Predator attacked 6 week old brahma. Can I help or should I put down?

[LovesteadMama]

I came out to feed the chickens this morning and noticed first that there was a cracked open/eaten egg and raccoon tracks inside of our chicken tractor. It's directly against the coop at night but I close the coop door to keep the chickens safe. I then went inside of the coop and noticed one of my brahmas was missing. There was only a pile of her feathers left behind outside of the coop and as I inspected further, I noticed that it appeared as though she was pulled through the chicken wire on the side of the coop. (I know chicken wire is not predator proof and it is on our agenda to build a new coop with hardware cloth but usually our dog does a good job of patrolling at night and alerting us when there's an issue)

I then noticed that our second brahma was injured. She has some fur missing on her back under her wing but when I turned her over, I knew it was bad. It appears as though a bone may be broken (clean break though I'm not certain it's a bone) on the thigh but she can still stand, walk and kick both legs around. It's bleeding but not profusely but the wound is wide open and I think may require stitches.

I don't want her to suffer but we cannot take her to the vet. Can I help her or do i have to dispatch her?
I don't want her to suffer but I also want her to live out her life. If there's a chance I can help her, I want to.

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[cherrynberry]

@aart
@R2elk
@Eggcessive
@Wyorp Rock
Any ideas?

 

[LovesteadMama]

@aart
@R2elk
@Eggcessive
@Wyorp Rock
Any ideas?

Thanks for tagging folks who might be able to help! I appreciate it! I'm new here so I don't know who to tag.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It appears as though a bone may be broken (clean break though I'm not certain it's a bone) on the thigh but she can still stand, walk and kick both legs around. It's bleeding but not profusely but the wound is wide open and I think may require stitches.

She's alert?
Where do you see bone? It would be good to know for sure if there's a broken bone - can you get some photos of it?

I don't think I see anything that needs stitching, but if you want to pluck or cut some feathers away from the wounds and share more photos of the wounds at different angles that would be helpful.

General first aid care would be to clean the wounds very well. Chlorhexidine or Betadine would be good to use to flush the wounds. Saline or warm soapy water (rinse well) can make do if that's what you have.
Once flushed well, then pat dry and apply triple antibiotic ointment to the wounds. I do see what looks like a puncture wound and since this was from a predator and there's a lot of exposure, I would recommend that you administer and antibiotic. Sometimes Amoxicillin (Fish Mox) can be found at TSC, call your store and see if they have any on hand. If not, then see how long it takes to get some ordered. If it's going to be more than a couple of days, then Procaine Penicillin G can be used - it's found in the refrigerated section of TSC. ALL of this is dependent on whether or not there is exposed bone!!! If there's a break, then it may change things.

Keep her warm. Aim for 75F or a little warmer. Offer her some sugar water or electrolytes to drink. Once she's drinking, then you can make some food available. She's going to probably go through a shock period, so fluids are most important. She doesn't have to eat so don't stress or fiddle with it if she doesn't want to eat for a day.

When we have more info and photos - we'll take a look. Some things may change.

IF at any point you feel that her injuries are too great to overcome and she needs to be put down, then put her down. No sense in prolonging suffering. For a bird this size cervical dislocation is effective or if you have a large pair of very sharp poultry shears (like used for butchering) those will work as well.

 

[LovesteadMama]

She's alert?
Where do you see bone? It would be good to know for sure if there's a broken bone - can you get some photos of it?

I don't think I see anything that needs stitching, but if you want to pluck or cut some feathers away from the wounds and share more photos of the wounds at different angles that would be helpful.

General first aid care would be to clean the wounds very well. Chlorhexidine or Betadine would be good to use to flush the wounds. Saline or warm soapy water (rinse well) can make do if that's what you have.
Once flushed well, then pat dry and apply triple antibiotic ointment to the wounds. I do see what looks like a puncture wound and since this was from a predator and there's a lot of exposure, I would recommend that you administer and antibiotic. Sometimes Amoxicillin (Fish Mox) can be found at TSC, call your store and see if they have any on hand. If not, then see how long it takes to get some ordered. If it's going to be more than a couple of days, then Procaine Penicillin G can be used - it's found in the refrigerated section of TSC. ALL of this is dependent on whether or not there is exposed bone!!! If there's a break, then it may change things.

Keep her warm. Aim for 75F or a little warmer. Offer her some sugar water or electrolytes to drink. Once she's drinking, then you can make some food available. She's going to probably go through a shock period, so fluids are most important. She doesn't have to eat so don't stress or fiddle with it if she doesn't want to eat for a day.

