injured chicken... Attacked by oppossum

[Rachel5589]

I rescued a chicken from a neighbor who has a oppossum attack their chickens. All the other chickens passed and she some how escaped the pen during the attack with only a few wounds. She has some bites to her head, mostly to one side. She has one good eye still and the other side where she has wounds, she keeps her eye shut. When we found her she was walking around so we brought her to the house and put her in a big dog crate with feed, water, some bedding. I also sprayed some vetermycin or however it's spelled on her wounds. (It's the wound spray for chickens from tractor supply.) I have a few chickens myself so thankfully I had everything for her already but I've never had to deal with an attack on my own chickens. So my question is... I've had her about 12 hours, got her last night and this morning she still seems really tired, could she just be exhausted from everything that happened? Also, I did see her drink some water when I put her in the dog crate. And she has pooped a few times through the night but the popp doesn't look normal, it's more like water with a tiny bit of poop in it... Never seen chicken poop like that. Any information will be appreciated! Thank y'all!

 

[staceyj]

Hi there Rachel!
Welcome to BYC
It was so nice of you to rescue her.
Is the original owner “out of the picture”?

Can you get some clear photos of her wounds *AND THE WEIRD POOP, this morning and post them here so others can get an idea of their severity and make suggestions? (If you have a smart phone it’s easy)

She could still be in shock.
Do you have have poultry vitamins you could give her?
She may be tempted to eat if you make her some warm mash or scramble an egg.

Do you have any idea what condition your neighbors flock was in before the attack?
All kindness accounted for, practice good judgement before handling your own birds in case she has an underlying illness or issues from before the possum attack.

 

[Rachel5589]

The neighbor isn't out of the picture but they travel a lot so when they aren't home we check on the chickens for them and help take care of them. The chickens were in good health before the attack.

I posted a picture of her poop, there are two piles, one from earlier was the clear watery with little bits of poop and the most recent was very runny but all brown. And surprisingly, she just laid an egg even through all this trauma.

I do not have any chicken vitamins. Are they usually available at tractor supply?

I took her outside to see if she would walk around and Peck at the grass but she just wanted to sit down and rest.

In the picture of her wounds, it's hard to tell exactly what's going on because she is a black chicken and the blood is all dried up.

 

[Rachel5589]

So today she is still not eating but is drinking plenty. Took her outside yesterday evening and she walked around a little but wasn't interested in pecking at the ground or anything. I have tried everything I can think of to get her to eat. She practically has a buffet in her crate she is in and not interested in any food at all. How long can a hen go without food? I am going to get her some vitamin/electrolytes at tractor supply today, not sure if it'll help. Just at a lost for what to do for the poor girl.

 

[Shadrach]

Hello Rachel.
Poor girl looks a bit of a mess.
You need to clean the wounds, especially the area around her eye so you can see what's going on.
I use medical swabs for this which you can buy at a chemist.
While you're there it's worth seeing if they have any antibiotic ointment, or maybe you can find it elsewhere.
Spray the swabs with the wound cleaner you have or buy some Chlorhexedine which works well.
It's probably worth buying some junior aspirin. She can have half a junior aspirin, with food once a day for five days to help with the pain. If she will drink you can crush it up in the water and give her this before the cleaning.
With regard to eating. Some injured chickens just won't and you have to syringe feed them.
This is a good article on how to do this. You may need to buy the equipment mentioned in the article while you're at the chemist.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

Once you've got all the dried blood cleaned away you'll have a better idea of what needs doing.
If she has a damaged eye then I would suggest a vet visit, there isn't much you can do.
Any wounds once cleaned, apply the antibiotic ointment.
The poop looks normal to me, so I wouldn't worry about that.
Laying an egg is a good sign as well.
I feed the injured here that are reluctant to eat, yogurt with a bit of honey mixed in, tuna, scrambled egg, any fish mashed up and there normal feed made into a paste by adding water.
Once you've got her cleaned up and have got her fed the rest is time, warmth and patience.