SpaceyTracy
Chirping
Hi, I've been free-ranging my 6 year-old chickens during the day as I try to figure out a way to make them some kind of secure, more limited ranging yard. Too late. Yesterday my son was out mowing and discovered multiple piles of feathers and no chickens. Eventually 5 out of the 6 staggered individually out of the woods. It took a while to realize that they weren't just exhausted and in mental shock but that all had big wounds that were hidden by their feathers. They have been healthy up until now, and this is my first experience with chickens, so I'm just googling things and trying to figure things out as I go along. We made up some saline solution and tried to clean the wounds, I got some antiseptic spray at a farm store, and we tried to put antibiotic ointment on the wounds, though it didn't really stick. I made 4 isolation bays--2 dog crates and 2 makeshift spaces--in our mudroom and brought the liveliest bird back out to the coop.The 4 were just standing around like zombies, not eating or drinking, and this am it didn't look like they had moved from where they were the night before. But they were still alive. My questions are: the healthiest chicken is walking around in the run (I won't let her out), but looking rather frantic about the absence of her flock mates. Should I bring her in with the others? Should I bring one chicken out to be with her and keep her company, in some kind of segregated pen setup? It gets down to the 40s at night here in Vermont. I should say that the others are mostly still just standing still, though I have gotten them to drink electrolyte water from a spoon and eat a few grains of cracked corn, and they do "talk" to me or each other a bit. I have read lots of stuff about what to do when you have one injured chicken, but haven't come across anything that addresses the situation of your entire flock being hurt.
Also, I've read about how to identify what predator might have attacked a flock, but a lot of what I'm reading assumes that the chickens are in a coop or run so the predator can't get at the whole bird, for example. Not the case here. I'm thinking it was either a fox, a coyote or a dog. But maybe a weasel? Which leads to another question-- if it was a dog (and there are a lot of dogs that walk on our road, though most are leashed), should I be treating with antibiotics? And since I don't know, should I be treating with antibiotics just in case? Wait and see? It would be nice to know what kind of predator proofing to focus on in the future, though I realize all the above animals live around here and any of them could get my ladies. (Also bears, and raccoons....)
Thank you! From this worried chicken mama and her now mostly tail-less ladies.
Also, I've read about how to identify what predator might have attacked a flock, but a lot of what I'm reading assumes that the chickens are in a coop or run so the predator can't get at the whole bird, for example. Not the case here. I'm thinking it was either a fox, a coyote or a dog. But maybe a weasel? Which leads to another question-- if it was a dog (and there are a lot of dogs that walk on our road, though most are leashed), should I be treating with antibiotics? And since I don't know, should I be treating with antibiotics just in case? Wait and see? It would be nice to know what kind of predator proofing to focus on in the future, though I realize all the above animals live around here and any of them could get my ladies. (Also bears, and raccoons....)
Thank you! From this worried chicken mama and her now mostly tail-less ladies.