We have owned chcikens for about 7 months now and unfortunately on Saturday a fox got in attacked my chickens. One had received a broken leg, and it was to sever so the vet had to put it down. And my chicken got really hurt and it's wound goes all the way to the bone on his back. The two remaining chickens are not coming out of their coop, I suspect they are in shock and would be much appreciated if you could tell me how to get them out of shock. Oh and we have been putting cream and antibacterial spray on its wound(given by the vet) How long does it take for a wound to close up Thanks
First..... Foxes (all predators) will return to the scene of the crime. Make sure the coop is safe. Second, they need a dim place that is safe and secure and warm and feed and water right in front of them. Then, as long as they are not picking at each other, leave them be. After a stressful attack, I would think that it will take a week before that start to move around much. Sorry for the trauma you are going through.
"Right, ok, whats on BYC today.... Ah, a fox attack!" Right, first off, as said above, secure the coop & leave the 2 OK birds alone to de - stress together. You said the 3rd bird has an injury to its spine. Has that bird also seen a vet? The reason I ask this is dogs & cats carry a nasty bacterial infection in their bite that birds & small mammals don't react at all well to.... in fact, combined with the shock, the infection usually then spreads & takes hold & usually kills the poor mite that was bitten in about 48 hours. So it is very important that the bird sees a vet or gets an antibiotic from somewhere. Don't ask me the dose, I haven't a clue I'm afraid, but somebody else here might know. Secondly also treat the injured bird for shock.This means keeping it warm, in a dark & quiet environment. But firstly, yes, see a vet for antibiotics.... otherwise, no matter what you do it may die from that bacteria. Unfortunately, I lost many injured birds myself that way.... songbirds, gulls & pigeons amongst them. If the bird has had veterinary treatment, then just keep treating for shock & make sure it drinks plenty of fluids & food available. Take care now, hope your bird gets better.
As mentioned, the fox will be back to look for another chicken dinner. Foxes are smart, persistent and versatile, they can climb trees surprisingly well, and will climb fences they can't jump over. Either do a VERY good job of securing the run and coop, or arrange for the fox to have an unfortunate accident. (Imagine graphic picture of ex-fox here) about 150' behind my chicken run. I had found digging around the base of the run's fenceing, where the hardware cloth at the base was dug in 6" deep. After this, I got smarter and put the dried seeds and pith from my ghost and habanerro peppers all around the base of the fence, have not had any more digging. Get a big bag of cayenne pepper and do the same, no mammal that digs with their nose and eyes right down in the hole will continue after getting a snoot full!
Thanks for your advice I already got cream and spray for the chickens And just to clarify I have 3 chickens One has died One is injured And the otherone is fine So at the moment the ok one is with the injured one and there have been no problems Thanks
A dog attacked mine and one was hurt badly. It only took the witnesses a few hours to come out of shock, but the one that was hurt did not move for 3 days. I kept her inside in a rabbit cage and nursed her wound, and after day 3 she stood up again and was more active every day.
