Katekozak
In the Brooder
- Jun 5, 2019
- 11
- 19
- 34
Hi there! Thanks in advance for reading/any thoughts you have!
Backstory: My hens (no rooster) were attacked by a fox on May 1st. The fox came out in the middle of the day in broad daylight while my girls were free ranging. Luckily my boyfriend heard something that alarmed him and he ran out into the yard and was able to scare the fox away. None of my babies were killed (thank god) but one was severely injured (see picture). We took her to a vet who would need to put her under and fix her for $700. I work in healthcare so ultimately we decided to take her home, keep the lacerations clean, and hope for the best. So far our hen has been doing excellent, wounds are looking good, and her habits have mostly returned to normal. She laid an egg about 5 days after the attack but has not laid since. She’s about 14 months old.
Current question: She has been walking around and then suddenly squatting as she walks. Although she hasn’t laid an egg in a week now, she doesn’t show any other signs of being egg-bound. She’s eating and drinking normally with frequent random squatting (hopefully I can get a video to post). Her feathers have just started growing back in as many were torn from her too and bottom during the attack. Could the discomfort of this be causing the squatting? I read in some other posts and websites that some hens do this during molting. I’ve fixed an egg bound hen before but this seems different so I’m unsure of what to do. I’ve made her a makeshift nesting box (she’s away from the coop while recovering) and she has had oyster shell available to her. Any advice appreciated!
Backstory: My hens (no rooster) were attacked by a fox on May 1st. The fox came out in the middle of the day in broad daylight while my girls were free ranging. Luckily my boyfriend heard something that alarmed him and he ran out into the yard and was able to scare the fox away. None of my babies were killed (thank god) but one was severely injured (see picture). We took her to a vet who would need to put her under and fix her for $700. I work in healthcare so ultimately we decided to take her home, keep the lacerations clean, and hope for the best. So far our hen has been doing excellent, wounds are looking good, and her habits have mostly returned to normal. She laid an egg about 5 days after the attack but has not laid since. She’s about 14 months old.
Current question: She has been walking around and then suddenly squatting as she walks. Although she hasn’t laid an egg in a week now, she doesn’t show any other signs of being egg-bound. She’s eating and drinking normally with frequent random squatting (hopefully I can get a video to post). Her feathers have just started growing back in as many were torn from her too and bottom during the attack. Could the discomfort of this be causing the squatting? I read in some other posts and websites that some hens do this during molting. I’ve fixed an egg bound hen before but this seems different so I’m unsure of what to do. I’ve made her a makeshift nesting box (she’s away from the coop while recovering) and she has had oyster shell available to her. Any advice appreciated!
