Recovering from dog attack- trying to eat- but doesn't get much down

[quizzle]

This is my first foray into chickens and already have met a tragedy.

I've had the chickens for 3 weeks. The dogs (Pomeranians) were introduced to them and scolded at any sign of aggression. The chickens had their own outdoor pen area (I wanted them to have a good life). They were fine together- supervised and unsupervised. Then one day I met a friend for lunch and came home to what I thought were 2 dead chickens in the yard. Somehow the dog(ugh- the young puppy that I inherited from my mom) got in and chased the chickens out of their pen.

I was so distraught I couldn't go near them for a while. The first little one I saw was all mangled and her wings practically torn off. The second one looked like her head was missing. The dogs were hanging out withing a few feet of them without a care in the world. BUT as I got near the second one I heard a little chirp. Oh how my heart raced as I picked up the poor thing. She had been scalped. There is a puncture wound which took out one of her eyes. Her mouth is funny and she can't close it all the way and her tongue sticks out to the side.

We discussed putting her down, but wanted to give her a fighting chance. The first day she didn't do much but lay there. We got all kinds of first aid supplies to see if anything helped. I even got a friend to give me lidocaine and consulted an ornithologist. Lo and behold she stood up the next day and we started trying to get her to drink and eat. The next day was even better- she started going after the feed on her own and could move her wings. Next day we put her out in a little pen by herself inside the big pen because she really wanted to be with the other chicken. I also thought some sunshine might help dry out the wound. That day she even preened. This is now day five and she's active. What I worried most about (the missing 1"x1" chunk of missing skin and exposed neck muscles) seems to be healing BUT!!

THE PROBLEM: What's really bothering her is the puncture wound to the side of her jaw. It really screwed up her mouth. She can't close it and although she's trying to all day she can't seem to get any food down. She looks like a messy faced baby. She goes into the feed (I'm giving her a bowl all to herself) and comes back out with crumbles all over her beak. Then she goes to dip it in the water to wash off. Poor thing- I've been watching her all day and all she does is peck at the feed and then go to the water to clean it off. There is a lot of feed at the bottom of the waterer. She's at it all day, but I don't see her going through much feed. It doesn't look like she can get any of it down. Occasionally it looks like she pukes up some slime. There's not much poop so I know she's not getting much. We tried feeding her a slurry with a syringe- but she hates it. She must be so frustrated to peck all day and still be hungry. She very light now and I am worried. What can I do to help her get more nutrients? Sugar water? Juice? We tried soy milk, but she doesn't like it. She loves oats.

Will post pictures of her injuries as soon as I can get them.

The dog (cute and destructive):

The once happy chickens

 

[Maur]

For the open wound, try a thick application of honey - organic if possible. I was advised to do this to a wound after a fox attack, a wound that was very deep, smelled offensive and was crawling with maggots. The day after the honey the wound smelled clean and a few days later was completely healed. Good luck. Maur

 

[snowydiamonds]

Never leave dogs unsupervised w/chick/chickens, I don't even allow the neighborhood kids to be unsupervised w/my flocks, its just asking for disaster.

 

[d.k]

* Try feeding her a slightly wet mash, see if she can hang onto it better. Make small portions- a couple Tablespoons worth- and DON'T leave the wet food longer than a couple hours, as it tends to sour quickly. Does the beak seem to be improving at all as she heals, or do you think her jaw is broken or dislocated?

 

[Ms. Lewis Rich]

Sooo sorry, I call it the blood lust all 3 of my Frenchies have it, the older one killed, a couple years ago 17 Millies in a matter of minutes. My show birds live in my kennel indoors if I ever forget to close a run they will get them. You will never be able to trust them again.

 

[quizzle]

The black star is almost 9 weeks now and is big enough to hold her own against the dog. When she gets annoyed she flies up on the roost I put on the outside of the coop. So hopefully a few more pecks and the dog will learn to leave them alone. Usually she goes after their food and poop and not the chickens themselves. They're not allowed alone unsupervised though until all the chickens are full grown. By then, the chickens will be bigger than the dog.

Maria- the chicken is making a recovery. The lost eye came back today. I was trying to take pictures of her from both sides and realized there's an eye in both photos. She seems to be making her own wet mash by dipping her feed covered beak into the water. It accumulates in one pile and then she pecks at that.

Here are photos- not so good since she moves a lot and it's with my cell phone. Looks a little groudy but that's feed on her mouth and not maggots. Can't quite get a clean picture of her tongue-will keep working on it, but it sticks out to the side, like this:

 

[d.k]

* If she can eat wet mash I would make the process easier by making it for her-- You don't want her exhausting herself or starving to death just from trying to eat. She should also heal faster and better on a fuller crop. Which reminds me, have you checked her crop after she eats to gauge how much she's getting down?

 

[quizzle]

She's mellowed out and comes over to me when I'm near now.

I make wet mash for her, but she leaves it alone. It was medicated chick feed because it breaks down easier. I'll try the organic feed since she doesn't like the medicated feed.

How do I check her crop?