PLEASE HELP ME MY CHICKEN MIGHT DIE

[silkielove16]

My bantam Cochin hen was attacked by one of my dogs and isn’t doing well at all. it happened last night we got home from town and we heard a chicken screaming and I went to se what was happening and she had gotten into the dog pen and is hurt really badly. she is still alive but I don’t know how much longer she will last. She is sleeping a lot and I’m having to force her to drink but she will still swallow the water, I just really need to know what I should do next. I have been using some vetericyn plus anti microbial poultry care spray on her every 6 hours and it seems to be helping. Please help me help her!

 

[Farmgirl283420]

My bantam Cochin hen was attacked by one of my dogs and isn’t doing well at all. it happened last night we got home from town and we heard a chicken screaming and I went to se what was happening and she had gotten into the dog pen and is hurt really badly. she is still alive but I don’t know how much longer she will last. She is sleeping a lot and I’m having to force her to drink but she will still swallow the water, I just really need to know what I should do next. I have been using some vetericyn plus anti microbial poultry care spray on her every 6 hours and it seems to be helping. Please help me help her!View attachment 3533807View attachment 3533808View attachment 3533809View attachment 3533810

Oh my goodness I’m so sorry!!
@fluffycrow @azygous @Eggcessive can you help this poor hen?!!

 

[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, tear or puncture marks indicating a puncture wound. If you see this, the patient will need an oral antibiotic such as amoxicillin. Bacteria from the predator’s mouth can be injected deep into tissue and can kill in as little as 24 to 48 hours. You can order this https://www.kvsupply.com/item/aqua-mox-250mg-capsules-100-count/P06184/250mg once a day for ten days. Or you may be able to find this or something similar at TSC or a pet store.

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.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I'm so sorry, and wish her and you the best. I hope she recovers. It sounds like you're doing all you can for her.
FWIW, one of my dogs attacked one of my older chickens yesterday, too. They tore her up not quite as badly as yours, but still pretty major injuries. It's hard, but I ended her misery right there in the most humane way I know.

 

[silkielove16]

Ok so she is still bleeding from one of her wounds and I don’t know how to make it stop and I’m scared that if she keeps bleeding she won’t have enough blood to help her heal

 

[silkielove16]

She also is not doing anything at all anymore she is just sleeping and she is getting harder and harder to wake up

 

[Saveria]

I'm so sorry you are going through this . If you tried everything that Azygous listed and she is not responding, you may have done all that you can. You can try bringing her to an animal hospital, but overcoming wounds that large is hard to do.

 

[Saveria]

I am so, so sorry. I have been there and it is a terrible place to be.

 

[Quarterhorses1]

Yikes, I’m so sorry has she changed at all since this post?

 

[coach723]

Getting fluids in her is most important. If you have electrolites, then give her some of that. Fluids should be room temperature to slightly warm until she's not so shocky. Make sure she's in a warm, quiet place. You can warm towels in a dryer and put around her to help her warm up. Sick birds can become hypothermic. If she won't drink then you may need to learn to tube fluids, this is a good link for that:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/go-team-tube-feeding-updated-12-29-2019.805728/
She is probably very sore also, and that may take a while. Flush all the wounds well with chlorhexidine (hibiclens), sterile saline, or plain, mild soapy water. Veterycin spray is also good to use. Once dry, apply plain neosporin or plain triple antibiotic ointment to cover all wounds and keep them moist. Keep her crated on clean bath towels or puppy pads, change as needed to help keep her clean. Monitor droppings. Offering some feed moistened with warm water, scrambled or cooked chopped up eggs, canned tuna, see if she will be tempted by those, once you are sure she's hydrated. If there are no internal injuries, and no infection sets in she has a chance to recover, though it will take some time. I would consider having an antibiotic on hand since this is dog bites and extensive. You can get amoxicillin as a fish antibiotic on line as aqua mox without a prescription. Dose would be 57 mg per pound of body weight every 12 hours for 5-7 days. I would also examine her for any wounds hidden in feathers, or any bone fractures, when she's perked up a little bit. Bruising may show up and will often look greenish. This thread has some pictures of some wounds during healing, which may be helpful in knowing what you will be seeing: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wounds-pictures-of-how-they-heal.1325817/#post-21627607