Relatively new chicken attacked by dog - help!

[PrepperNerd]

I'm new to the forum but have been reading for a while to figure out the best way to raise the chickens we planned to get. We built a pen and chose four Isa Browns. We've only had them for about a month, so although they've been handled by us and were free-ranging around our yard unworried by our dog or our cats, they're pretty new.

Yesterday they got out of the yard (we have since found out how and blocked the hole) but our neighbor's back gate was open. They got in her yard and her Terrier attacked them. We found one unharmed still in our yard, one unharmed in her yard, one a bit shaken up the road but once she was back with her mates she was fine, but neighbor informed me dog had killed one, although when I went about 15 minutes later (after sourcing all the living chooks) to retrieve the body, all we could find were a heap of feathers. We assumed her dog had taken the body.

She just came running in to say they'd found our missing chook - unbelievably ALIVE, although very scared, not moving, and missing large chunks of feathers from her back. Hubby went and got her and we put her in with her mates, she's sitting in a nesting box not moving, although she is awake, she seems to 'sleep' for a few seconds at a time, then wake up.

I know she's probably in shock, and i've read the best way to combat that is to bring them inside and feed them mushy foods, give them aspirin etc, but i've also read that it can be a further shock that can kill them. It's a bit cold here today, but all the chickens are in their roost with her too, and she's survived a very cold night. Am I better off bringing her inside and attempting to feed her (I also have rescue remedy) and risk further traumatising her, or leave her with her mates and hope for the best?

 

[PrepperNerd]

On the advice of the local pet guru, I have brought her inside near the heater and put her in a dark cardboard box full of straw. I'm not sure, but maybe one of her wings is broken when I inspect her closer It seems to be hanging down longer than the other, or maybe it's an illusion from the feathers missing at the top. She doesn't complain when I attempt to extend the wing. I'm heading down to the supermarket now for baby food, although for this afternoon at least i'm only going to attempt sugar water with rescue remedy. Anything else?

 

[PrepperNerd]

Update: I gave her some sugar water with rescue remedy, at first I tried with the syringe but she wouldn't have a bar of it, so I tried a shallow bowl and she was drinking it immediately. She's had probably 100ml of sugar water and a dose of aspirin, and she's much perkier, still sleeping lots but much more alert and not looking so much like she's on death's door. Her wing is still hanging down, possibly even more so than it was, so when she's had a little more chance to recover i'll wrap it up for her. She's now munching greedily into pureed baby food. So far looking good.

 

[pawprint2104]

Oh! I'm so sorry for your trauma. My neighbor just lost a chicken to the other neighbor's dog (in their own yard!) Anyway...

I haven't had a chicken attacked by a dog, so I'm no help. I'm sorry. But, I am giving you internet hugs. I know it's alarming to have a sick or injured chicken. I posted today about my poor little hen, too.

Without having dog-attack-chicken experience. All I can say is treat it like any other emergent case. Provide appropriate First Aid and after incident care. Watch for signs of shock. Later watch for signs of infection, swelling, paralysis. Chickens (and other animals) can heal from broken limbs, it just takes some time. Internal bleeding and organ damage is a little more complicated. If your chicken is amenable to it, give it a thorough exam...separate the feathers and look for signs of bruising and broken skin. Do a head to toe exam, gently checking for signs of abnormality. Otherwise, let it quietly convalesce and make sure the other chickens don't peck at her. Fresh water, fresh food, and rest.

Hugs. I hope your chicken heals quickly.

 

[PrepperNerd]

Well, since she survived one night in 2 degrees celcius, by herself, in shock, with a broken wing, in an unfamiliar place, we might be lucky! Thanks for the reply though, I feel more awful now I know she was alive all that time than I did when I thought she'd met a quick death!

I've had her out of the box to strap her wing, I looked her over everywhere and apart from the missing feathers and the wing she seems uninjured. Not sure what's going on with the wing - I couldn't seem to make it 'stay' up, and I manipulated it as far as I dared. I settled with strapping it in place gently where it would normally be on her body, then put her back in the box with more aspirin and rescue remedy in sugar water. Poor thing, now i've strapped her wing she's very unbalanced It's heartbreaking to see. She'll sleep in the girls' bedroom tonight with the door shut and a heater on so the cat's can't get her, and probably will do that for the first three or four days (at least until she's moving around!), then we'll put her in the smaller, portable cage we have for outside, next to the regular coop, and if she's still suffering a bit we can bring the cage into the shed at night so she's a bit warmer. Aside from that, I can't think what else to do with her. I did consult a vet, and she said she can't do anything that i'm not already doing, aside from xrays etc on the wing. Hopefully, our loving care will do the trick!

