Mink Got in Coop

[RMHiggins]

Yesterday I was out by my cattle when I heard my chickens start to get very excited about something. It wasn't out of the ordinary until I saw feathers fly out of a very small hole that must have recently been made in the side of the barn where the coop is. I went inside and saw 1 dead hen, 1 badly injured hen, 1 slightly injured hen, and my rooster seems fine but has injuries to his neck area (not deep) and his comb. His comb is in bad shape, but like usual he is being a champ.

I saw no predators in there, but knew it had to be around, so I grabbed a pitchfork and sat by the door. Not even two minutes later a mink came in through the aforementioned hole. I chased it into a corner and stabbed the fork right through it, (this is when the rooster decided to try to join me, of course I pushed him away with my foot to avoid more injury to him) but it wiggled right off and ran into the barn.

This morning I found it because I could hear it's shrill shrieks and it's currently composting in the middle of my large compost pile.

My question is, how do I deal with the animals injuries? They are acting fine, eating and drinking, but the hen that is injured is staying away from the rest of the flock and not walking around much. The rooster is acting perfectly normal.

Thanks in advance.

 

[dawg53]

Bites or wounds can be flushed with 50/50 betadine water mixture, pat dry, then pack wounds with neosporin or triple antibiotic as needed until healed.