Hello All, I need some input. 4 a.m. Saturday one of my reds was attacked by (something). I am thinking raccoon just because we have them around. Thankfully my brave cat scared whatever it was off. It was so sad- she was laying in a ball perfectly still that even when I touched her I thought she was dead. I am shocked that she has made it this far. Here is the injuries: - A large section of her back tail area is featherless and bit/ skin torn up/off rather deep. - under her left wing there is a flesh wound, but not as bad. - right eye is intact, but she doesn't/cannot open it very much. - Her chest/neck area seems to be very swollen. She is inside now and I am treating her external injuries and giving her an internal natural antibiotic just in case. I believe we are making progress with this portion of the attack. However, my biggest concern is the swollen chest/neck area. I have been able to manipulate the area enough that I would think if anything was broken she would let me know. She is holding herself a little off centered and won't straighten her neck out. It's like a chicken body, minus a neck with a head attached. I wonder if it is a muscle sprain. If I get past the feathers down to her skin it feels pretty hot. She hasn't been able to bend properly to eat/drink until this morning I saw her drinking water on her own. No food yet-at least not while I am watching. She is still going to the poop- I am hoping that it is ok that she is only drinking. I feed her several dropper fulls of water several times a day. I try to offer her food at a level that she doesn't have to bend over, but no luck. Main Questions/Concerns Has anyone dealt with a neck/chest injury like this and if so-anything I can do to help her? What is the success rate that the rest of the flock is going to take her back if she physically doesn't look or act perfect (i.e. eye issue, maybe permanent balding etc). I don't want to nurse her back to health and then have the other girls peck her to death. Also, I was thinking I should probably keep her isolated for a few weeks- is this about the right amount of time? Should I be concerned about the possibility of rabies? I am guessing the stress of the attack would cause her not to lay any eggs- what should I expect or not expect? I read something about binding? I just don't want her to get any sicker than she already is. Overall- I feel like she has made an improvement, but I don't feel like we are out of the woods yet. Thanks for any help.
Oh man that's awful! She may have a slipped disk in the spinal cord or a broken neck all together. It could be just a sprain/ trauma. Just keep nursing her up and keep applying something like Neosporin to the cuts. Once they heal over you shouldn't have any problems putting her back with the rest of the gang if she recovers... Open cuts and scabs are easy targets for pecking however, just keep her separate until her wounds heal. I'm so sorry and hope this helps!
Chickens survive some amazingly horrible injuries. I'll attach a link to some good wound care info: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=203024 She can successfully reintergrate with the rest of the flock. There is a slight chance she might be picked on, but I have not seen that posted before. Keep her isolated until she is completely healed. Chickens cannot get rabies. Were you exposed? Might want to ask your Dr if you were. She may lay. Keep her in a dim area so it is reduced. It'll give her time to heal. If you use neosporin make sure it does not have any "caine" pain killer in it. Like lidocaine. It is toxic to birds Good luck Imp ETA- Welcome to BYC
My chicken was attacked by a raccoon, luckily my bf heard the noise and I was able to rip her from the coon. I put neosporin on the wound on her neck and kept her isolated. The flock took her right back once she was all healed! The fact the attack happened at night means that the possibility of anyone having rabies is slim to none. Rabid animals do not behave normally due to the virus attacking the brain and neuro system. Normally a rabid raccoon would be seen during the day, foaming at the mouth, walking abnormally (sometimes with a tilt or a straight side-ways line), growling, and in general more so aggressive behavior.
