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[Shali VanMeter]

I have a hen that was attacked Tuesday and she is not eating much or drinking alot. I have giver her droppers of electrolyte water and hand fed her scrambled eggs today. She has one eye that has stayed shut but she is very alert. She will not stand up on her own so I have held her in the upright position. She has no external injuries. She sits up on her bottom with her feet out in front. She does fall over on her side and I prop her back up. She is deficating but I give her a Epson salt bath to clean her up. She is very thin. I believe it is only shock because she can wiggle her feet and toes. What else can I do to help her?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi @Shali VanMeter Welcome To BYC

I'm sorry to hear about your hen.
Can you share a photo of how she sits/lays down?

Do you know what attacked her - raccoon, dog, other chickens, etc.?

For the eye, you can try rinsing it with saline to see if that may help her, she may have some dirt/debris or scratched it.

5days is a long time to be in shock. Sometime when a chicken is attacked they may suffer from nerve or internal damage, even if you don't find any external wounds or injuries. If you have vet care, that is always best.

Do the best you can to keep her hydrated, fluids first, then food. Being thin is concerning, so if she will eat the egg that's good. You can also try a little wet feed. Vitamins in the water may help give her a boost as well.

You can use rolled up towels to help keep her upright or if you have time to monitor her you can make her a sling to see how she does. Here's a few ideas below, just google "chicken sling" to find more.

 

[micstrachan]

Yes, I am wondering if she has aleg or hip injury anda sling might help whime she heals. Will she drink on her own? If you are getting really desperate for her to eat, live mealworms might stimulate her appetite. Good luck!

 

[Shali VanMeter]

Yes, I am wondering if she has aleg or hip injury anda sling might help whime she heals. Will she drink on her own? If you are getting really desperate for her to eat, live mealworms might stimulate her appetite. Good luck!

She has started drinking on her own, but I still give her droppers of electrolyte water. She is pooping as well. I just take her out and give her a warm Epson salt bath and clean her up. She is very alert, but she was asleep on her side this morning. I picked her up and propped her back up.

 

[Shali VanMeter]

Hi @Shali VanMeter Welcome To BYC

I'm sorry to hear about your hen.
Can you share a photo of how she sits/lays down?

Do you know what attacked her - raccoon, dog, other chickens, etc.?

For the eye, you can try rinsing it with saline to see if that may help her, she may have some dirt/debris or scratched it.

5days is a long time to be in shock. Sometime when a chicken is attacked they may suffer from nerve or internal damage, even if you don't find any external wounds or injuries. If you have vet care, that is always best.

Do the best you can to keep her hydrated, fluids first, then food. Being thin is concerning, so if she will eat the egg that's good. You can also try a little wet feed. Vitamins in the water may help give her a boost as well.

You can use rolled up towels to help keep her upright or if you have time to monitor her you can make her a sling to see how she does. Here's a few ideas below, just google "chicken sling" to find more.

View attachment 1184694

 

[Shali VanMeter]

I also n

Hi @Shali VanMeter Welcome To BYC

I'm sorry to hear about your hen.
Can you share a photo of how she sits/lays down?

Do you know what attacked her - raccoon, dog, other chickens, etc.?

For the eye, you can try rinsing it with saline to see if that may help her, she may have some dirt/debris or scratched it.

5days is a long time to be in shock. Sometime when a chicken is attacked they may suffer from nerve or internal damage, even if you don't find any external wounds or injuries. If you have vet care, that is always best.

Do the best you can to keep her hydrated, fluids first, then food. Being thin is concerning, so if she will eat the egg that's good. You can also try a little wet feed. Vitamins in the water may help give her a boost as well.

You can use rolled up towels to help keep her upright or if you have time to monitor her you can make her a sling to see how she does. Here's a few ideas below, just google "chicken sling" to find more.

View attachment 1184694

I also noticed she scoots around over night and just now when I propped her back up

 

[Shali VanMeter]

Hi @Shali VanMeter Welcome To BYC

I'm sorry to hear about your hen.
Can you share a photo of how she sits/lays down?

Do you know what attacked her - raccoon, dog, other chickens, etc.?

For the eye, you can try rinsing it with saline to see if that may help her, she may have some dirt/debris or scratched it.

5days is a long time to be in shock. Sometime when a chicken is attacked they may suffer from nerve or internal damage, even if you don't find any external wounds or injuries. If you have vet care, that is always best.

Do the best you can to keep her hydrated, fluids first, then food. Being thin is concerning, so if she will eat the egg that's good. You can also try a little wet feed. Vitamins in the water may help give her a boost as well.

You can use rolled up towels to help keep her upright or if you have time to monitor her you can make her a sling to see how she does. Here's a few ideas below, just google "chicken sling" to find more.

View attachment 1184694

Sorry and it was a dog that just killed my entire flock, all but these two. Killed for fun

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm so sorry to hear you lost all but 2 to the attack.

Poor girl, it looks like she has some new feather growth on the wings(?) was she molting when the attack happened?

I understand that she is getting a poopy bum from laying around, but since she is lethargic, you may want to try to limit how wet she gets (hard to do). A sick/injured chicken needs to be kept warm, so when you clean her up, take a blow dryer to get her dry. Ideally you want to keep her around 75-80F.

Dogs can squeeze, causing internal and nerve damage, not to mention chickens can injure themselves by panicking and trying to get away.

Drinking on her own is good, the electrolytes are fine. If you have a chance, get some poultry vitamins in the next few days to give her a boost. Egg is good, but you can also see if she will eat some of her normal food either dry or wet. Sometimes they just won't. You can also see if she will take her food with about 1tsp of yogurt stirred in.

As far as not being able to stay upright and the difficulty using the legs, we can only assume it's due to the attack and not an underlying illness brought on by stress from the attack. It can take time for chickens to recover, so you are doing the best that you can do.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would not bathe her after each dropping, but try the chicken sling to keep her out of droppings. Just clean her off as needed with wipes or similar. Wyorp Rock has given very good advice as always. She hopefully will get better, but she also may require special care from now on. I really hope she can improve, but one day you might need to decide if she is suffering or not. It can be a hard decision to put one down, but unfortunately sometimes it is best for the chicken. Please update us on her condition, and we all really hope she improves.

 

[Shali VanMeter]

I'm so sorry to hear you lost all but 2 to the attack.

Poor girl, t looks like she has some new feather growth on the wings(?) was she molting when the attack happened?

I understand that she is getting a poopy bum from laying around, but since she is lethargic, you may want to try to limit how wet she gets (hard to do). A sick/injured chicken needs to be kept warm, so when you clean her up, take a blow dryer to get her dry. Ideally you want to keep her around 75-80F.

Dogs can squeeze, causing internal and nerve damage, not to mention chickens can injure themselves by panicking and trying to get away.

Drinking on her own is good, the electrolytes are fine. If you have a chance, get some poultry vitamins in the next few days to give her a boost. Egg is good, but you can also see if she will eat some of her normal food either dry or wet. Sometimes they just won't. You can also see if she will take her food with about 1tsp of yogurt stirred in.

As far as not being able to stay upright and the difficulty using the legs, we can only assume it's due to the attack and not an underlying illness brought on by stress from the attack. It can take time for chickens to recover, so you are doing the best that you can do.

They were not molting yet. I did notice that the dogs plucked quite a few of their feathers fully.