there. It's kinda green like bruising. Do you suppose this is normal or is it infection? The skin is nice, not moist or anything, looks clean, but the skin is def green hued like nasty bruising. Poor guy, that's why his wing is droopy. He can't hold it up well.

 

[dlynne1123]

Is this green bruising normal? Anything ales I should be concerned about?