- Oct 25, 2014
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This is all so new for me and a tad confusing. I had left a question at BarnYardChickens about my bantam chicken, Apolla, nearly 4 weeks ago when she had been attacked by a raccoon. She sustained a great deal of damage: bodily, neurologically, and emotionally. My question had not been answered, perhaps because I sent it incorrectly, or still have no idea how to find messages yet.
On a Sunday afternoon nearly four weeks ago, we heard her squawking, but couldn't find Apolla in the hedges, at first. We did see Athena run into the shop with the raccoon chasing her. The raccoon had a mass of feathers in his/her mouth. After finding Apolla back behind some lower branches, we brought her inside the shop to assess damages. Her back and under her right wing she was bloody and raw. I could go on forever listing the damages. We cleaned her wounds with hydrogen peroxide and just held her until she seemed to breathe a bit easier.
We took her to our vet the very next morning (this happened on a Sunday) Apolla could not walk. Our vet said that the raccoon had tried to break Apolla's neck, but instead only fractured it. She couldn't hold up her head. Her left leg could not straighten, but instead curled up under her. However, the bleeding had stopped and the vet gave us antibiotic spray, fashioned a "neck brace" for her, gave her a shot of antibiotic, about a week's supply of antibiotic pills and told us to buy baby food and force feed her since there had also appeared to be damage to her beak. Our vet wished us luck and told us that such injuries may never heal, especially the neurological ones.
For nearly 4 weeks we worked with her bad leg, fed her baby food mixed with millet, and did "physical therapy" on her several times a day. We fashioned a "cage" to protect her from Athena's curiosity.
Yesterday, Apolla walked, by herself, and began to eat our love bird's treat. The seeds are small enough (and tasty enough) so Apolla can peck at it and actually get a few grains all by herself. Since then, she has been out of her "cage," munching on treat (she still is awkward trying to eat millet) and having grooming parties with Athena.
Our vet has called several times to get updates on Apolla's condition. We plan on making an appointment Monday morning (November 10, 2014) to have the good Doc do an assessment on her progress. Boy! Won't he be surprised!!
On a Sunday afternoon nearly four weeks ago, we heard her squawking, but couldn't find Apolla in the hedges, at first. We did see Athena run into the shop with the raccoon chasing her. The raccoon had a mass of feathers in his/her mouth. After finding Apolla back behind some lower branches, we brought her inside the shop to assess damages. Her back and under her right wing she was bloody and raw. I could go on forever listing the damages. We cleaned her wounds with hydrogen peroxide and just held her until she seemed to breathe a bit easier.
We took her to our vet the very next morning (this happened on a Sunday) Apolla could not walk. Our vet said that the raccoon had tried to break Apolla's neck, but instead only fractured it. She couldn't hold up her head. Her left leg could not straighten, but instead curled up under her. However, the bleeding had stopped and the vet gave us antibiotic spray, fashioned a "neck brace" for her, gave her a shot of antibiotic, about a week's supply of antibiotic pills and told us to buy baby food and force feed her since there had also appeared to be damage to her beak. Our vet wished us luck and told us that such injuries may never heal, especially the neurological ones.
For nearly 4 weeks we worked with her bad leg, fed her baby food mixed with millet, and did "physical therapy" on her several times a day. We fashioned a "cage" to protect her from Athena's curiosity.
Yesterday, Apolla walked, by herself, and began to eat our love bird's treat. The seeds are small enough (and tasty enough) so Apolla can peck at it and actually get a few grains all by herself. Since then, she has been out of her "cage," munching on treat (she still is awkward trying to eat millet) and having grooming parties with Athena.
Our vet has called several times to get updates on Apolla's condition. We plan on making an appointment Monday morning (November 10, 2014) to have the good Doc do an assessment on her progress. Boy! Won't he be surprised!!
