Please Help! First fox attack!

[opheliarose]

I'm a new chicken owner & I had our first fox attack this morning we lost one & luckily the other 4 are ok but we have an injured one. I did a google search & found out I should separate her & keep her in a warm dark place with good & water, which I have done. Our VET doesn't open till 8:30, it is currently 7:30am. She is bleeding on her back but nothing too serious & had a look and can't seem to find any other injury. She can stand but she just prefers to just curl up in a ball & sleep, her breaths seemed stressed at first but she seem to be a lot calmer now. Should I wait till the VET is open? Can she wait that long? I'm very new at this any advice would be great! THANK YOU!

 

[opheliarose]

Hello??

 

[chickwhispers]

So sorry for your troubles. She probably has bite wounds that you can't see right away with all the feathers. Bite wounds are Puncture wounds and because they are bite wounds there are some serious bacteria introduced to the wounds as well. She'll probably need antibiotics as injections. Keep her warm like you are and call the vet when they open. If you have any Vetricyn you can spray on the wound you see.

You must be on the other side of the world. Welcome to BYC. Sorry for the circumstances though.

 

[opheliarose]

Thank you so much, I really appreciate the advice. Yes, I'm in Perth, Western Australia. Will keep you posted on her progress

 

[chickwhispers]

You're welcome! Yes please do and good luck! I hope she's ok!

 

[pwand]

If you don't have any Vetricyn, you could use peroxide to pour over the wound to clean it up. Cut the feathers off around the wound. Definitely antibiotics.

 

[opheliarose]

Ok, so I cleaned wound and put peroxide on her cuts, which ended up being very minor. I've tried to put her back with the flock but they are still picking on her so now she is back in a roomier box with food & water. However, I have not seen her drink or eat since the attack and the last time I saw her poo it was yellow & runny.... Should I try force feeding and drinking?

 

[chickwhispers]

I would keep her separate at least until she is able to hold her own for a while. Do you have a plce you could keep her separate, but still be able to see the others. Maybe a big dog crate or something. But the others will peck at her until she and her wounds are better, Also, get a bottle of Blu-cote or similar if that's available by you. Put it on her wounds. This will coat them in a blue-purple color and the others will be less likely to peck. It also has anti bacterial properties. Feed her some cooked scrambled eggs. Give her some water with "Nutri-drench", super poultry vitamins you get it at your farm supply store, in it for a couple of days. and see if that helps. If you have to feed her water with a dropper be careful as it is easy to get it into their lungs. I put a dropper along the outside front edge of their beak just off to the side a bit and drip a lttle until they open their beak and then give them more along the side so they don't inhale it. Some one else may have a better way. You might try looking up "predator or animal attacks" on the "Emergency and Diseases" thread. There is a lot of knowledge there as well. Did you get to talk to the vet? I'm sure she needs antibiotic shots, as almost all animal bites do. I did that for a dog attack in December. They really helped fight the infection. Good luck!

 

[pwand]

Here is a great link for tube feeding.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/805728/go-team-tube-feeding/0_100

 

[opheliarose]

Quote: I am getting a crate from my boyfriends parents this afternoon so will defiantly try putting her in the pen so she can still see the rest. Thank you, i don't like keeping her all lonely in a box in my laundry all day

Thank you for the advice on the dropper because that was the first thing I was going to buy! I will look for a different alternative. She is booked in to see the VET 1st thing tomorrow morning. I got (horrible) advice from my boyfriends parents and boyfriend to just leave her because they didnt think it was that bad (they have chickens themselves), but after a whole day of her not eating and just not being herself I have decided to ignore them and will be taking her to the Vet. I over react a lot when it comes to my pets so I thought I might had been over reacting when it 1st happened, now I know just to go with instinct. Vet is going to give her antibiotics and painkillers (after reading other threads, I believe that is mainly the reason why she isn't eating, she is in pain )

Thank you again for everyones response, it nice to just talk about it with someone and not feel like a freak for wanting to take my chicken to the vet. Helps to calm my nerves!

Thank you again!!