Help!! Fox attack on Sunday... injured leg....

[miniegg]

Hi

I hope someone can help me, I'm new to the forum but I browse regularly for advice. I can't find a match for my current problem.

I had 7 chickens free-ranging until Sunday. I arrived way before dark to put my girls and cockerel to bed and found 2 girls dead, 1 injured and the cockerel missing. I'm assuming this was either a fox or dog.... Anyway thankfully the cockerel returned next morning and I've separated the injured girl and made her comfortable. I can only see two woulds on the right. I cleaned them and she's been on antibiotic since Monday. She seems fine in herself but can only lie on her side. The strangest thing is that her injuries appear to be on the right side but she doesn't seem to be moving her left leg. She's eating and drinking a bit and seems quite bright in herself... I don't want to lose but I'm worried now because 3 days on she doesn't really seem to be moving still.

Please does anyone have any advice about what I could try and maybe how to examine her properly.

Thanks in advance.

 

[mrpekinduck]

Probe her for broken bones or if she is unresponsive she may be in shock. In this case I believe you have to funnel feed her and make her drink water as well. Sorry about your hens!

The animal will come back so I would keep them in their run for a while.

 

[diverkell]

I can't imagine why she's not moving her "uninjured" side aside from the possibility of broken bones. I had a fox take a hen once. I got the hen back. She had puncture wounds that I cleaned with betadine a few times while they healed. She did not want to come out of the house or even off the roost for 3 or 4 days. I was just patient with her. She's still my favorite girl. Good Luck.

 

[miniegg]

Hi,

Thanks for the responses, I'll have a good feel of her later... It does feel a little loose on her knee/elbow joint (not sure what it's called really)... but not realy dissimilar to the other side. I don't think it's shock, she's responsive as she feeds and trys to move but can't stand. She just moves across the coop on her good side. I've not even seen her sit since the attack. She's always lay with both legs out. I'm going to make a sling tomorrow and see how she is in that. I'm worried about nerve damage as the leg just doesn't move, but because it's her good side I can't work out how it could have happened. If it's nerve damage can she live with using 1 leg? She doesn't seem to be coping well at present. Just lies down, but seems to want to move about... just can't, eats and drinks as normal. I don't have to force feed her.

I've got the survivors all in their run.... I don't think I'll ever trust leaving them out again while I'm not there. They're not happy being in their run (injured bird aside... she's in a separate coop) but I think it's better than the alternative and it's not a bad size 8ft x 6ft .... Oh I so wish I could help the injured one move, it's so sad to see.

Thanks xx

 

[miniegg]

Just a note for anyone who reads this post. I was convinced after a few days that my chicken must have suffered some sort of nerve damage or stroke as she seemed to be paralysed... I'm now almost certain it was a stroke. We're 3 weeks on. I persevered, put her in a sling for a few hours each day as she couldn't even sit up in week 1. I also put the right mix of asprin in her water after the cuts healed, knowing this is what stroke patients are given. She started using her wing to balance and could sit up better. This week she's standing on the one leg and last night i noticed she's trying to move the top of her leg. Even though it wont move forward, she's trying and i'm sure it will go eventually. The claw also seemed to open a bit yesterday. So slowly, but surely she's making good progress. I'm so glad I didn't cull her as I never really wanted to, but doubted whether it was the right thing to keep her going. I'm so happy and convinced that she'll be back to normal and able to go back in with her friends very soon. xx

 

[loot4louie]

That is great! I just found this post. I had a hen get injured and found her laying on one side. She could not really move at first but would shuffle forward on her side. I noted a lot of bruising on her back. I actually took her to our local vet and he basically said he thought she had bone of soft tissue damage in shoulder area. He said chickens heal well and have good pain tolerance. So I seperated her for several weeks with 2 dog crates. She is 100% now! Good luck!!

 

[loot4louie]

I once had to reintergrate an established hen back into her flock, and the girls beat the $%#& out of her. I learned a hard lesson. I now use a cat carrier at night in the coop and a dog crate in the run or yard. That way the hen is with her old friends and they are used to seeing her again before she is loose with them! You probably know this but if you are new to chickens I figured I would mention it, I wish I had known a few years ago!!

 

[miniegg]

Hi, thanks for your post. Yes the nerve could have been bruised, but for that to happen I'd have expected some cuts on that side and there were none. I'm convinced it was a stroke from shock now, but will never know. I'm just so glad she's recovering. I still let her near the others if only for a few minutes when I'm there and it doesn't seem to stress her. Also, they don't even bother her. There's no way I'll just put her straight in with them though without a watchful eye. I have 3 coops for when I need to separate them, so i'll be letting her out with them and putting her back on her own at night when she's ready for mixing again. I learnt how cruel they can be with each other quite soon after getting my first lot after they pecked a massive hole in one's back one time. That was one of their own flock too, so I'm very careful now. Thanks for the advice though. xx