'Possum attack

[Georgiahome622]

This morning I let my girls out and didn't notice anything was wrong - all 20 chickens came out and did their normal scattering. About 30 minutes later, I went to collect eggs because I didn't get them all the day before and I don't like to leave them. To my surprise, I had a possum in the nesting boxes eating the eggs! I found it odd that he was only interested in the eggs, but did notice there were more feathers than usual lying around.

I looked for all the girls and noticed 2 hiding under a bush. One had some bites on her breast, through the skin but not too deep. I cleaned her up and sprayed antiseptic spray - I think she's going to be okay.

The second girl was wheezing and breathing with her beak open. She was completely passive when I picked her up. Her comb has a little tear and it looks like it bled a lot. I can't find a bite on her body anywhere, just some missing feathers. I felt her and no bones feel broken but her crop was a little spongey, like a balloon. She doesn't appear to be in pain. I read on here about air sac ruptures, but I can't be sure it's an air sac or her crop. It does seem to have something in it. Is it possible that her crop has air in it? I massaged it a bit and it seems to have deflated mostly. I had to make her drink a little water, but she won't eat. I cleaned her comb up and have her in a box with straw and it is quiet and dark, she has food and water. She is still wheezing, but laid her egg!

What can I do for her?

Thank you all.

 

[azygous]

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.

 

[Georgiahome622]

Thank you. I had done all those things, was really just hoping for Some advice on the wheezing. She’s still at it. Not eating, seems to be all she can do it breathe. I can get a few drops of electrolytes in her at a time. It’s been a day and a half. Is there any chance it will resolve itself? Like I said, nothing seems to be broken and no skin broken except her comb. The other one who had bites is doing pretty well.

 

[azygous]

The lungs on a chicken are located right up under the back where a predator usually grabs. There is often internal injury to the lungs. Whether the chicken heals from this or dies is dependent on how badly the predator hurt the chicken. Fighting shock with sugar water and electrolytes is the best thing you can do to hopefully get her through this critical period.

 

[Georgiahome622]

Thanks. There is no improvement whatsoever and i only have been able to get her to take a couple of bites of egg in 24 hours. I'm hoping for a turn for the better but i don't know if that's possible. i appreciate the input.

 

[Georgiahome622]

The lungs on a chicken are located right up under the back where a predator usually grabs. There is often internal injury to the lungs. Whether the chicken heals from this or dies is dependent on how badly the predator hurt the chicken. Fighting shock with sugar water and electrolytes is the best thing you can do to hopefully get her through this critical period.

It looks like she is improving! I've seen her eat and drink and I let her out to range with her flock. She is socializing some, staying close to the coop mostly. Her breathing isn't perfect yet, but MUCH improved! Yay!

However, my barred rock that had the bites seems to be moving a little slower today. One of the two bites was deeper, into the meat a good bit. It looks okay, and I'm cleaning and applying Vetericyn spray daily. I actually think she needs to lay an egg. She's a daily layer and I'm not sure she laid yesterday. She is limping a bit, not too bad, and staying mostly to herself. I'm just going to keep watching her unless you have any ideas. We are very rural and our vet doesn't do chickens.

On the other hand, the flock in general is still traumatized, but coming around. I have two coops and they won't sleep in the one which was the scene of the crime. It's bigger and holds them better, but I'm just going to ride this out.

Thanks for listening.

 

[azygous]

Puncture wounds are so deep into tissue they get infected immediately, and no amount of cleaning will reach the bacteria. Your hen should be on an oral antibiotic. Her slowing down is a sign of infection. It could kill her if you don't intervene.

 

[Georgiahome622]

Puncture wounds are so deep into tissue they get infected immediately, and no amount of cleaning will reach the bacteria. Your hen should be on an oral antibiotic. Her slowing down is a sign of infection. It could kill her if you don't intervene.

Dumb question - where can I get that?

 

[azygous]

Call around to your TSC stores. They usually carry a couple of over-the -counter antibiotics.