Raccoon attacked my chickens, need advice.

[Brightbird]

She's just reacting to being sprayed in the eye and face. If you need to, apply a little of the Banixx on a gauze pad to wipe her face or you can even draw some up into a syringe to irrigate the eye.

Hold a shallow cup up to her beak and see if she will drink for you, if she's not drinking, then you may need to syringe fluids into her.

Taking deep sucking breaths - has that stopped? If not, feel around her body at her abdomen (both sides), under the wings, etc., for anything that feels like an air pocket under the skin.

The triple antibiotic ointments you got are fine to use. Save the Hen Healer for another time when you have minor scabbing or wounds to treat. It's a good product, but it's Lanolin based and is not an antibacterial type ointment, it's more to smooth skin than anything else - oh and it is BRIGHT Blue! I have some.

She isn’t eating or drinking by herself from what I’ve seen, but my dad said he thought he may have seen her eating last night. We set up a camera so we can see if she’s getting nutrients in when she’s alone. I took a spoonful of honey water and had it drip down the tip of her beak. I’m not sure if she got any in there but she did move her beak as if she was chewing so maybe a few drops went in. I also did the same with some chick feed that I watered down to a liquid, but again I’m not sure how effective it was.

She is still taking deep breaths. I felt around her body and couldn’t find any air pockets. Her beak is rather dirty from dried blood especially around one of her nostrils so maybe that has something to do with it. I tried to clean it up with a damp paper towel but I didn’t have any success.

We put some of the antibacterial ointment on her injuries yesterday. She did not like the process at all but she seemed to move around more afterward.

My dad also worries that she might go blind in the eye near her face injury. She doesn’t open it all too often like she does her other eye. She’s a bit irritated at me right now so I’ll give her some time alone, and then maybe I’ll see if I can clean up her beak again.

 

[Brightbird]

I’ve heard of chickens asphyxiating after syringe feeding and I’m worried she’ll do the same. It seems our only option is syringe feeding, as I don’t think we have anything we can tube feed her with. Is there a safe way to syringe feed, and if so how? She had breathing problems already although it seems to have stopped, and I’m worried that I’ll make it come back or worse, end up accidentally killing her.

Edit: we managed to clean off her beak for the most part. We thought that she was getting water in her at first but it turned out there was so much dried blood and dirt and feathers stuck to the bottom of her beak that she couldn’t open her mouth properly. Now I’m able to feed her the feed water mixture with a spoon. She doesn’t eat it all the time but occasionally she will take some in which is very good. Right now I’ve been attempting to feed her every 30 minutes. Hopefully she’ll get some strength back now that she’s getting some food and water.

 

[Maddcatter]

I’ve heard of chickens asphyxiating after syringe feeding and I’m worried she’ll do the same. It seems our only option is syringe feeding, as I don’t think we have anything we can tube feed her with. Is there a safe way to syringe feed, and if so how? She had breathing problems already although it seems to have stopped, and I’m worried that I’ll make it come back or worse, end up accidentally killing her.

Edit: we managed to clean off her beak for the most part. We thought that she was getting water in her at first but it turned out there was so much dried blood and dirt and feathers stuck to the bottom of her beak that she couldn’t open her mouth properly. Now I’m able to feed her the feed water mixture with a spoon. She doesn’t eat it all the time but occasionally she will take some in which is very good. Right now I’ve been attempting to feed her every 30 minutes. Hopefully she’ll get some strength back now that she’s getting some food and water.

I had a chick that got into a fight with a different chick (both were little roos) and his eye swelled shut and was bloody. It took 3 days before he could open his eye, and that was with me trying to soak off the blood.
She might just need some more time.

I'm glad she's eating and drinking some! That's awesome! They sell little 1 or 2 oz cups at most super markets... Think shot glass size. That might be easier then a spoon.

Has the breathing been better, now that you got her beak cleaned?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Do you have updated photos of her eyes and wounds?

It's important to start working on the eye to get it open. It may be stuck shut with crust and blood as well.
Apply a warm compress (warm damp washcloth) to the side of her face/eye. This can help loosen the crusting and blood. Apply your triple antibiotic ointment to the eye and tissue. This can also help soften the material that is causing the eye the be shut. You need to see if the eye itself is intact or if it's gone.

I know it all seems like a lot and you are doing good. Have your Dad help you. Hens will protest about being moved about, just do it gently, but she's going to have to be tended to in order for her to start healing.

 

[Brightbird]

I'm glad she's eating and drinking some! That's awesome! They sell little 1 or 2 oz cups at most super markets... Think shot glass size. That might be easier then a spoon.

Has the breathing been better, now that you got her beak cleaned?

