Hen hit by car!

[CarlaRiggs]

Have you tried using an eye dropper and dribbling water along the side of her beak? I'd think that getting her hydrated is the most important thing now.
Thanks for the update! I've been wondering about this little hen and hoping for the best.

Carla

 

[jhmoore]

Thank you to everyone for all your words of advice and encouragement. Panni is doing pretty well today. I did notice she has a large area of bruising on one side of her chest- probably took this long for the bruising to reach the surface. But, amazingly, she is walking and spreading her wings normally. For now, she is drinking fine (with antibiotics in the water). She's also tolerating eating yogurt and cottage cheese without having her beak bleed at all. So, tonight I attempted to mix a very small amount of layer mash in with the yogurt. She didn't touch it, but I think she was ticked that I "ruined" the flavor of the yogurt with the layer mash. She did successfully peck at some mash on its own. I think it's just a matter of time before her beak strengthens up again. I am going to continue to offer her soft food and keep her regular food free choice, with water of course. I think I'll keep her isolated as long as she is still not able to eat 100% normally. And, I'm hoping this bruising will heal on its own and not cause any problems. She seems to be having difficulty pruning herself to the left, but the way she was all swollen after being hit, I think she is stiff just super sore.

Thank you again for the encouragement, thoughts and prayers. I am so relieved she is pulling through. And, also relieved the vet wasn't able to euthanize her! How sad to think I may have given up on her when she's fighting this hard.

Thanks! I'll keep updates coming.

 

[Barn Maid Ann]

I had a friend who had a parrot who was attacked by another friend's dog. It's beak was severely damaged and the vet bondo'd it. Unfortuantely the bird died 6 weeks later due to other trauma it received in the attack.

You can add warm water to the pellets to soften them up. My birds act like I am giving them a special treat if I offer a warm pellet mash. They can gobble it down without much trouble. You might want to try that. The pellets soak up the warm water pretty fast and just become mush. You can mix this mash with other goodies, such as meat and veggies and/or scrambled eggs. They love it!

 

[jhmoore]

Well, this morning I moved Panni to a larger dog crate with a perch in it, which she seems to be enjoying more. She ate about half a scrambled egg. I also left with her very finely chopped tangerine (one of her faves usually) and mushy layers mash. So, hopefully she'll snack a bit while I'm out and about today. The swelling on her chest seems about the same. Would I know if it affected her crop?

 

[CarlaRiggs]

Does she seem to be swallowing normally?
The only way I'd know to check the crop would be to check it before the hen's bedtime; it should be full. When she's up in the morning, her crop should be pretty empty. Of course, this also depends on how well she's eating... can she fill her crop well at night?

As long as she's continuing to eat and seems a bit stronger each day, she'll probably be just fine. You seem to be doing a good job of caring for her.

Carla

 

[EweSheep]

Hope she is doing well today!

 

[chickenchalupa]

Any news? How's she doing?

 

[jhmoore]

Oh, thank you for checking! Panni is doing wonderfully! Besides the couple bare spots where feathers are slowly growing back in, she looks back to normal. I just can't believe it. Now the problem is that my other little polish doesn't want to let her back in the coop- she's being very aggressive towards Panni. So, I've been placing Panni in the dog crate out next to the coop/run each morning. Then, I lock up the other polish hen for a few hours each afternoon and let Panni free range. I hope they'll get accustomed to each other again- I certainly can't have Panni live in a dog crate forever. And, I refuse to build a third coop! I already built a smaller coop for my 2 polish to live separately from the big hens.

 

[CarlaRiggs]

Glad to hear she's doing so well!
You might try keeping the aggressor in the dog crate instead.

It may change things a bit in the heirarchy.

Carla

 

[CTChickenMom]

Quote:
I've done a similar thing with nail polish and toilet paper. I cut down some TP, paint on clear polish, let dry and reapply polish. It works until the nail grows out more.

You can also buy stuff at the pharmacy for cuts or scrapes in awkward places (finger tips, knuckles, beaks....). Its clear and will hold the cut/tear closed and will slowly come off as the wound heals. Its like super glue I guess but maybe easier on the nose.

I agree with CarlaRiggs, take Ms Bossy out and put Panni in (when she's ready). Upsetting the hierarchy can really change the relations.