HELP my chicken was attacked and IDK if she will make it...graphic pic's

[tarrabean]

So I found on of our reds in the yard this morning with most of her feathers gone and I thought she was dead. when I got closer she was breathing and when I went to chop her head because I thought she was mostly dead she got up and ran away. I got her in the house and we got her cleaned and she is looking pretty rough. I guess I am wondering is it worth keeping her alive or is it better to just put her down. we think a coon or skunk got to her because there was no puncture marks like from the dogs which is what we originally thought.

Does anyone have any information on how to take care of her. we are first timers with our chickens. any advice would be great thanks!





This is how she looked when I first found her.




This is how she looks now that we cleaned her up.

She is picking her head up and moving her wings around when we were moving her but she isn't wanting to drink yet.

Thanks!

 

[amyandkids]

I would start her on antibiotics immediately, any wounds put Neosporin with OUT the pain reliever in it after cleaning it really well! Someone who knows what antibiotic to use will chime in quickly, I hope! I wish you lots of luck!

 

[amyandkids]

send a P.M. to casportpony she knows all about antibiotics and has fantastic info!

 

[KendyF]

It is amazing what Chickens can recover from, my daughter's chicken's neck was bitten to the bone and bleeding, when she went to finish her off. She also got up. They kept her quiet in a box with water and feed for a few days, didn't even give antibiotics, just yogurt and scrambled eggs and regular food. She was outside looking like a Zombie chicken in just a few days. She is a RIR, but after the attack some of her feathers came back in weird.

Good luck, I hope she survives.

 

[tarrabean]

Thanks! I put some nitrofurazone an antibacterial preparation for topical application its a soluable dressing. we use it on the dogs when they fight (we don't fight them they fight over who is dominate) and it helps heal the wounds very quickly! I wouldn't even know how to go about getting an antibiotic, but I can try some yogurt

 

[Eggcessive]

Unless you get some amoxicillin or cephalexin from a vet, Procaine Penicillin G is the most available antibiotic for wound infections. Dosage is 1/4 ml injected 1/4 inch into the breast muscle daily for 4 days. She must have really been beaten up by the predator, and I would worry about internal injuries. I would use general common first aid treatment, cleaning wounds with weak betadine, hibiclens, or soap and water. The furacin dressing may be fine in place of plain neosporin or other antibiotic ointments. Any puncture wounds should be kept open for a couple of days to prevent abscess. Feed her extra protein as in scrambled egg, low slat canned tuna, and give probiotics or a small amount of buttermilk or yogurt.

 

[tarrabean]

I was worried about internal injuries and am not sure how to check for them. when we were cleaning her she seemed to be "pooping" a runny yellow green color. Not positive what that means. the poor girl!

 

[Eggcessive]

There is not much you can do about internal injuries other than to give her supportive treatment. Hopefully she will start to eat and drink. If you want some tube feeding instructions to give her nutrition until she feels well enough to eat, you can find the information here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/805728/go-team-tube-feeding

A piece of aquarium tubing from WalMart, and a 35-60 cc syringe from the feed store can serve as a tube feeding device until you can something better from a vet.

 

[crazyfeathers]

So sorry about your chicken. I hope it recovers.

 

[tarrabean]

Well she didnt make it over night. thanks for all the advice. hopefully we dont have to go through this again! :'(