Injured Hen Won't Eat

[HuskerHens18]

Long story short, last week a raccoon killed my flock of bantams. Two survivors were injured.
The one I'm calling Glory for right now had her head chomped on. Her whole face was a grotesque, mauled mass of blood and meat. Her beak was off center and her tongue hung out.

I've done everything I can to baby her, nutri drench in the beak, lightly cleaning her face, and water.
Glory cannot see since the attack. Her face is too swollen. One eye tries to open, but she doesn't respond to anything. The eyeball could be damaged. Currently her beak is back to normal and her tongue is back where it should be. She walks on her own, but blindly.

The issue is, I can't get her to eat and she can't drink without assistance. It will be almost a week since she last ate. Her weight is definitely declining, but she is getting perkier slightly. If I hold food to her beak she tries to "drink" it. If any crumbles get in her beak she shakes her head to get them out. She only wants to drink water. My other concern is she drinks a bunch, then starts gasping. There are green bruises on her throat, but I don't see external punctures anywhere on her neck. Her breathing is fine, that was the first thing I checked.

She's hung on this long, I don't want all her fighting to be in vain. Are there any suggestions on how I can get her to eat something? I have not/will not force her to eat, I worry with her gasping she would inhale it and suffer worse.

I have nutri drench, flock raiser crumbles, and the Purina grower feed they make at the location(It's pretty powdery and mostly corn). I might have some scratch grains left, I'd have to double check. Is there something else I should try?

Merry Christmas! God bless you all ❤

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Long story short, last week a raccoon killed my flock of bantams. Two survivors were injured.
The one I'm calling Glory for right now had her head chomped on. Her whole face was a grotesque, mauled mass of blood and meat. Her beak was off center and her tongue hung out.

I've done everything I can to baby her, nutri drench in the beak, lightly cleaning her face, and water.
Glory cannot see since the attack. Her face is too swollen. One eye tries to open, but she doesn't respond to anything. The eyeball could be damaged. Currently her beak is back to normal and her tongue is back where it should be. She walks on her own, but blindly.

The issue is, I can't get her to eat and she can't drink without assistance. It will be almost a week since she last ate. Her weight is definitely declining, but she is getting perkier slightly. If I hold food to her beak she tries to "drink" it. If any crumbles get in her beak she shakes her head to get them out. She only wants to drink water. My other concern is she drinks a bunch, then starts gasping. There are green bruises on her throat, but I don't see external punctures anywhere on her neck. Her breathing is fine, that was the first thing I checked.

She's hung on this long, I don't want all her fighting to be in vain. Are there any suggestions on how I can get her to eat something? I have not/will not force her to eat, I worry with her gasping she would inhale it and suffer worse.

I have nutri drench, flock raiser crumbles, and the Purina grower feed they make at the location(It's pretty powdery and mostly corn). I might have some scratch grains left, I'd have to double check. Is there something else I should try?

Merry Christmas! God bless you all ❤

Maybe you could mash up a hard-boiled egg yolk and mix it with water to make it runny.

 

[HuskerHens18]

Maybe you could mash up a hard-boiled egg yolk and mix it with water to make it runny.

Good idea! I havent thought of that. Thank you!

 

[NuggetTheChicken]

Have you given her any meds after the attack such as antibiotics or any sort of cream on her wounds? Pictures of her would help. Maybe water down some crumbles to a gruel to help feed her. If you know how to, you can try tube feeding her. Hang on in there .

 

[coach723]

If you want to save her then the suggestion of tube feeding is probably your best option. That will often keep them going long enough to let the injuries heal and swelling go down. As long as the crop empties after feeding, then she's digesting and it should be fine. If after feeding the crop does not go down then there is more going on.
Make sure she is hydrated well before tubing food. It is not as hard as it may sound to do.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/updated-go-team-tube-feeding.805728/

 

[Morrigan]

Nothing much to add to the great advice you have already received.

I had hens injured -- not nearly as badly as yours -- who took over a week to start eating again. I put yogurt and honey in the water for the first couple of days (I had to use a syringe to get in it), to get some calories in, and them moved up to wet food and scrambled eggs. I didn't know about tube feeding at the time, so I just manually opened their beaks and placed the eggs and wet balls of mash inside. Once the food was inside their beaks, they would swallow it on their own.

Poor girl. I really hope she pulls through.

 

[HuskerHens18]

I read all your replies, I just didn't get a chance to respond. I appreciate the help!
I haven't used any medicine, I don't own any right now. Tylan50 is all I have, but it's well over a year expired. I need to replace my supplies. What kind of cream could I use? There's still a scabbed area by her ear that looks pretty ew. @25chickens

@coach723 @Morrigan @SurferchickinSB I took the egg advice except I mixed a raw egg in a wet food mash, and added more water. After working with her over an hour she finally started taking "bites" on her own instead of drinking it. I worked with her another hour before putting her back in her crate and letting her rest. I felt her crop fill a little bit, so I'm calling it a win for today.

She opened her one eye a little and I *think* used it, but she still can't aim where she pecks. She gets confused and tries to peck under or next to the containers instead of in them.
The black you see on her face is wound scabs. The other side is still bad. I forgot to take pictures of that side.

 

[NuggetTheChicken]

You should use neosporin without the pain relievers that end in caine, as well as spray the wounds with some vetericyn, which you should be able to get from amazon, petsmart, tractor supply. Can she stand up? I would suggest using antibiotics if there is a foul smell coming from any of the wounds. Good job on feeding her. Hope she continues to eat and heal quickly.

 

[casportpony]

Very sorry for your losses.

If this hen were mine I would tube warmed fluids (Pedialyte or Gatorade) to her at 14 ml per pound of body weight, wait 60-90 minutes and repeat, then once more in 2-4 hours, then I would start tubing Kaytee Exact baby bird food at 14 ml per pound of body weight every 6 hours.

 

[HuskerHens18]

Sorry for my lack of updates. I have some stressing news. Due to my now unsafe coop I had to move all my chickens to another location about a mile away. We had an awful snowstorm yesterday and I couldn't get out there. Today I almost crashed in a very bad accident trying to leave, so I couldn't go again. I'll try again right away tomorrow, but that'll be 48hrs without food or water and I'm not sure she can survive that. There's more than plenty of food and water in her enclosure, but she still can't find it on her own. I'm heartbroken.
Thank you all for your support and help, I really needed it and appreciate it so much. Have a Happy New Year.