Hen attacked by dog, advice please

[Alyssa Giroux]

Our 2 and 1/2 year old barred rock Trixie was attacked by one of our dogs on Monday. This was very unexpected as he has never shown any interest in the hens before. That being said, we thought she was dead but to our surprise she was alive and survived the attack. I scooped her up in a towel and brought her inside to asses her, no visible wounds, Just lots of drool, dirt, lost feathers and some broken slightly bloody feathers at the base of her tail. I put her in a dog crate in our side room with food and water and electrolyte water. I sprayed vetericyn on the bloody feather spots as well. I did notice that she is limping a bit on one leg but is able to bare weight on it and move it. She is eating and drinking a bit on her own, some greek yogurt and oats, and a bit of some scrambled egg, and she has pooped a few times (not a lot tho), but today I noticed that her crop does not seem to be emptying. It was full last night, this morning, and tonight and she’s not eating nearly enough to fill it the way that it is. Her tail is also down all the time and she lays slightly to one side and all puffed up. I had some meloxicam from the vet that I also started giving her this morning for any pain. Any advice on what else I could do? Or what could be happening with the crop? I was hoping after a few days of TLC she would get back to her old self, but she doesn’t seem to be improving so I think I’m going to call our vet tomorrow just wondering if anyone else had an experiences with this. Thank you in advanced. * I included 2 pictures of the way she is laying puffed up and slightly to one side in the crate*

 

[Alyssa Giroux]

EDIT: she was attacked yesterday, Tuesday. Not Monday.

Our 2 and 1/2 year old barred rock Trixie was attacked by one of our dogs on Monday. This was very unexpected as he has never shown any interest in the hens before. That being said, we thought she was dead but to our surprise she was alive and survived the attack. I scooped her up in a towel and brought her inside to asses her, no visible wounds, Just lots of drool, dirt, lost feathers and some broken slightly bloody feathers at the base of her tail. I put her in a dog crate in our side room with food and water and electrolyte water. I sprayed vetericyn on the bloody feather spots as well. I did notice that she is limping a bit on one leg but is able to bare weight on it and move it. She is eating and drinking a bit on her own, some greek yogurt and oats, and a bit of some scrambled egg, and she has pooped a few times (not a lot tho), but today I noticed that her crop does not seem to be emptying. It was full last night, this morning, and tonight and she’s not eating nearly enough to fill it the way that it is. Her tail is also down all the time and she lays slightly to one side and all puffed up. I had some meloxicam from the vet that I also started giving her this morning for any pain. Any advice on what else I could do? Or what could be happening with the crop? I was hoping after a few days of TLC she would get back to her old self, but she doesn’t seem to be improving so I think I’m going to call our vet tomorrow just wondering if anyone else had an experiences with this. Thank you in advanced. * I included 2 pictures of the way she is laying puffed up and slightly to one side in the crate*

 

[coach723]

I'm so sorry! I think the vet is your best option. It's possible that she was squeezed or crushed by the mouth and may have internal injuries or even a broken egg inside her if she was laying before the attack. Small punctures can also be hard to find among all the feathers. At a minimum she is likely very bruised and sore. I hope you can make it to the vet and hopefully get her some help.

 

[Alyssa Giroux]

Thank you! That’s what I’m fearful of. Internal injuries. Or a cracked egg Inside of her. This whole situation has had me a wreck!!! I’ll be calling the vet in the morning

I'm so sorry! I think the vet is your best option. It's possible that she was squeezed or crushed by the mouth and may have internal injuries or even a broken egg inside her if she was laying before the attack. Small punctures can also be hard to find among all the feathers. At a minimum she is likely very bruised and sore. I hope you can make it to the vet and hopefully get her some help.