Help! Injured hen! Don't know what to do!

[freerange freaks]

I feel so bad for you and your girls. I have been going through the exact same thing the last few days. A heating pad, grape flavoured pediatric electrolyte and this forum saved my Fuzzy Head's life.

I also cleaned her wounds twice a day and repacked her dressing after cleaning with furacin (a vet antibiotic ointment). It is amazing what those little things can survive.

Hang in there, I'll be thinking of you all tonight.

 

[Mulemom]

Martha is doing well this morning. She's walking around and eating, drinking and talking to me. I put more neosporin on her and she seems just fine.

Thank you all for the support yesterday. I don't know what I'd do without you!

 

[SpottedCrow]

That's great news, Mulemom.

 

[Mulemom]

Well, Martha is sitting infront of the fire today warming up after having her wound flushed. The spot where the skin is missing has kind of a green tint to it. There is no puss, so I don't know if that means infection or if it's just the scab forming.

The bad news is the puppy that got her, killed my rooster yesterday! I have no idea how she got him. We were in town for the day. The chickens were in their run. There were no holes in the fence, and everyone else was safe and sound. We noticed a few white feathers here and there, and checked to see if Bob was in the pen. He wasn't. My DH found his body in the brush behind the pen.

I'm not sure what to do about this dog now. She is my DH's new baby. Some of you may remember my post when we found her and brought her home. Any suggestions about stopping this?

I have the remote collar charging. I used this to train my lab mix on the trail and was going to use it to train her with the chickens, but I never had to. She's great with the chickens.

I had been working with this puppy with a leash and she was getting to be off leash and doing fine, until I was stupid enought to leave her for a moment to anwer the phone. My DH did not want to use my training collar on her, but he is willing to now that he saw what she did to Bob. It wasn't enough to just keep the chickens in their pen. I still don't know how she got to him.

 

[chickbea]

Oh, I'm so sorry about Bob. I'm glad to hear Martha is on the mend, though.

 

[dlhunicorn]

I'm not sure what to do about this dog now. She is my DH's new baby. Some of you may remember my post when we found her and brought her home. Any suggestions about stopping this?

...there isn't really...save yourself the heartache of trying to "teach" her to leave the chickens alone... either figure out a way to ensure she can't get to them (and that the chickens can not get out/fly over their area... or get rid of her.
If you are unable to ensure this then I suggest you prepare yourself for losses.​

 

[SpottedCrow]

Crud...sorry about Bob...

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I'm glad Martha is doing well and very sorry to hear about Bob. Is your run covered? If it isn't, that's probably what the problem was. Chickens go over fences pretty easily when they want to.

I would say, if you don't want to rehome your dog, then you need to have a secure enclosure for your chickens and a secure enclosure for your dog. You also need to work with your dog so she is dependable when supervised. The last thing, is to make a household rule to never leave her unsupervised with the chickens.

Really, it's just a matter of what you want to do. Giving her away is certainly the easiest thing to do, as well as the safest. On the other hand, any dog you ever have is going to need training. Unless you're never going to have a dog, ever, then you may as well train this one.