When we have more info and photos - we'll take a look. Some things may change.

IF at any point you feel that her injuries are too great to overcome and she needs to be put down, then put her down. No sense in prolonging suffering. For a bird this size cervical dislocation is effective or if you have a large pair of very sharp poultry shears (like used for butchering) those will work as well.

She is alert, yes. I almost didn't notice her injury because she seemed normal but the chicks scattered and she was just standing there stiff. She is also eating.

This is where i believe the broken bone to be- on her thigh. It had a dark thing in the center that I thought was bone. Maybe it's something else? It's much harder to see now that it has bled a bit more.

 

[LovesteadMama]

Her skin was removed entirely from this area. I can see where her muscles intersect. Because of that I'm reluctant to pour saline solution in there. Is that ok to still do? Until my fiance comes home with the car, I only have on hand what we have for humans and dogs. Now I know to keep some things on hand.

She has an additional hole I didn't notice.

She does feel warm to the touch so I think she may have a fever.

I really think the wound on her thigh area needs stitches or something. It's at least half an inch deep maybe 3/4.

 

[coach723]

It is usually better not to close wounds up, it can close bacteria in and provides a good environment for the bacteria to grow, leaving them open lets them breathe. Sterile saline is fine to use, it is not too salty and won't burn, people put it in their eyes and it doesn't burn. You can make it yourself if needed (2 cups water, 1 tsp salt, boil covered for 15 min, and let cool). You need to flush the wounds out with something to remove as much bacteria as possible. Then cover the wounds with the ointment (plain neosporin or plain triple antibiotic ointment) to cover them and keep them moist. Reapply as needed to keep them covered and moist.
I can't tell if there is a broken bone from pictures. I can't tell precisely where it is. If the bird can stand and walk, seems less likely that something in the leg is broken. I will attach a document below that explains how to examine for broken bones and how to splint if necessary, it may help.
Birds do recover from some pretty awful injuries sometimes, as long as there are not internal injuries. It can take some time and supportive care. I also would be inclined to start an antibiotic since it was a predator, and there are likely puncture wounds. With injuries like this, I take it one day at a time. The first 24 hours the bird can be very shocky, so after that it can be a bit easier to assess how they are doing. Keep her in a warm, low light, quiet place and let her rest. Clean towels or puppy pads are easy to switch out to keep things clean. If she does not improve, or goes downhill, you can always make the determination to end the suffering.

 

[LovesteadMama]

Once the shock started to wear off, I realized her bone was in fact broken and she started limping quite a bit. It was hard to tell from the photos but her muscle and bone were severed. I realized she needed veterinary care that I was unable to give her. She was just going to suffer and we are leaving town for several days and if she declined while we were away, the burden of dispatching her would fall on our friend. We talked about our options a lot and decided to put her down. It was a hard decision and a bit discouraging as I'm fairly new to chicken keeping and this was the first round of chicks I've ever raised (our other birds were adopted as hens). Thank you all for your help! I so appreciate all the helpful advice and the time you took to assist and support me in caring for her! I really didn't know what to do for her and I'm very grateful this community is here! I got some antibiotics and chlorhexidine solution that we now have on hand in the event there are any future injuries of any animals.

Thank you @coach723 @Wyorp Rock and @cherrynberry ! I'm grateful to you all!

 

[coach723]

I'm very sorry for your loss.
Difficult as the decision was, she is not suffering, and sometimes that is the kindest thing we can do.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Once the shock started to wear off, I realized her bone was in fact broken and she started limping quite a bit. It was hard to tell from the photos but her muscle and bone were severed. I realized she needed veterinary care that I was unable to give her. She was just going to suffer and we are leaving town for several days and if she declined while we were away, the burden of dispatching her would fall on our friend. We talked about our options a lot and decided to put her down. It was a hard decision and a bit discouraging as I'm fairly new to chicken keeping and this was the first round of chicks I've ever raised (our other birds were adopted as hens). Thank you all for your help! I so appreciate all the helpful advice and the time you took to assist and support me in caring for her! I really didn't know what to do for her and I'm very grateful this community is here! I got some antibiotics and chlorhexidine solution that we now have on hand in the event there are any future injuries of any animals.

Thank you @coach723 @Wyorp Rock and @cherrynberry ! I'm grateful to you all!

I'm sorry