R2Chickens
In the Brooder
- Jul 20, 2025
- 2
- 12
- 19
Hello you amazing group of chicken moms and dads! I’m fairly new to owning chickens (my girls will be a year in Sept) and I’ve got a unique situation I need advice on please!
Last week a bobcat got into our run and killed 4 of my 10 ladies.
it was so devastating, my children were crushed. One of our girls, Gracie, was bit around the neck (the top/back of her neck, 2 small puncture wounds, each puncture about 5 degrees left and right from center), seems to be superficial-not deep at all maybe a cm.
We cleaned her wounds and quarantined her from the other survivors for the week. And have been applying antibacterial to the wounds daily. She seemed to struggle to bend down and eat/drink so I lifted her water and food bowls to a better height. But her range of motion is improving!
Ive let her out with the rest of the flock over the weekend, while I was outside with them. She always finds a secluded place and either stands very still like in a trance or lays down. I have not seen her forage at all.
Yesterday evening I noticed her throat seems puffed up. She’s a buff Orpington (I think!) and is extra fluffy anyway so it may have been there before but I’m just now noticing. I of course googled ‘swollen chicken throat’ last night and came to impacted or sour crop.
When I let her out this morning, it’s still there. It feels hard and I don’t feel like she smells so I don’t think it’s sour crop.
I have no idea if this is a separate thing I should worry about or if it’s related to the bobcat attack and it’s just her body’s response to the trauma. Gracie is the family favorite and my kids will be heart broken if we lose her so I welcome all suggestions/advice please!
(also, we are a few hours from a city/vet and the mobile vet charges SOOO MUCH, so if I can remedy her at home, I would prefer that route first)
As I was writing this, I came to observe her more and it seems like she’s imitating the swallowing motion.
Last week a bobcat got into our run and killed 4 of my 10 ladies.
it was so devastating, my children were crushed. One of our girls, Gracie, was bit around the neck (the top/back of her neck, 2 small puncture wounds, each puncture about 5 degrees left and right from center), seems to be superficial-not deep at all maybe a cm. We cleaned her wounds and quarantined her from the other survivors for the week. And have been applying antibacterial to the wounds daily. She seemed to struggle to bend down and eat/drink so I lifted her water and food bowls to a better height. But her range of motion is improving!
Ive let her out with the rest of the flock over the weekend, while I was outside with them. She always finds a secluded place and either stands very still like in a trance or lays down. I have not seen her forage at all.
Yesterday evening I noticed her throat seems puffed up. She’s a buff Orpington (I think!) and is extra fluffy anyway so it may have been there before but I’m just now noticing. I of course googled ‘swollen chicken throat’ last night and came to impacted or sour crop.
When I let her out this morning, it’s still there. It feels hard and I don’t feel like she smells so I don’t think it’s sour crop.
I have no idea if this is a separate thing I should worry about or if it’s related to the bobcat attack and it’s just her body’s response to the trauma. Gracie is the family favorite and my kids will be heart broken if we lose her so I welcome all suggestions/advice please!
(also, we are a few hours from a city/vet and the mobile vet charges SOOO MUCH, so if I can remedy her at home, I would prefer that route first)
As I was writing this, I came to observe her more and it seems like she’s imitating the swallowing motion.
