Fox attacked a hen yesterday - now she's egg bound please help!

[dragonflycat]

Yesterday afternoon our guinea hens and peacocks alerted me to a big problem in the yard; I ran out screaming and a fox took off but not before trying to grab a chicken.

When I saw her lying on the ground I picked her up. At first she tried to fight me (probably thought I was the fox trying to finish the dirty deed) then she settled down somewhat. I brought her in the house and carefully put her in a box with a blanket. I don't see any deep wounds or rips in her skin, but she was roughed up. She was clearly in shock.

Checked her this morning and she doesn't look good (head drooping, eyes keep closing, is very uncomfortable). I gently felt and looked underneath her and she clearly is now egg bound.

Please advise -- what specific steps do I take to help her lay the egg?

Thank you so much in advance!

 

[Dancing With Chickens]

Try giving her a bath in epsom salts for 20-30 min. Do this every hour till she lays her egg, and using a lavender essentail oil will help her stay calm. Rubbing vegetable oil around her vent might help her lay it easier as well. If she doesn't lay it soon, a vet visit would be good, or she might night make it.

 

[chickens really]

Your sure she is egg bound and not internal injuries?..
I'll tag someone.
@Wyorp Rock

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yesterday afternoon our guinea hens and peacocks alerted me to a big problem in the yard; I ran out screaming and a fox took off but not before trying to grab a chicken.

When I saw her lying on the ground I picked her up. At first she tried to fight me (probably thought I was the fox trying to finish the dirty deed) then she settled down somewhat. I brought her in the house and carefully put her in a box with a blanket. I don't see any deep wounds or rips in her skin, but she was roughed up. She was clearly in shock.

Checked her this morning and she doesn't look good (head drooping, eyes keep closing, is very uncomfortable). I gently felt and looked underneath her and she clearly is now egg bound.

Please advise -- what specific steps do I take to help her lay the egg?

Thank you so much in advance!

How is she doing now?
Did you feel an egg stuck inside the vent?

From your description she is in a bad way. If she is very lethargic, it would be better to place her in a steamed up bathroom than soak her if she is egg bound. Do what you can to get her hydrated, she needs fluids (don't worry about food). If you can get some calcium into her that may help as well.

It sounds like she suffered trauma for sure, possibly internal injuries as well. Sometimes stress like that can disrupt the egg laying and cause binding.

If you have photos of her you would like to share, we will be happy to look at them. I hope she is doing better by the time you see this.

 

[azygous]

I urge you to look carefully under the back feathers for signs of injury. If you see any abrasions on the back, assume she also has internal injuries. Chickens may appear to be only superficially injured following a predator attack,when they actually are suffering from deep internal injury.

Lungs and the reproductive organs are close to the surface on the back, and any compression from an animals jaws can inflict life threatening injury. She needs warmth and quiet and electrolytes. With a stuck egg, calcium and liquid tubed into her crop can help a lot.

I use a heating pad instead of warm water soaks as it's less stressful. Let her rest quietly after you hydrate her with electrolye infused water and the calcium. (People calcium, not oyster shell.)

 

[dragonflycat]

I don't know if I attached some of her pics correctly; I've never done this before from my phone into Google Play into Google Drive onto my Desktop as a file folder. I get exhausted just reading that. if not I apologize...! Its a zip file; if you can't see it is there an easier way for me to show you the photos?

Update: She still looks the same but sadly is getting weaker; her head is hanging down, she still has a large bulge on her backend. We've been giving her warm epsom salt soaks as recommended by you kind caring folks (and as suggested earlier today by a vet) and when we do her backend seems to moving in and out as if she's trying to lay an egg but to no avail.

We also looked her over carefully for wounds and can only see two small bite marks near the back of her neck.

We were able to get some powdered calcium citrate (in water) into her mouth. Other than that she can't be coaxed to drink or eat as you can imagine.

I hate to ask this question but its so horrible watching her suffer like this. I think the stress of the attack was so devastating for her that the kindest option at this point might be to put her down... Do any of you know of the kindest, gentlest way for us to do this?

 

[aart]

pics acting really weird...loading slow with no indicator of uploading activity.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I hate to ask this question but its so horrible watching her suffer like this. I think the stress of the attack was so devastating for her that the kindest option at this point might be to put her down... Do any of you know of the kindest, gentlest way for us to do this?

Oh the poor dear
I agree with you, it looks like she is suffering.
We all have different methods of putting sick birds out of their misery. I'm sure when she comes on @azygous will also give you her suggestion.

I use the "broomstick" method which is cervical dislocation. It's quick and effective. This method is somewhat hands on, so you would need to prepare yourself for that. There is a little flapping of wings even when the bird is dead, that is normal. If done correctly, there is no blood, but it's better to pull harder than you think you need to. There are various youtube videos you can watch.

I'm so very sorry. You did what you could for her.

 

[Fishkeeper]

If there's a vet nearby who treats birds, you could take her there to have her euthanized. It's probably the best thing to do at this point.

 

[aart]

I use the "broomstick" method which is cervical dislocation. It's quick and effective. This method is somewhat hands on, so you would need to prepare yourself for that. There is a little flapping of wings even when the bird is dead, that is normal. If done correctly, there is no blood, but it's better to pull harder than you think you need to. There are various youtube videos you can watch.

Same here...fine line on the pulling hard enough or too much.

Cervical Dislocation is shown in this video at about 1:00,

Spoiler: CD video

it's the only CD video I've found that doesn't remove the head.
-Notice the slight divot in the ground under the stick and neck, this will keep the bird from being choked.
-Notice that she slowly stretches out the neck and legs before giving the short sharp jerk that breaks the neck close to the skull, this is key to success IMO.
I've found this technique to be very effective and no blood at all(unless you pull to hard and the head comes off..