Injured by a Dog

[DLCShark]

Today one of my dogs broke out of the "dog yard" and grabbed one of my RIR hens. I shooed the dog away. Put her up fortified the weak fence area then turned my attention to the hen. I thought she was dying or going to pass but once I picked her up she woke up and showed signs of life. However she does have a quarter to half dollar in size. What should I do?

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Your hen was probably in some shock, so keep her in a warm place apart from the other chickens. Clean her with warm water and some people use a little liquid soap, but betadine is better if you have it. You can trim the feathers a bit to keep them out of the wound. I use neospirin ointment ( or generic equivalent) for wounds. The ointment, unlike the cream, can be squirted right into the wound. Reapply the ointment every day. Check frequently for the smell of infection. One caution: chickens cannot handle the "caine" drugs that are in a lot of topical meds. This is meds that end in -caine, such as benzocaine, cetacaine, lidocaine, etc.

Chicken can heal from some pretty bad wounds. She may not start eating or drinking right away so make sure she is staying hydrated.

 

[DLCShark]

Okay. I had out her back with the rest of the flock. I have an indoor area I can use to try and bring her back to health.

 

[DLCShark]

A couple days in and ole girl is doing better. I don't know how much longer it will take her to fully recover. I'll get some pics up of the injury