Hen was attacked, need antibiotic ? and what to feed?

[mcdaid36]

I posted a few days ago about my hen being attacked by a fox. She has a large wound on her back but it really doesn't look too bad. She also has some puncture wounds in her neck, which makes it hard for her to lower and raise her head to eat. We've been hand feeding and watering her, but I want to make sure she's getting the nutrition she needs. She won't eat her normal pellets. The only thing she seems to want to eat are hard boiled eggs. She's agreed to a bit of cheese, and a few mouthfuls of cracked corn and sunflower seeds. Is this diet OK to keep her on until she recouperates?

Also, I was holding off on the antibiotics until she shows signs of infection, but other than red, pus at the wound, what would the signs of an infection be? How can you tell if a chicken has a fever?

She seems to be getting better and better each day, we're hapy she's eating and drinking, although she doesn't move around much (I think it hurts her neck to "strut" at the walk). We've also been keeping her confined in a small space with the intention to keep her from moving that much!
Thanks!

 

[tellynpeep]

One of my hens was attacked by a dog this winter. I thought she would die because she wouldn't eat for nearly a week (unless force-fed.) Then I caught her eating out of the dog's bows! She LOVED the dog kibbles soaked in water. Try it; they are full of all the nutrition she needs for now too.

 

[jbowen9]

I know this sounds silly but have used butter milk and light bread just let the bread soak till it gets mushy and let her eat it if she will i have used this several times to heal up chickens

 

[speckledhen]

For wounds like that, we do a 3-5 day course of injectible penicillin. And some scrambled or chopped hardboiled eggs and yogurt would be good for her right now.

 

[curiousnewbie]

Where do you get injectable penicillin? Do you need a prescription from a vet?

 

[speckledhen]

You just get it at the feedstore. They'll have it in the fridge. Then you need the syringe with a 20 or 22 guage needle. Inject 1/2 cc in the breast muscle once a day for at least 3 but no more than 5 days.