Injured Chicken, how long do I wait to see if she will heal??

[cmk1026]

Last week a bobcat killed one of my chickens and injured another. I knew this might happen some day, it inevitable living in the woods.
The injured one has a little bite on its wing it did not look bad, looks like feathers were pulled. With no other sigh of wounds she was not able to stand or walk. I have her in a dog crate in our basement. In the last few days she started moving around a little bit and is able to stand a little bit. She eats her favorite treats and I give her water. She seems better but she is still not able to walk on her own. I read a few articles about chickens going into shock and not walking and just being off.
So my question is how long should i wait to make the dreaded decision to put her down? I feel like a week or two should be enough. What are your thoughts on this? I appreciate any feed back

 

[wamtazlady]

As long as she is improving, I would wait. Give it at least 2 weeks, longer if there has been steady improvement. I have seen chickens recover from some pretty nasty injuries.

 

[okiebird]

I agree with the above advice. One thing I'd add...Once she's able to walk some, I'd find a bit larger of an enclosure for her so she can get some exercise while still being separated.

It's amazing what they can recover from. I have one hen that has survived two dog attacks with major lacerations/punctures. She's now four years old and going strong. This summer I found one of my roosters laying on his side in my driveway after a fight with a predator. He couldn't walk at all for several days. He isn't 100% now, but he gets around fine and quality of life is good.

 

[Cragg Klefor]

Last week a bobcat killed one of my chickens and injured another. I knew this might happen some day, it inevitable living in the woods.
The injured one has a little bite on its wing it did not look bad, looks like feathers were pulled. With no other sigh of wounds she was not able to stand or walk. I have her in a dog crate in our basement. In the last few days she started moving around a little bit and is able to stand a little bit. She eats her favorite treats and I give her water. She seems better but she is still not able to walk on her own. I read a few articles about chickens going into shock and not walking and just being off.
So my question is how long should i wait to make the dreaded decision to put her down? I feel like a week or two should be enough. What are your thoughts on this? I appreciate any feed back

If her leg was injured at all (not necessarily visable) it could take a lot longer than 1 or 2 weeks for her to recover. But while there's improvement there's hope of full recovery.

 

[cmk1026]

As long as she is improving, I would wait. Give it at least 2 weeks, longer if there has been steady improvement. I have seen chickens recover from some pretty nasty injuries.

Thank you for replying definitely going to give her a Little more time

 

[cmk1026]

If her leg was injured at all (not necessarily visable) it could take a lot longer than 1 or 2 weeks for her to recover. But while there's improvement there's hope of full recovery.

 

[cmk1026]

Thank you!

 

[Laura0322]

As long as she is improving, I would wait. Give it at least 2 weeks, longer if there has been steady improvement. I have seen chickens recover from some pretty nasty injuries.

I just had a chicken injured really badly. The skin on the neck is torn and I believer there is also a little hole.... very sad... I have used some corn starch to stop the bleeding. She cannot stand on its own and neither could she eat. I was able to hold her and dip her beak into a water bowl. Will she ever heal? She has been with us for 7 years...

 

[hocuspocuschickens]

Last week a bobcat killed one of my chickens and injured another. I knew this might happen some day, it inevitable living in the woods.
The injured one has a little bite on its wing it did not look bad, looks like feathers were pulled. With no other sigh of wounds she was not able to stand or walk. I have her in a dog crate in our basement. In the last few days she started moving around a little bit and is able to stand a little bit. She eats her favorite treats and I give her water. She seems better but she is still not able to walk on her own. I read a few articles about chickens going into shock and not walking and just being off.
So my question is how long should i wait to make the dreaded decision to put her down? I feel like a week or two should be enough. What are your thoughts on this? I appreciate any feed back

Hi, I know this question is a few years old, but a very similar attack happened to my chicken last week and I was wondering if your chicken ended up surviving?

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

I can't recommend this stuff enough, forget blue-kote! Schrieners Liniment. Feed stores carry it, it's in the horse medicine. A little goes a long way!