Help! Hen attacked by Bobcat, huge gash in back!

[Illia]

So, I just BARELY had my first predator problem. . . . A bobcat came barreling through our pasture, took a hen, and ran off with it. I was luckliy there to chase it down to the point that it let her go. She had the strength to run all the way back to the coop, which was far over 200 feet, but now that I've got her, her breathing is labored, it sounds like she's got fluid or something? in her passages, perhaps her lungs. . . But the biggest issue is that there's a big bite-marked gash in her back, right between, slightly behind her wings. I can see fat tissue and blood, but not much blood. Mostly fat tissue.


What can I do?! I've never had anything like this before. . .


The hen is exactly a year old, and a Black Ameraucana. She's got missing feathers here and there, but her back is the only serious wound. It is about half an inch in width, a bobcat's mouth in length.

 

[NonnasBabies]

WOW!! So glad you were able to get her back!! I would clean her real good with some anti bacterial soap and put triple antibiotic cream one it! Keep her warm and quiet in a nice dark place!! I really hope she get's better!!

 

[terrilhb]

Don't know alot but from what I have read on here. 1st seperate her. Give her electrolytes and clean the wound. use neosporin without pain medicine. After this I do not know. But someone will help. Good luck and Good going on saving her.

 

[Imp]

Illia,

I saw the other post, sorry you had an attack. Here's a thread about wound care. Pay attention to post 16. good info.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=203024

Imp

 

[Illia]

Thank you all very much for the helpful links and info!

I don't have sutures or any cream like neosporin right now (I know, I know, horrible to not have it while free ranging birds) but I'll do the best I can in the mean time to keep her alive and healthy. So far she's acting quite normal, aside from the weird breathing (her neck is a little scratched up, I think her windpipe got blown) and panicky behavior. She's a fighter!

 

[goldeneggtees]

Really praying she survives! Sending good thoughts your way!!

 

[Harris5]

So sorry about your hen Illia!

In the process of eating a bunch of my pullets last spring, a bear injured some of them. The survivors had bite wounds with fairly deep tissue damage. We put them in a quiet coop with clean bedding and access to food and water. The girls recovered so well you couldn't tell what they had been through. It is amazing how tough they are. And your hen sounds like a fighter!

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

Did you separate her? So the others won't be tempted to pick at the wound?

 

[Judy]

Agree with most, she needs to be separated or the others will attack her wound. Hope you have a spare bathroom! Otherwise, simple common sense wound care, keep it clean, good nutrition... just some attention and nursing, really.

Do avoid any ointment or cream, if you go buy one, that has a "caine" drug in it (cetacaine, benzocaine, etc.) as this can actually kill a chicken. Otherwise, human first aid is fine.

 

[Illia]

Good to know!

Yes, she's in a bathroom at the moment, getting checked on occasionally while I go repair the fence. Tonight she'll be sleeping indoors, and after that I'll get her a nice place to be in while she recovers.