 

[motleysussex]

I recently had a dog attack my 12week silki bantam roo, his injuries were fairly servear, a half eaten wing and large tear in breast, I isolated him and had to feed and water him hourly, fresh bedding and a heater, I washed his wounds with warm salty water regularly, and made sure his water had sugar and that I made oats with garlic and parsley without the leaves after I boiled the crap out of it. His wound started to fester and i was concerned he had gang green, after asking dor belp Another member here suggested blue kote to keep maggots away and to stop the flock peaking at his wounds.I went to my local produce store and was told only to use it if I was %100 sure On dosage, if I was a ml off I could kill him (its a poison) I was told salt water would be best. It has now been a month and he is back to being his mischievous self again. I am wondering if your hen may have nerve damage in her wing. In case it's just muscles try a warm soak In Epsom salts hope she gets better, I wish you the best

 

[PrepperNerd]

Thanks for that I'm not sure if it's broken, dislocated, or nerve damage, but the bone from the shoulder joint is definitely hanging lower than her other wing. I re-strapped her this morning with her wing a bit higher, but she actually complained about me moving it today. She's also a little less inclined to eat or drink, so not really sure what's going on - but she did survive the night, again. She is a bit more vocal today though.

 

[PrepperNerd]

Today's update: She survived the night, again, although she does seem to be sleeping and resting a lot more. She's quite able to stand, but seems very TIRED. She has drunk minimal amounts and totally refuses the syringe. She has more fight in her when I pick her up though, as I decided seeing as nothing else was working, to put her outside in the sun today in a small, portable pen that i've put next to the henhouse with her mates. When I picked her up to take her out there she struggled, which she hasn't done so far at all, we've just been able to pick her up and put her wherever and she doesn't fight, she just stays there. So she's near her mates, in the sunshine, with food and grain (which she did have a little peck at). Hoping she's just tired and recovering at her own pace, and being near her mates cheers her up today.

 

[EggDropSoup]

Hi there--

I have two hens who were very seriously wounded by a dog yesterday. One of them was in total shock when I found her. All the skin has been ripped off her back and I was almost certain she would die. But she's doing SO much better today!

Here's how I've been treating her:

-I've got her inside in my spare bathroom. She's in a small dog crate and I have a space heater in the bathroom, set on low.
-Yesterday, she hardly wanted to eat at all, but then I remembered that she LOVES raw eggs (hahaha) so I cracked open an egg from one of my other girls and emptied out the white. I offered her the yolk in half of the egg shell. She ate the yolk AND the shell!! From there, I offered her mealworms (loved), chickweed from the yard (loved), and some grain (eh). So you might try feeding your girl some raw egg yolk--it's packed with nutrients.
-The way my girl is wounded, she would DEFINITELY get an infection if I weren't giving her antibiotics. I'm giving her .5 cc of penicillin, injected intramuscularly, once a day. I'm also slathering her with Neosporin.
-Because she wasn't drinking yesterday, I injected her with about 20 cc of Lactated Ringer's solution (you could ask a vet for a bag) over the course of yesterday. It seemed to help IMMENSELY. Today, she is drinking fine, so I didn't give her anymore injected fluids.

In short, keep her warm, offer as many soft, easy-to-eat foods as you can think of, and try your absolute hardest to stave off infection. I thought it would be hard to give a chicken a shot, but she takes it like a champ! Most farm stores sell penicillin (it's really, really cheap, too) and offer syringes. I got mine for 8 bucks.

I hope this helps!!

 

[PrepperNerd]

Thanks for all that advice I did see your thread earlier, and tried the raw egg yolk....she slept in it instead, so now she may also need a bath on top of everything else!

She did make a lot more noise for the time she was initially awake after I put her near her mates. It's 3 days post-attack. She has obviously drunk some, just not when i'm looking as the water is going down, she just hasn't been drinking it with me holding the dish like she was on the first day. And she was eating baby mush, but now isn't interested in it (she scoffed it down that first day). Are you in Australia or the US? I don't know that i'd be able to buy penicillin here, but I was very interested in how you injected the chicken with fluids to make sure they're kept up. I don't know what that solution is...I could ask the vet though. Also, she's not wounded apart from the wing, not that I can see or feel anyway.