injured chicken from coyote attack

[hailajohill]

Hey all. I scared off a coyote from my backyard today that had one of my chickens in its mouth. It dropped the chicken and ran off, but the hen lost a ton of feathers and is limping pretty badly. I can't see any blood. I've segregated her in a kennel inside the coop with soft bedding and her own food and water. Is there anything else I can do for her? Is this something she's likely to recover from, or will the trauma kill her soon?

 

[biophiliac]

Step one you have done - ie give her a chance to settle and observe if she is eating and drinking soon. After she is calmer, check her over again for puncture wounds or any injuries not obvious at first.

She could well recover. Keep us updated and best wishes.

Edit to add: How old is your chicken???

 

[hailajohill]

"Edit to add: How old is your chicken???"

She's about 6 months old.

 

[Izzychicky]

Also to add to what has been previously said if you find any wounds/cuts clean it out. And if you put your chicken back with less feathers watch out for pecking

 

[aart]

I've segregated her in a kennel inside the coop with soft bedding and her own food and water.

Good move, best place for her.
Just let her rest and observe.
Maybe let her out an hour before roost time,
to assess her mobility and let her mingle with the flock.
If she's not moving well, put her back in the crate for another 24 hours.
Internal injuries are a possibility.
I hope you have a secure run for them, that yote will be back.
Best of cLuck!

 

[biophiliac]

"Edit to add: How old is your chicken???"

She's about 6 months old.

Yeah, I thought you meant a sizeable bird and not a little baby.

Just so you know , even if she did get some bites or bloody wounds - they often can still recover!

 

[Trish1974]

You got a lot of good advice here. Above all, keep the wounds clean! They can survive; Lucky did:

Six weeks later:

** Once she starts to perk up put her on a feather fixer feed to help regrow her missing feathers. Good luck and PLEASE keep us posted!

 

[biophiliac]

You got a lot of good advice here. Above all, keep the wounds clean! They can survive; Lucky did:
View attachment 1130739
Six weeks later:
View attachment 1130740
** Once she starts to perk up put her on a feather fixer feed to help regrow her missing feathers. Good luck and PLEASE keep us posted!

Brava Lucky!!

 

[hailajohill]

This is Elsa, my coyote surviving Delaware. She was squawking at the kennel door to be let out this morning, and although she's still hobbling, she's eating well and trying to use her injured leg more and more. I'm still hopeful she'll make a full recovery.

 

[aart]

This is Elsa, my coyote surviving Delaware. She was squawking at the kennel door to be let out this morning, and although she's still hobbling, she's eating well and trying to use her injured leg more and more. I'm still hopeful she'll make a full recovery.

Great News!!
If she's hobbling too much, back in crate for some more rest...
...I've fond that really helps with leg injuries.
Limp being totally gone can take weeks or months.