Fox attack

[judevie]

Yesterday afternoon a fox attacked one of our hens. They were let out to free range, and we saw the fox with our buff orpington Birdie. I immediately ran out to scare him off and he let her go. She scrambled up to find cover. I picked her up, wrapped her in a towel, and brought her into the greenhouse to warm up and see how bad she was. She has a few bad bites/lacerations that I cleaned and applied neosporin. She had obvious shock, laying on her side and breathing with beak open.. after a couple hours, she was sitting up and breathing normal. We kept her in a crate in the house overnight with electrolytes in her water. Shes not drinking, or eating. I just noticed today when I was checking her, that her crop in large and firm. She has not eaten since the attack, is that normal? She has been pooping. No drinking or eating yet. Now worried about the crop...

 

[judevie]

Here are her wounds, they look painful, but dont think life threatening. I'm worried about the shock. My question is can the shock cause slow to empty crop?
Or, did she have impacted crop before the attack, unknown to me? Could have made her an easier target possibly..

 

[RoyalChick]

I am not an expert but the not drinking is the most immediate concern. Will she drink if you touch her beak to the water? Would you feel confident in giving her some fluid with a syringe?
You can use Gatorade for shock - it has sugar and electrolytes (my vet taught me that).
Hopefully people who know more than me will respond. I do hope she picks up.

 

[judevie]

I am not an expert but the not drinking is the most immediate concern. Will she drink if you touch her beak to the water? Would you feel confident in giving her some fluid with a syringe?
You can use Gatorade for shock - it has sugar and electrolytes (my vet taught me that).
Hopefully people who know more than me will respond. I do hope she picks up.

If I put her beak in the water, she would drink a small amount yesterday... but today, not at all. I can try with a syringe.

 

[Eggcessive]

How deep are the wounds? Are there any puncture wounds or hidden wounds under wings or elsewhere? Chorhexidene is good to clean wounds. Betadine also works, Vetericyn, or saline. Then coat wounds with plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment twice daily after cleaning. Offer her water with sugar (1 tsp per cup) or Poultry NutriDrench is also good. Her crop could be full from eating today before the attack. Then check it again early in the morning before she eats or drinks to see if it empties overnight. Offer dry and moistened feed, cooked egg or some favorite foods. Hopefully, she will recover unless there are internal injuries.

 

[judevie]

How deep are the wounds? Are there any puncture wounds or hidden wounds under wings or elsewhere? Chorhexidene is good to clean wounds. Betadine also works, Vetericyn, or saline. Then coat wounds with plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment twice daily after cleaning. Offer her water with sugar (1 tsp per cup) or Poultry NutriDrench is also good. Her crop could be full from eating today before the attack. Then check it again early in the morning before she eats or drinks to see if it empties overnight. Offer dry and moistened feed, cooked egg or some favorite foods. Hopefully, she will recover unless there are internal injuries.

The attack was yesterday afternoon, so its been more than 24 hours, and her crop is full/firm... she won't eat or drink. I've offered scrambled eggs, and moistened feed.
I've syringed water.
She mostly stands or lies in one spot. Shes pooping, but seems less often than normal, which I would expect, as shes not eating.
I just don't understand why her crop is still full from yesterday before the attack..
Deepest wound is about 1/2 - 1 cm deep, above her tail.
She's breathing normally, and just seems a bit out of it. She's obviously exhausted.

 

[Eggcessive]

You could offer some chilled coconut oil cut into small slivers to peck, which might help soften the crop contents. You can also massage the firm full crop several times a day. It is possible her crop and digestion have slowed due to the injuries and shock. Poultry NutriDrench or warm water with 1 tsp of sugar per cup can be offered up to her beak with a cup or spoon. Once her crop empties, she will probably start eating hopefully.

 

[judevie]

You could offer some chilled coconut oil cut into small slivers to peck, which might help soften the crop contents. You can also massage the firm full crop several times a day. It is possible her crop and digestion have slowed due to the injuries and shock. Poultry NutriDrench or warm water with 1 tsp of sugar per cup can be offered up to her beak with a cup or spoon. Once her crop empties, she will probably start eating hopefully.

Thank you!
I will definitely try the coconut oil, and massage. I'm hoping things are just slow to move with all the stress.
She's resting, in a playpen in our house again tonight. We'll keep her inside until she's able to eat and drink, and had time to recover.

 

[judevie]

update on Birdie... unfortantely she died over night. I feel so bad for her. I don't know if it was the shock, or the crop thing, maybe both. Poor Birdie.
Thanks for the advice, I did give her some coconut oil last night, and massage her crop. She was resting and breathing normal when I went to bed.

 

[WIchickMama]

so sorry for your loss, it is so hard.