Fox attack need first aid suggestions

[Redheadhomestead]

Hey guys we’ve had our first flock predator attack. 1 found dead 1 not found at all and one found maimed.


The maimed chicken has a few spots from the fight but one spot that looks really bad. I immediately thought to put her down when I saw that spot because it looked very bad to untrained eye, but as I continued to watch her she acted very normal. Pecking around the yard and hopping for leaves so I wanted to come here for a second opinion. With wounds like the attached pic, Is this chicken stoic and waiting to die or is there some form of home care I can provide to her with antiseptics/powders/solutions. Thank you for your help.

My wife has grew up around horses and mentioned something called wonder dust but neither of us have chicken experience.

 

[azygous]

Here's what you do in the event of a predator attack to treat the survivor.

1. Treat for shock as the number one step. Give warm Gatoraid or mix a half teaspoon of sugar into a fourth of a cup of warm water with a pinch of salt and baking soda. Have the patient drink it all or syringe it into the beak.

2. Flush the wound well with saline. This is better than soap and water as it maintains the PH of the tissues. But warm soap and water will do. You need to wash away the bacteria from the wound.

3. Inspect the wound carefully. If it has a skin flap dangling, keep that. Do not cut it off. Look for bite, tear or puncture marks indicating a puncture wound. If you see this, the patient will need an oral antibiotic such as amoxicillin. Bacteria from the predator’s mouth can be injected deep into tissue and can kill in as little as 24 to 48 hours. You can order this https://www.kvsupply.com/item/aqua-mox-250mg-capsules-100-count/P06184/250mg once a day for ten days. Or you may be able to find this or something similar at TSC or a pet store.

4. Spray with Vetericyn wound treament and let dry. Use a topical antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin or a generic without pain killer in it to coat the wound. If there's a skin flap, lay it across the wound that has just been coated with the ointment. Then smooth on a generous amount over the top of the skin flap to hold it in place.

5. It's useless to try to stitch a wound on a chicken. Don't even try. It's also useless to try to bandage a wound other than on the feet. The chicken will not tolerate it. It will be pulled off faster than you can blink an eye.

6. Clean the wound every day following the above steps. Keep the wound covered with the ointment. Never allow the wound to get dried out or it will not heal.

 

[Dashchicks]

I’m so sorry for your loss, hope you find the missing one and that your injured one will be okay. I’m new at this so no advice other than quarantine. We had a fox this morning as well. Thankfully they’re fine as run is covered and used hardware cloth on ground outside run and in run. The ladies made lots of noise to alert us then we let the dogs out to scare the fox away. Keep us posted!

 

[Redheadhomestead]

Here's what you do in the event of a predator attack to treat the survivor.

1. Treat for shock as the number one step. Give warm Gatoraid or mix a half teaspoon of sugar into a fourth of a cup of warm water with a pinch of salt and baking soda. Have the patient drink it all or syringe it into the beak.

2. Flush the wound well with saline. This is better than soap and water as it maintains the PH of the tissues. But warm soap and water will do. You need to wash away the bacteria from the wound.

3. Inspect the wound carefully. If it has a skin flap dangling, keep that. Do not cut it off. Look for bite, tear or puncture marks indicating a puncture wound. If you see this, the patient will need an oral antibiotic such as amoxicillin. Bacteria from the predator’s mouth can be injected deep into tissue and can kill in as little as 24 to 48 hours. You can order this https://www.kvsupply.com/item/aqua-mox-250mg-capsules-100-count/P06184/250mg once a day for ten days. Or you may be able to find this or something similar at TSC or a pet store.

4. Spray with Vetericyn wound treament and let dry. Use a topical antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin or a generic without pain killer in it to coat the wound. If there's a skin flap, lay it across the wound that has just been coated with the ointment. Then smooth on a generous amount over the top of the skin flap to hold it in place.

5. It's useless to try to stitch a wound on a chicken. Don't even try. It's also useless to try to bandage a wound other than on the feet. The chicken will not tolerate it. It will be pulled off faster than you can blink an eye.

6. Clean the wound every day following the above steps. Keep the wound covered with the ointment. Never allow the wound to get dried out or it will not heal.

This is great info but… how do I administer oral antibiotics to a chicken. Please excuse the ignorance I’m just curious at how this works logistically. These aren’t pills are they? Will they eat it from a syringe?

 

[azygous]

Giving a pill to a chicken is the easiest thing in the world. Just pry the beak open and shove it in. If the chicken is too weak to eat or drink, syringing fluids and even tubing them into the crop would be necessary. That's a bit trickier than just giving a pill.