Rescued a chicken from an attack - never owned chickens before :(

[Wolfie305]

Hello everyone,

I'm sure you get these posts all the time, but I'm in need of some help! My brother's friend posted on Facebook this morning saying that an injured chicken was limping around his pool area and he needed help catching it. I love all animals and I have a little soft spot for chickens, despite never owning one, and rushed over.

I came over with a big dog crate and some towels. I gently covered the chicken's eyes and body with the towel and moved her to the crate where she sat, twitching a little.

According to my brother's friend, she was attacked by a cat (that he chased away). The cat wrangled the chicken into the pool where it sat until the kid took it out with the skimmer after chasing the cat off.

We asked surrounding neighbors if it belonged to them, but no luck. So I decided to take it home, otherwise, another neighbor was going to kill it. I happen to have a neighbor who has owned chickens on the property since I've move here (all my life), so I plan to take it to him if I can't do anything.

I gave the chicken an hour or so to calm down and then just took her out to inspect her. No blood and no visible wounds, just a ton of feathers missing/broken/pulled. Very red around her bottom area. Also, there is this weird brownish bulge under one of her wings that I didn't manage to get a picture of, but concerns me. After reading through some things online, I dabbed some hydrogen peroxide on the wounded areas and out her back in the crate/towel in my garage.

Here is a picture of her bum

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii298/Wolfie305/chicken_zpsa01a5e5e.png

Is there anything more I can do? From my understanding, chickens do very well recovering on their own in dark, quiet places. Do you think she has a chance?

She's an all white chicken, fairy large, with thick yellow legs. She looks like this - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/White_chicken.JPG

I hope I can save her

 

[HbbyFrmGrl]

Glad she has someone looking out for her! She doesn't look too bad so you may want to try leaving her alone in a quiet place with some food and water for a while. Make her a 'home' in a warm and quiet place and let her get over the shock. She is most likely pretty traumatized and needs some time to relax and get over the shock. Good Luck!

 

[Wolfie305]

Thank you so much for posting! I've been doing just that so far, so I'll continue to let her be.

Do you think I should turn on any lamps or something near her crate? It's quite cold today here in MA and while the garage is warmer, I'm not sure if it's warm enough..

 

[BinaryChicken]

yes you should probably give her some light and maybe even suspend a heat lamp over if you have one or some source of heat.

dont make it too hot though

sources: raising chickens for 6 years and having sick ones

 

[stargirl]

Bless you for helping her! It sounds like you're doing great so far.

Defintely add some warmth - putting her crate near a heater or even slipping a hot water bottle in will do the trick. Plenty of food and water too, and enough light in the day to see these by (chickens can see very little in low light). What are you feeding her on? Good things to try are plain scrambled eggs or wet cat food. The protein will help her.

Her bottom looks ok, just like she lost a lot of feathers. The under-wing bulge could be more of a concern but at least you're doing what you can. It's possible she'd benefit from a course of antibiotics, as a precaution in case of any scratches or wounds that are hidden by her feathers. Do you have any stores locally that would sell something like that?

 

[Wolfie305]

Thank you! She is standing up in her crate now, which I assume is a good sign? She is no longer twitching or breathing heavy, just resting!

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii298/Wolfie305/chicken2_zps6927e35a.png

She took a tiny bit of water, but I'll pick up some cat food and do the egg thing for sure.

I'll try and get a picture of the bulge soon because I have no idea what it is. Because she is standing, I assume her legs are alright and I don't think she broke/injured her wings because she is using them. So that makes me happy.

As for the anti-biotics, I have CVS and Walgreens here. Is there a specific name/brand? Would this be an ointment or something oral?

Thank you so much for your replies!

 

[stargirl]

Oh she's a beauty! <3
Great news that she's standing, and has taken a little water. Her comb looks a good shade of red which is a good sign too.

Tempting her to eat is important - anything you have around is worth a try, cereal, corn, cheese, bread, grapes, croissants... If she's feeling bad she might be reluctant but keep trying!
Her legs look good, but her stance is not quite right. Her wings would normally be held tucked up against her body. Is she holding them down like that all the time? It's possible that while not broken she's sprained or hurt her wings in the attack. Keep an eye on how she's moving & holding them, & keep us posted.

I'm in the UK so I'm not really up on which antibiotics you can buy over there, but I think they're usually from feed stores or pet supply shops. Something oral would be best, just to help stop any potential infections taking hold. Cat saliva does bad things to birds. A good general one is Tylan, which you can get as an injectable or as a soluable powder that you add to drinking water. Not expensive, and you could probably get some online if you can't find it locally.

Please keep us posted! Thinking of you & your new little friend!

 

[BinaryChicken]

keep on doing the same stuff, sounds great!

Love Cape Cod!

 

[Wolfie305]

Thanks everyone!

She was doing GREAT this morning. She drank a whole bowl of water for me and started to eat the hardboiled egg I kept in the fridge from last night. As soon as I fed her, my brother came up the stairs and told me my dad had asked my neighbor (who has chickens) if he would interested in caring for her and he said yes!

So I took her over to him and he had a big dog crate for her with some nice, soft wood-chip bedding. He said he was going to do the same thing I was doing and keep her in the crate until she feels a bit better, then slowly let the other hens in his brood check her out through the crate.

I'm so glad he took her because I can go and visit her

 

[stargirl]

Great news! Hope she heals well & settles into her new family.
Has she given you the chicken bug? Tempted to get some of your own yet?