Fox got a few of my girls - help needed

[tuna]

Need some advice... Last night we had an unwanted visitor in our hen house. The incident happened around 8 pm and totally unexpected since I never knew we had foxes in the area until yesterday. Our 8 hens came under attack from a red fox – 2 were killed while 4 others were wounded and 2 were un-scathed. Last night I medicated and stitched the hen that appeared to be severely hurt. Unfortunately, all my efforts to keep her alive failed. This morning I re-assessed the hens and it appears that at least 2 more have deep punctures, while the other two have skin tear. The wounds are located in the neck and back area. My concern is with infections and disease that may be transmitted, either to the chickens or eggs. Can any of you advice on my next steps?

 

[CoopCrazy]

I would try to clean the wounds very weel and head to the feed store for some blue kote.. As far as I know the blue kote will not harm the meat or the eggs

 

[Cetawin]

Clean the wounds and torn skin areas really well with a sterile saline solution or betadine solution. Get a good triple antibiotic ointment WITHOUT pain reliever in it, apply to the wounds. If you need to cover the wounds, you can use vet wrap which not stick to the feathers and pull them like medical tape. At the farm store, pick up a bottle of penicillin and a 22 gauge needle (get 4 or five depending on the number of birds). Give them an injection daily for a couple of days. Inject into the breast muscle but use caution not to use such a long needle as to go through and into any organs.

You will want to add some vitamins and electrolytes to their water for a couple of days as well. Give them scrambled eggs, canned salmon, and baked sweet potatoes (skin removed) if they will eat it. This will give them some extra protein.

Blu Kote is not going to do much aside from acting as an antiseptic and keeping other chickens from picking at the wounds. Also remember that if you are stitching a wound closed, it is important to leave a small section of it open so that the wound can drain. You never want to stitch it completely closed.

Good luck with your girls.