PLEASE HELP!! CHICKEN ATTACKED BY DOG

[allisonbrooke]

Today a pit bull broke into my coop and run and mauled my three chickens. Peep, my momma chicken, was killed by the dog. Her neck was broken and when I found her she was too far gone. Blue, my sapphire gem, is in a state of shock but she's on the highest nesting box and is safe. I didn't see any wound on her but she isn't walking. Xenom, my australorp, was attacked by the dog and is badly injured. When I walked outside I saw her in the dog's mouth and she was trying her best to escape. When the dog saw me I scared it off and it dropped Xenon. She scampered off into the coop where she immediately fell over. She is unable to walk and is having a hard time breathing. She's in the house in a towel and laundry basket. One of her legs will not move at all, however there seem to be no open wounds. Is she going to make it and what is wrong?

 

[allisonbrooke]

She passed.

 

[azygous]

Here's what you do in the event of a predator attack to treat the survivor.

1. Treat for shock as the number one step. Give warm Gatoraid or mix a half teaspoon of sugar into a fourth of a cup of warm water with a pinch of salt and baking soda. Have the patient drink it all or syringe it into the beak.

2. Flush the wound well with saline. This is better than soap and water as it maintains the PH of the tissues. But warm soap and water will do. You need to wash away the bacteria from the wound.

3. Inspect the wound carefully. If it has a skin flap dangling, keep that. Do not cut it off. Look for bite or puncture makes indicating a puncture wound. If you see this, the patient will need an oral antibiotic such as amoxicillin. https://www.kvsupply.com/item/aqua-mox-250mg-capsules-100-count/P06184/250mg once a day for ten days.

4. Spray with Vetericyn wound treament and let dry. Use a topical antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin or a generic without pain killer in it to coat the wound. If there's a skin flap, lay it across the wound that has just been coated with the ointment. Then smooth on a generous amount over the top of the skin flap to hold it in place.

5. It's useless to try to stitch a wound on a chicken. Don't even try. It's also useless to try to bandage a wound other than on the feet. The chicken will not tolerate it. It will be pulled off faster than you can blink an eye.

6. Clean the wound every day following the above steps. Keep the wound covered with the ointment. Never allow the wound to get dried out or it will not heal.

 

[Mscott1050]

A pitbull has significant bite force and locking jaws. You bird probably has internal injuries and might not make it. I feel terrible for you and you lost birds... Do your best to keep the bird warm and hydrated with electrolytes. Most vets don't know much about chickens so I wouldn't waste your time unless you know they have livestock experience.

 

[ninja333pirate]

She passed.

I am so sorry for you loss I hope the owner keeps the dog locked up better

A pitbull has significant bite force and locking jaws. You bird probably has internal injuries and might not make it. I feel terrible for you and you lost birds... Do your best to keep the bird warm and hydrated with electrolytes. Most vets don't know much about chickens so I wouldn't waste your time unless you know they have livestock experience.

Pitbull's have less of a bite force than a German shepherds and Rottweiler's bite, and only 5 psi more then a lab, for reference a wolf is 400 psi. Also Pitbull's do not have lock jaw, they are no different anatomically then any other dog. They are just tenacious which they get from their bulldog and terrier ancestry. unfortunately any medium and up sized dog would have been able to do this kind of damage (maybe even small dogs like rat terriers). It is incredibly sad that this happened to OP's chickens, but Figured I would correct some misinformation about Pitbull's. unfortunately it is 100% the owner of the dogs fault that this happened they did wrong by not only OP and her chickens but also by their dog.

 

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

A pitbull has significant bite force and locking jaws. You bird probably has internal injuries and might not make it. I feel terrible for you and you lost birds... Do your best to keep the bird warm and hydrated with electrolytes. Most vets don't know much about chickens so I wouldn't waste your time unless you know they have livestock experience.

I worked at a vet with 8 doctors so my experience is a little uncommon our main doctor was a chicken specialist that man was a hero.
I forget many vet clinics don’t have many doctors with experience beyond dogs and cats. I was just lucky to work at one really cool mixed bag clinic with many doctors so we specialized in everything.

 

[Geckolady]

If you know who the owner is, make him or her responsible for the damage.

 

[Byrd gal]

Please post photos that will help figure out what is going on.

 

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

Today a pit bull broke into my coop and run and mauled my three chickens. Peep, my momma chicken, was killed by the dog. Her neck was broken and when I found her she was too far gone. Blue, my sapphire gem, is in a state of shock but she's on the highest nesting box and is safe. I didn't see any wound on her but she isn't walking. Xenom, my australorp, was attacked by the dog and is badly injured. When I walked outside I saw her in the dog's mouth and she was trying her best to escape. When the dog saw me I scared it off and it dropped Xenon. She scampered off into the coop where she immediately fell over. She is unable to walk and is having a hard time breathing. She's in the house in a towel and laundry basket. One of her legs will not move at all, however there seem to be no open wounds. Is she going to make it and what is wrong?

If she is having a hard time breathing is likely her ribs are broken and it’s also possible if she not walking that she could have spinal damage. As someone who was a vet tech for years the only way to diagnose would be with a radiograph which are quite pricy.

 

[Buffy Brahma Mama]

She passed.

I'm so sorry : (