I considered putting this in the Predator/Pest category since it was an attack by my own dog, who is currently viewed as a PEST...but the incident was my own fault. This poor Ameracauna hen is having a string of bad luck this year. Earlier this spring she went missing for 3 days, I assumed she was stolen or eaten, and then my husband found her, upside-down, behind the wood pile. Apparently she fell behind there, couldn't get out, and never made a noise, so she went undetected for 3 days, no food or water, and when she was finally found my husband thought she was dead, legs straight up in the air. He touched her foot, and it twitched, so he went into high gear, dragged me out of bed (it was 7am, I was sleeping in), he isolated her with water. She was really wobbly and weak, but drank water, and I babysat her for an hour,hand feeding her, relieved that she was eating and drinking. She recovered almost fully (she's a little mental now, but can you blame her?), and I hadn't clipped her wings since that was done while she was behind the woodpile. I neglected to clip her wings after she recovered. This brings us to yesterday. While the kids and I were in the house, I let our dog (Lab/Cattle Dog...we think) out in the fenced back yard to do his business, and I heard a chicken squawking from a weird direction (the hens are kept in a small fenced yard at the side of our house) - I looked out the window and saw my friendly dog with my poor big brown Ameracauna girl in his mouth. I bolted outside, shooed him away, grabbed her, hustled her back to the door, and set her down to check for immediate damage. She stood on her own (her right toes didn't self correct when they curled under, though, which worried me), then she saw the open door, and ran inside, darted under my computer desk, and huddled there. I scooped her out, set up an indoor ICU for her (mini wire dog crate one of my rabbits came with, cardboard underneath to catch droppings, a drawer with straw if she wanted to nest, and a dish of water). By that time, she was panting, looked shocky and dazed (again, couldn't blame her), eyelids half closed, toes still wouldn't correct although she was standing on her own, and she had pooped. She had lost a handful of feathers and was covered in dog drool, but other than a broken nail and some scrapes on the back of her legs, I couldn't find any injuries. She stayed in ICU overnight, and seems ok today, so I plan on reintroducing her to the flock today. Any suggestions, things I should pay extra attention to at this point? Thanks!
Here she is in ICU
Here she is in ICU
