Hen injured bY a dog..

[mdibaugh]

We have a silver cuckoo maran that is almost 1 yr old. A dog attacked her . ( dog weighed about 20 lbs..dog was visiting neighbors.) .No skin was broken..she let me pick her and hold her which usually doesnt happen. Anyway. This happen on Tues. today is Sunday. She has not laid an egg since this happened. ( which is the least of our concerns ) ....and she just lays around in one corner or the other of the coop. She can walk around just choses not to exert herself very much. She doesnt seem to be breathing heavy .. She seems a little bloated..but not alot. and has been that way since wed. We just dont know what to do to help her if possible. or is it best to just let her heal on her own without intevention from us..? How long should it take to heal ..? Are we missing something that we should be watching for ? Friends have suggested to put her down...but we dont want to do that if it is a matter of healing time she needs. thank you for your input.

 

[Desert Rooster]

Quote:
the attack might have broken an egg inside of her, is there anything coming out of her vent?

 

[mdibaugh]

her vent ? Not sure where that is ....New to this chicken stuff.. This is our first try at raising chickens. We have had her almost a year and they have all been in really good health. Did notice where her poop comes out is matted...cleaned that up a bit. She sat pretty still while we did that. Her poop is green with a cream color / white blob on top of the green poop. We did coax her out of the coop and had her in the yard she is staying pretty close to us. Right now she is laying in the grass...just relaxin..

 

[mdibaugh]

Our hen is still hanging in there. Checked on her this morning and she was in the nesting area drinking..Just stumped.....dont know what to do...

 

[fifenashia]

Is she eating or drinking normally?

Chickens are pretty resilient and some just need time to heal up. I would be more concerned if it had happened sooner than 4 days ago. The fact that she is still with you is a good sign. And stress can prevent them from laying.

 

[Judy]

I hope she is still with you.

Her vent is where her poop (and eggs) come out. There's an anatomy chart on here, I think in the learning center. The poop color could be normal, perhaps indicating she isn't eating or drinking a lot; the white may be urates, also normal, their version of urine. Of course she could stop laying just from the stress or shock of the attack.

I have a hen who was injured in a coyote attack a few months ago. She had a few very minor visible scratches, but she obviously didn't feel well for over a month. During that month I found her lying on her side twice; it appeared she couldn't or wouldn't right herself, so I did it, and she hobbled away (she limped for a month.) She's broody now; I don't think she has laid an egg since the attack, but now she seems fine otherwise.

There probably isn't much a vet could do anyway, short of surgery, if that. Chickens seem to recover from some remarkable injuries. If she is eating and drinking, there is certainly hope. It might help if you encouraged that some (which you're probably already doing) -- a scrambled egg or something like that.

Good luck to both of you.

 

[mdibaugh]

Thank you all for your help. I checked on her when I got home from work ..she was in the roost drinking water. Her eyes looked brighter today. As far as the egg laying..Of course we like eggs. But that is the least of our concerns. When we check her she is still with us...that is GREAT news...thanks again.

 

[mdibaugh]

Shes still hangin in there. Still wants to stay pretty much to herself. Other hens leave her alone...and she just rests. We had a visit from the dog that did this to her this morning at 6:30 am.....Had a conversation ( ? ) well that isnt quite true...she just doesnt seem to get it. All she could say is ...I am sorry.....No you arent cause if u were...You would keep your dog on a chain...or leash...something ....

 

[fifenashia]

glad to hear she is hanging in there, sorry about your neighbor! Some people are just plain rude!

 

[mdibaugh]

Came home from work last night...checked on her she still sitting in the same spot only turned around a bit...I had stopped at the local TSC to see if they could help...they directed me to get some electrolytes ( sp ) powder stuff to put in their water....I had gotten a couple syringes at work to see if maybe she wasnt getting water...her water is the nesting area where she is...but she wasnt getting up to get it...soooo...Syringe in hand.. I got here some water and started by putting it close to her beak...she pecked at it...good sign...she had enough energy to at least do that...tried a few more times..finally got her to drink some. Didnt want to over do it too much. Also pulled some green grass and put that by where she is laying at ..she nibbled on that. Took some of her food out it in the syringe then added water let it get kinda soft..paste like, She ate a little bit of that also. I think the reason she isnt getting up and around much is because she has layed in the same position so to speak for a few days. We got her out of the coop kinda held her off the ground and let her get her feet under her straightened out and she wobblled a bit...then sat back down. I think we are doing things the right way...anyone else got any ideas to help her ?