HELP HEN ATTACKED BY A FOX, WHAT DO I DO NEXT??? pictures

wendid1

Songster
10 Years
Apr 29, 2009
178
1
119
North East Missouri
My friends Cochin hen was attacked either late last night or sometime today not sure when. She is 8-12 weeks old. It is a large open wound on the back of her neck. not bleeding when I got her. But was open and dried out. I squirted it out with peroxide a couple time then water. There are feathers stuck to it that wont come of I clipped what I could put I don't want to pick at it to much. I dabbed it dry and then put a lot of triple antibiotic ointment on it. She is inside the house with a sheet over the crate she is asleep right now. I gave her water with Gatorade in it. 50/50. But I haven't seen her drink it yet or eat anything . She has pooped since I put her in the cage. This was not a tame bird. She only had her for a week and she usually runs from us when we would try to pet her. While I was cleaning it she fell asleep in my lap and was making a weird noise. I've never had a chicken this big (old) fall asleep on my lap before so I don't know if this is normal. What are the signs of shock and what else can I do for her? I only have people antibiotics at the house and they are in powder form.
They way would is larger than it looks in these pix I would say 2-3 inches long and covers the whole back part of her neck and really close to her right ear. She just has her head tucked in. What else can I do for her tonight and what should I do tomorrow? She is the lucky hen. Others didn't make it. I don't want to lose her to.
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I'm no expert but sounds like you have done all you can. It looks good and clean. I do know they say not to use neo-sporin with pain relief in it. I'm sure someone with more exp than me will post soon.
Good Luck
 
Your doing well! Keep the area clean by cleaning it several times a day with Betadine. Don't use hydrogen peroxide after the initial clean since it destroys cell tissue and inhibits proper healing. Keep it moist, which will allow it to heal faster. The easiest way to keep it moist and healthy at the same time is the triple antibiotic that you are using. The feathers may be stuck because the wound is dry as you had mentioned. They should loosen up if you keep it moist and then you can remove them. Keep her inside so that you can heal without getting it dirty. If any infection appears to start setting in, go to a feed store and get a broad-spectrum antibiotic such as Aureomycin (a water-soluble powder that you add to the hens water). As for the falling asleep on your lap...she's probably exhausted and knew that she wasn't being threatened (and your lap was comfy!).
 
Oh my. I am so sorry.
Ditto.....the above advise id good.
You can use the ointment as long as it DOES NOT HAVE ANY PAIN KILLER IN IT OR ANY WORD WITH CAINE IN IT!!
Also, get electrolytes and vitamins in her water. You need to keep her vitamin intake up. She may not eat for a little while, but tomarrow, give her some boiled egg and yogurt,
Poor thing.
Good Luck with your Chickie.
 
Animal bite will most likely get infected. A fox's mouth is full of bacteria, so yes to the antibiotics.

Keeping the sheet over the crate will probably help her stay calm. She'll probably want to rest, rest, rest after that ordeal. Try to encourage drinking. Dip the beak into water to get her to swallow some. She looks strong enough that that's all you should need to do at this point to get her drinking.

This time at night is typically bed time for her. Let her sleep tonight, and you can start working with the drinking/eating tomorrow.

You've done a great job!

Some others may chime in concerning keeping her warm. I'm going to guess that inside you have the ac on? If so, just make sure none is blowing on her. Cardboard around the crate would help with that.

Darn, tis awfully late here, and I lost my train of thought!
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What i've learned from a recent incident with my girls that i can add to what others have said - is be very thorough with getting all feathers off the the wound. As someone else said, you should be able to remove them now that the wound isn't dried out. Feathers near a wound hide dirt. Also, be persistent to clean the wound every day and keep it from getting dried out. I'm not an expert, but this is what i have learned from my mistakes.

All the best thoughts for your girl.
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