Possum attack

[SandraGW]

Hello,

A possum got into our coop last night and attacked our darling cinnamon chicken named "Smith". She is so, so injured. He ripped off her comb and must have bitten her in the head multiple times. She can't open her eyes - I am wondering if dried blood has caked them shut. Her beak is constantly open and it sounds like she can't breathe through her nose. We've applied Polysporin (that's the goop you see in the picture) and brought her inside to separate her from the other two (a silkie "Sadie" - which I believe she was trying to protect, and Adelaide, our Easteregger who happened to still be outside). I've tried to get a few drops of electrolyte water in her, and two drops of egg yolk mixed with water. She is in a box with some straw, inside the house. She doesn't really move, but she will respond with a tiny noise when I talk to her. She will let me hold her, and there was a tiny poop today in the straw which may be a good sign? I'm wondering if I should try to wash her off with warm water to see if that would un-cake any dried blood and free her nostrils? I can't even see her nostrils in her beaten up face. I am mortified.

 

[My Bagurks]

I’m so sorry this happened. I can imagine how hard this is. Please forgive me for being blunt. And delete this post if you want but this is unfortunately part of the life with chickens we live.



Her nostrils may not work so she’s keeping her mouth open to breath. There’s a lot of damage there. I am trying to be delicate, but there’s not really a way around it. Are her eyes still intact?
Has she sustained brain damage? Is there any damage to her tongue or neck? If the wounds heal, what handicap will she have to live with? I hate to say it, but we sometimes have to give our chickens one last act of kindness and stop further suffering.

I hope she is ok and heals up, and I hope you are ok.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

With how bad she looks I would take her to a vet if it’s at all possible for you.

Is she capable of eating or drinking on her own? Her eyes look swollen shut and I can’t see if there’s any damage to the eyes or skull but honestly I would be shocked if there isn’t. It might be possible to save her especially with help from a vet, but to be honest if this was my chicken I would probably put her down due to the severity of her injuries. I’m so sorry.

 

[Schell1226]

Poor baby! Opossum teeth are no joke! By looking at the second pic, it appears to me that she may have possibly lost/severely injured an eye by getting it punctured from the force of it's teeth. Theres a lot of tissue surrounding those areas on the head/face and whatnot. I would definitely give her some electrolytes and probiotics if you have them. Keep her in a dark quite area for the time being. She's been through a lot of trauma so the less stress, the better. With injuries like this, I like to use Vetermycin, or MicrocynAH spray. Both are literally the same thing, different name. It helps keep bacteria at bay and helps heal the wounds a lot quicker, etc.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello,

A possum got into our coop last night and attacked our darling cinnamon chicken named "Smith". She is so, so injured. He ripped off her comb and must have bitten her in the head multiple times. She can't open her eyes - I am wondering if dried blood has caked them shut. Her beak is constantly open and it sounds like she can't breathe through her nose. We've applied Polysporin (that's the goop you see in the picture) and brought her inside to separate her from the other two (a silkie "Sadie" - which I believe she was trying to protect, and Adelaide, our Easteregger who happened to still be outside). I've tried to get a few drops of electrolyte water in her, and two drops of egg yolk mixed with water. She is in a box with some straw, inside the house. She doesn't really move, but she will respond with a tiny noise when I talk to her. She will let me hold her, and there was a tiny poop today in the straw which may be a good sign? I'm wondering if I should try to wash her off with warm water to see if that would un-cake any dried blood and free her nostrils? I can't even see her nostrils in her beaten up face. I am mortified.




View attachment 3009124

How is she doing?

Yes. I would work on getting her nostrils and beak clear of the dried blood. They are caked up. I would use warmed saline to help remove what's on her face and beak. Use the saline to flush out any wounds you see on the body.
Rinse her eyes with saline and apply some triple antibiotic ointment to the tissue and in the eyes. (Triple antibiotic ointment to be applied to any wounds on the body as well. Trim feathers from wounds if you need to).

Getting some warmed sugar water or electrolytes into her would be good. You have her inside which is good. She will benefit from being kept warm.

Chickens can often recover from severe injuries.
Sometimes antibiotics are not necessary, but it's always a good idea to have some on hand. You can find Amoxicillin online. https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=F7605B41-10BA-45F7-8AF3-5CD0530BC1C9

 

[SandraGW]

I’m so sorry this happened. I can imagine how hard this is. Please forgive me for being blunt. And delete this post if you want but this is unfortunately part of the life with chickens we live.



Her nostrils may not work so she’s keeping her mouth open to breath. There’s a lot of damage there. I am trying to be delicate, but there’s not really a way around it. Are her eyes still intact?
Has she sustained brain damage? Is there any damage to her tongue or neck? If the wounds heal, what handicap will she have to live with? I hate to say it, but we sometimes have to give our chickens one last act of kindness and stop further suffering.

I hope she is ok and heals up, and I hope you are ok.

Thank you so much for your honest opinion. I appreciate it. Honestly, I've had similar thoughts, but I don't even know how to put her down. I'll watch her for another day or so, and then might have to bring her to the farm where we got her. I'll keep you posted.

 

[SandraGW]

With how bad she looks I would take her to a vet if it’s at all possible for you.

Is she capable of eating or drinking on her own? Her eyes look swollen shut and I can’t see if there’s any damage to the eyes or skull but honestly I would be shocked if there isn’t. It might be possible to save her especially with help from a vet, but to be honest if this was my chicken I would probably put her down due to the severity of her injuries. I’m so sorry.

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate it.

 

[SandraGW]

How is she doing?

Yes. I would work on getting her nostrils and beak clear of the dried blood. They are caked up. I would use warmed saline to help remove what's on her face and beak. Use the saline to flush out any wounds you see on the body.
Rinse her eyes with saline and apply some triple antibiotic ointment to the tissue and in the eyes. (Triple antibiotic ointment to be applied to any wounds on the body as well. Trim feathers from wounds if you need to).

Getting some warmed sugar water or electrolytes into her would be good. You have her inside which is good. She will benefit from being kept warm.

Chickens can often recover from severe injuries.
Sometimes antibiotics are not necessary, but it's always a good idea to have some on hand. You can find Amoxicillin online. https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=F7605B41-10BA-45F7-8AF3-5CD0530BC1C9

Thank you for that!

 

[SandraGW]

UPDATE: I tried to wash the dried blood from her face and beak. Hoping that may have freed her nostrils. The problem is that I don't know enough to even know where exactly they are. Can anyone help point out the nostrils on this picture? This is Smith after our bath. Thank you for your time!

 

[zoepilke]

UPDATE: I tried to wash the dried blood from her face and beak. Hoping that may have freed her nostrils. The problem is that I don't know enough to even know where exactly they are. Can anyone help point out the nostrils on this picture? This is Smith after our bath. Thank you for your time!

I am so sorry for what happened to your chicken.
For the nostrils they should be on the side of the beak right where the comb ends I can’t really see in the picture it looks like where it would be is where the black stuff on her beak is.
Hopefully that will help and wishing best of luck to you and your hen