possible predator attack neck injury help please!

[AdrieeC]

I recently introduced 4 new birds to my established flock. They seem to be getting along well. Yesterday while working in the yard a dog went after my chickens. I did not see him catch any of the birds, or notice anything suspicious afterword. The chickens have been confined to the tractor for much of the day so that I can ensure they are laying in the right place. I have not noticed any scuffles between any of the birds since the first couple of days.

This evening we noticed that one of the new birds seemed to be missing some feathers on her neck and keeping her neck in a position where she could keep the area covered. She seems active and alert, and is eating and free-ranging in the yard with the others, and otherwise just a healthy bird. All other birds passed health checks.

This evening we brought the bird in for inspection after dark. All the feathers past the head on the back of her neck are gone. All the way to her back. There are some spots that look bloodied or scabbed, but nothing is actually bleeding. The area is shiny and a bit wet looking. I cannot tell if it's skin or bone.

I am unable to tell if the other birds, the dog, or some night time predator could have done this.

I have set up an area on our covered front porch for her and plan to keep her isolated until she heals or some other solution can be reached. does any one have any suggestions about what I can do for her to keep her healthy and healing?

Thank you for your help!

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

ideally a picture would be great...seeing an injury will give you a more steady response and solid idea on how to care for a wound...especially if your not sure what your looking at.

First and foremost though, flush it out with warm water...add some vinegar (1 teaspoon to 16 ounces) and wash the wound, use a wet gauze or fresh cloth (nothing thats going to leave pieces when wet behind into the wound) and dab at the wound between flushings to try and gather any debri out of it, and the vinegar will help with disinfecting etc...you can add witch hazel instead, but I just say use vinegar. What everyone in my family has used for wounds on animals and it does the trick...

go to your feed store and get some penicillin as well, you'll want to give her I'd just say 1/2 a cc no more than 1 cc of antibiotics a day for a week at most to help fight off possible infection.

Wrap the neck with wet gauze (after apply neosporin or some kind of antibiotic ointment or even just vasoline) this will keep the area moist and protect it from outside debri. wrap the neck (wet/ointmented gauze pad square to cover, then wrap wrapping around that area - but keep it secure but no where near tight) change atleast 2 X a day and let the wound air out.

Keep her seperate from anything else, you're looking at keeping her seperated for 2+ weeks till she gets well on the road to recovery if not longer...

good luck and keep us updated.

 

[AdrieeC]

I wish I could post a picture, but we lost the battery charger for the camera...

Thank you very much for the advice, we are going to take care of all of this first thing in the morning and we will see how she does. If shes on penicillin should I throw her eggs out?

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

Yes I'd suggest no consuming eggs while she's on antibiotics. Some people will eat them, but I personally think its better to not use them. I give them to my dogs in their dog food when mine are on simple penicillin...it isn't going to bother them, tastes good, and theres no waste or throw in the compost heap. i dont like natural waste

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

also, there is no guarantee she will pull through, but chickens are tougher than people think. However just be prepared if the site starts smelling bad or pussing up, she's got a major infection and you're going to be kinder to go ahead and put her down...but if you go at it early and be proactive and protect the wound and she hasn't lost much blood and is being kept low stress level, she should pull through I would think. I've seen chickens and other birds with gaping wounds heal nicely if deformed looking and live prosperous (spelling) lives.

 

[WonderWoman0625]

The exact same thing happened to my broody mom, Clucky. She got attacked and run off her nest. I brought her inside because I had no other way to seperate her at the time. I kept her quiet and calm and after 2 weeks, she has rejoined the flock with her brand new chick. She was purple and black down her throat and had a 2 inch swath down the back of her neck that was naked and purple. She just needed time to recover without any stress. I'm sure your problem has come to an end at this point but I had to chime in case this happened to anyone else. Several of my birds were hurt in the attack in almost the same way and all of them have healed nicely and started growing new feathers. I did lose 2 birds during the attack but luckily, one of them seems to have been the actual mother of the new baby chick. The circle of life is an amazing thing.

 

[AdrieeC]

We managed to get the wound wrapped up and the shot administered. We have decided to keep her in the bathroom at night for now. She will be allowed to free range supervised some of the day. She still seems rather active and she is laying so that is good. The wounded area does appear to be a bit more red than yesterday, but not bleeding. So far so good.

I guess we will see how she gets on with antibiotics etc.

Thank you for your help everyone!

 

[AdrieeC]

When I went to change the bandages this morning they were sticking so I decided to just put the neosporin on after cleaning. She seems to be scabbing up nicely.

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

sounds very good! If she's still laying and is still active, I think you have nothing to worry about except keeping an eye on infections.

Your doing a great job, so keep us posted!