Hen attacked by dog, lost feathers - what should I do?

[floralace]

A week ago, one of my hens, a 7-month old Wyandotte pullet, was attacked by a loose dog. She was very lucky, since the dog was pretty small and didn’t break the skin when it grabbed her. She didn’t have any wounds but she is missing a bunch of feathers and has a big bald spot on her tail. Because it’s been been below freezing almost every night, I’ve been keeping her inside in my quarantine cage to protect her from the cold and from the other chickens. I haven’t noticed any feathers growing back yet, but the hen is very lively and sick of being confined! I’m just wondering if I should wait until her feathers grow back to put her back outside with the flock, or put her back now before she goes stir-crazy! Thanks!

 

[nuthatched]

Put her back out before the others forget who she is, the longer she stays out the harder it could be for her to rejoin them. She'll be fine. ;]

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

You could try bag balm

 

[floralace]

Put her back out before the others forget who she is, the longer she stays out the harder it could be for her to rejoin them. She'll be fine. ;]

Thanks, I’ll put her back tonight. I’m a first-time chicken keeper so I’m sure I’m being overly cautious!

 

[floralace]

You could try bag balm

Thanks, that’s a good idea! I used to use that stuff on horses when they’d rub their fur out