The breathing is quite a bit better now although she does still sometimes have to take in a breath through her mouth. I watched her for a bit and noticed two things. One is that while she doesn’t seem to want to extend her neck all the way, and the second is that whenever she tries to move her head downward too far she seems like she needs to raise her head up again to take a breath. Most of her face injury is centered around her cheek and ear but I have to wonder if her neck was hurt a little too. The front of her throat does look to be missing feathers from the attack.

Other than that, she seems to be getting a bit stronger now. She moves around especially when I go to feed her which is both a good sign and a little concerning because a lot of the time she’ll try to run away to get out of eating. I might have to start holding her when it’s feeding time. I’ve been trying to feed and water her with the feed mixture around every 15 minutes. Sometimes she gets some in her beak and sometimes she’s stubborn but with that schedule I’d assume she’s getting at least some of it down her throat.

 

[Maddcatter]

The breathing is quite a bit better now although she does still sometimes have to take in a breath through her mouth. I watched her for a bit and noticed two things. One is that while she doesn’t seem to want to extend her neck all the way, and the second is that whenever she tries to move her head downward too far she seems like she needs to raise her head up again to take a breath. Most of her face injury is centered around her cheek and ear but I have to wonder if her neck was hurt a little too. The front of her throat does look to be missing feathers from the attack.

Other than that, she seems to be getting a bit stronger now. She moves around especially when I go to feed her which is both a good sign and a little concerning because a lot of the time she’ll try to run away to get out of eating. I might have to start holding her when it’s feeding time. I’ve been trying to feed and water her with the feed mixture around every 15 minutes. Sometimes she gets some in her beak and sometimes she’s stubborn but with that schedule I’d assume she’s getting at least some of it down her throat.

Every 15 minutes?!

I am in awe of your patience and tenacity!

Animals don't like being screwed with. Any of them. My dog doesn't like it, and his brain is probably as big as your entire chicken. Her wanting to not put up with your shit is actually a good sign. She doesn't understand what you're doing or why. She just knows it's not what she wants to be doing. This is normal, and how we get things like vet techs to hold animals while the doc gives them a shot. You're doing really well. She's getting better, which means what you're doing is working.

The only suggestion is have is to only try to feed her every half hour (or hour). It'll give you guys both a bit of a rest, and it might make her a little more willing to eat.

Keep up the good work!

How's the eye and other wounds?

 

[Brightbird]

Every 15 minutes?!

I am in awe of your patience and tenacity!

Animals don't like being screwed with. Any of them. My dog doesn't like it, and his brain is probably as big as your entire chicken. Her wanting to not put up with your shit is actually a good sign. She doesn't understand what you're doing or why. She just knows it's not what she wants to be doing. This is normal, and how we get things like vet techs to hold animals while the doc gives them a shot. You're doing really well. She's getting better, which means what you're doing is working.

The only suggestion is have is to only try to feed her every half hour (or hour). It'll give you guys both a bit of a rest, and it might make her a little more willing to eat.

Keep up the good work!

How's the eye and other wounds?

The eye appears to be getting better as well. She’s opening it more often, I suppose it might’ve just been swollen. I can’t quite tell how the eye itself looks, I’m gonna see if I can get a flashlight to get a look and check it out. Her wounds seem to be doing okay. I think I should probably try to reapply the Banixx and ointment though.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

See if she will eat and drink on her own.

Put her food water on something like a block or piece of wood to raise it off the floor so she doesn't have to extend her neck so much.
Trying to feed/water every 15 minutes is quite frequent, I'd go with every hour or so if she's not eating/drinking by herself.

Her whole body is sore, so it's not uncommon for them to scrunch around. The main thing is to tend to the wounds to prevent infection and keep her hydrated and encourage her to eat.

 

[Brightbird]

I have another update and it’s a bit of a mixed one I believe. Later on in the day I’ve noticed she’s started to make a slight whistling sound as she breathes. I checked again for air pockets under the skin and I didn’t feel anything like that. Although I did accidentally startle her and when she jolted she seemed to let out this loud congested sound as if she were trying to clear her nose. She also looked to have this clear mucus-y substance dribble out of her beak a slight bit once she settled down again.


She also passed another bowel movement that seemed a little bit different than the last few.

It was mostly water, however some parts were solid, which I would assume means she is taking in some food. Is this a good sign, should I worry about how watery it was? Any ideas on what the congestion and substance coming out of her mouth is caused by?

Apologies if the photos are hard to make out again. She’s insisting on staying on the far end of the cage where I can’t easily reach her so I tried to zoom in while taking them.

Edit: she’s been shaking her head occasionally and sometimes has to take a deep breath, on top of acting as if she’s trying to adjust her crop, but I don’t think she’s eating enough to have to adjust it.

 

[Dough Hill]

You might want to try to back off on the attention your giving her she’s stressed from the attack and all this attention may be stressing her out too take care of her but give her some space I know you care but they need to heal on there own too I’ve found out.