question about chickens in pain

[lindenstpunx]

a really badly behaved dog that lives next door to us some how climbed over a 5 ft fence (covered in a big burly blackberry bramble!!!) into the top of our coop and chomped a little on one of our hens.

She's seems to be mostly all right. her left leg is hurt though and the only way she'll eat is by mixing her feed with water.

Mostly though i'm concerned because she's doing this strange panting thing. her mouth stays open and she's breathing hard. is this just a sign of pain? is there anything i can do?
initially i just thought she was dehydrated but she's been drinking water.
help!!

 

[virgilini]

Hi,
Sounds like that was a close call. The panting is because she's a bit traumatized and stressed. You should put her in a crate or some other enclosure in a dark, quiet spot til she calms down. Also, you can give her some electrolytes. Gatorade would be fine. If she doesn't drink it on her own you can use a dropper and dribble some on the side of her beak. I would also keep giving her the wet food. At least she's eating and you could scramble her an egg too. Mine love scrambled eggs! Good luck with her and let us know how she does.

Kim

 

[Mahonri]

Is it hot? If it's not hot and she's panting, then it's trauma or pain.

Hope you can help her through this.

 

[jjthink]

For pain:

FIVE 325 mg aspirin (NO SUBSTITUTES) crushed into one gallon of water.

I would hurry to do this so she experiences some relief as this will reduce her stress. Stress can send a chicken spiralling downward big time.

You may also give her Rescue Remedy (most health food stores and many good pharmacies will have) - it's a Bach Flower Remedy. A drop or two in a bowl of water is fine. This will help with stress.

I hope she will be alright.

JJ

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Keep her quiet, alone and preferably in a dark place...not too hot or cold. Electrolytes in her water...or diluted pedialyte. She'll likely be just fine...but shock can kill chickens quicker than their wounds. Something special like some cooked oatmeal, chopped boiled egg or plain yogurt works wonders!!

 

[sammi]

keep an eye on the droppings for signs of blood..(internal injury)..
if you see any signs of blood..stop the aspirin.

 

[jjthink]

Ditto what Sammi said. As with any being, aspirin only when there isn't a serious bleeding problem in progress.
JJ

 

[spatcher]

I Vet once suggested I use one half baby aspirin daily. Only problem I ran into was the ones I bought were not scored. Fortunately she vastly improved on her own without it and before I could find scored aspirin. The 325mg in water sounds pretty good if there is a next time. Thanks for that post!

 

[jjthink]

p.s. The equivalent for a smaller batch is roughly 1 baby aspirin (81 mg) crushed per cup of water. Just make sure it's pure aspirin.
JJ