Racoon attack

[Kittkatt0]

So, my 6 month old hen has been attacked by something, probably a raccoon in the face, ripping out her fluff and slitting her eyelid. I have no idea of what to do. I brought her inside but she's acting so tired and dazed but at the same time alert. I'm afraid she might go into shock or something. I geuss what I'm trying to say is will she be OK? What are your thoughts on what I should do?

 

[MochaLatte]

This poor baby. It looks like she got lucky not having any more serious injury... I am definitely no expert, but can offer some advice based on what I've read previously...

Small wounds like this can benefit from Blu-Kote being applied with a Q-Tip to keep it safe from bacteria. With it being so close to her eye I would take great care in washing and applying this.

She is likely very shaken up... if it was one of mine, I would keep her inside somewhere she feels safe at least tonight.

I'm sure someone that knows more than myself will be along soon to offer guidance.

I hope she gets better soon!

 

[McChooky]

She needs to be carefully checked for puncture wounds .Clean her wounds before adding any antibacterial creams ,etc.A quiet dark room where its warm is best to prevent shock.Make sure she has access to food and water.You may have to encourage her to eat.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

Does her vision seem impaired?
Can you find any punture wounds on her head or neck or other part of her body?
Hoping everthing is minor wounds and she is just scared, I would keep her inside and warm for the night and check on the wounds again tomorrow.

 

[JustBabyMargo]

@azygous @Wyorp Rock

 

[JustBabyMargo]

She is so sad. But yes very lucky. Sounds like my bantam after she got attacked by a hawk with all that stress and trauma. I would clean her up good and then apply any antibacterial anything you have for your chickens (like said above). As long as it’s just that she should be fine. Maybe put electrolytes in her water (if you have any). I heard that can help relieve stress.

 

[azygous]

A while back, after so many predator attack threads, I made a complete list of what to do with a victim following an attack. Maybe you will want to copy it and stick it somewhere as a future checklist if you have another such attack.

Here's what you do in the event of a predator attack to treat the survivor.

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.

 

[Kittkatt0]

Good news, bad news. Tiny is doing alright but after some close inspection I found a small open wound on her back that I did not notice. Unfortunately I did not get to fully wash it before I had to go to school. Though she is in the care of my mom with some intibotic cream on the wounds and as soon as I get home I'll fully clean out the wound. This wound is also quite red when I saw it and I'm worried it might be the start of a infection. Though it's only the inside of the wound and not around the skin so hopefully it's just normal. Thanks for all the tips and I plan to ask my dad to bring electrolights. I'm also thing of putting some vitamins and apple cider vinegar into the water like you would do with chicks. Thank you all for the help!

 

[Kittkatt0]

Update part 3! Up down up.
So I went home to clean out her wounds, it seemed like there was a bit of dead skin around the sight (maybe because of the diluted hydrogen proxide because I only realized after putting it on. Should I delute the solution more the next time I flush the wound if needed? Though she seemed to have gotten 10 times worse after getting her wounds cleaned a packed. She is now eating and drinking! She's also moving a lot more!

 

[azygous]

Do not use peroxide to clean the wounds after the initial cleaning. Peroxide destroys new tissue. Use soap and water or Betadine. Keep the wounds moist with antibiotic ointment. Vetericyn is a good wound treatment that encourages new tissue growth. I use it before I smear on the ointment.