HELP, Chickens attacked, one survivor

[Deblett]

Hi , my chickens were attacked yesterday afternoon and 2 are gone except for piles of feathers and one was left behind, she is alive, but in deep shock. I have searched her all over for wounds but can find nothing. Her neck is fine as are her feet and wings, no obvious broken bones, no blood anywhere but this morning she has still not moved from where I left her. I have put water next to her but she isn't drinking. When she hears me coming she clucks gently and quietly but I don't know what to do. There is no vet for 50 miles, should I put her out of her misery or can it take time to recover from shock? At the moment I have loosely covered her in and old towel as it is getting cold here.

 

[dawg53]

I'm sorry this happened to your chickens. It's possible your surviving hen may have unseen internal injuries. However I recommend that you keep her warm and try feeding her orally via syringe or eyedropper with a watery gruel mixture of feed and vitamins.
You'll have to do this about 5 or 6 times a day in order for her to regain strength.
Then after 3 days if there is no improvement, I recommend that you cull her.

 

[Deblett]

Thank you, I made a very watery couscous and vitamin mix and fed her some with a baby spoon, she was able to swallow it but I had to open her beak for her. Whats most sad is that after almost 9 months she finally laid her first egg yesterday but I didn't see it till I cleaned everything up this morning!!

 

[Deblett]

My hen Victoria is still alive day 3 after attack, she is eating a soupy food of couscous, tuna, brown bread and vitamins. She still can't drink water without my help but every couple of hours I am putting the bowl to her beak and she clearly wants to eat and drink. She can stand and does for 1/2 hour or so every now and then but her head is still drooped. She can move it around from side to side and lift a little but only for seconds. She did lay an egg yesterday, I didn't notice till I was checking her over again and cleaning out her box as it was stuck to her feathers with smeared poop cause she is lying down alot, but egg was in tact and she is pooping normal looking poop, alittle loose but that's cause I am feeding very loose food. I gave her a gentle bath to clean her up and her vent looks clean and healthy and she is more alert today, but still very sorry for herself. In another thread I posted earlier today, I was advised that shock can trigger Mareks which can cause assorted problems, one being neurological/partial paralysis etc. So I am worried about that, but her toes aren't curled and she lays down normally, she doesn't fall over but hasn't attempted to walk yet, her legs are not splayed and she can move her wings so I am hoping at the moment that it is still just a form of deep shock. I still don't know quite what to do. Would it be obvious if she was really suffering pain? Her breathing is calm and her eyes are alert, but she is allowing me to handle her, which she wouldn't normally.

 

[Cragg Klefor]

Aw the poor girl. Has she improved at all over the 3 days?

 

[Deblett]

She has improved a little, she can now stand but doesn't attempt to walk, she eats/drinks readily so long as I put the dish to her beak. She is now awake most of the day (slept for the 2 days after attack) and she can move her wings but doesn't flap them to get away from me, meaning she did not like me handling her for her bath and tried to protest but gave up quickly. My biggest concern is that she can't seem to lift her head so needless to say can't drink or eat on her own even though she clearly wants to. I just don't want to prolong her misery if she is suffering. Has anyone else had experience with shock, is it normal for it to last this long? (If that's what it is!) If it was a broken neck I would have thought she wouldn't be able to move it at all!

 

[Cragg Klefor]

I would wonder about internal injuries.

 

[Deblett]

Yes, I am but again, other than taking her to a vet, is what I described symptomatic of internal injuries? She is still laying, eating and pooping. If she had internal injuries, would it hurt when I pick her up?, as she doesn't start squawking at all, other than the shock of the bath I gave her earlier! And she doesn't complain when I lift her head to feed her, so I am gradually leaning towards possible partial paralysis from Mareks brought on by shock, because if her neck was damaged internally, i am guessing it would hurt to eat and drink and for me to hold her head up?

 

[Cragg Klefor]

Yes, I am but again, other than taking her to a vet, is what I described symptomatic of internal injuries? She is still laying, eating and pooping. If she had internal injuries, would it hurt when I pick her up?, as she doesn't start squawking at all, other than the shock of the bath I gave her earlier! And she doesn't complain when I lift her head to feed her, so I am gradually leaning towards possible partial paralysis from Mareks brought on by shock, because if her neck was damaged internally, i am guessing it would hurt to eat and drink and for me to hold her head up?

Yes it's definitely a possibility - Mareks. No way of knowing for sure while she is alive.
It depends on whereabouts of internal injury as to the effect on eating. It could be hurting to pick her up, they don't show pain the way we do. Her lack of retaliation could be a sign.
All speculation though. I hope she is just still in shock and snaps out of it!

 

[rebrascora]

If she was in a lot of pain she would be unlikely to eat and drink, even with your help. Sadly it is sounding more like Marek's from reading this post. Whilst she is keen to eat and drink and you are willing to help her and clean her up, there is hope with neurological Marek's. I have supported one that was nest bound for weeks and eventually made enough of a recovery to return to free ranging with the flock. I only euthanize them once they lose interest in food.