shocked chicken maybe dead...

[cakebird]

It makes me sadwant to saya I think one of my hens is in shock..maybe dead... my hubby tells
me the neighbors dog got in our yard today and chased our chickens and ducks. Angie, one of our hens would not perch this evening. We wrapped her in a towel and brought her in the house
Where i held and rocked her for a few hours. I got her to drink a little water. Thoen a little later
she raised her head, her neck feathers stood up straight, her neck twisted to the right and then to.the
Left. She has not made movement since. Her eyes are open , her body seems warm but not sure
If we have lost our Angie. My hubby says, let her be in a laundry basket for the night.
I am new with chickens, since the spring. I have read a couple books on raising them but not sure what has happened. Appreciate your thoughts. [email protected]

 

[azygous]

When a chicken dies, she will usually go through death throes - wings suddenly flap, then they go limp and COLD. As long as she's warm, she's alive.

I would treat her as you would a human victim of shock. Warm towels in the dryer. Wrap her in the warmed towels. I think you've done pretty well so far. I think she may surprise you and recover, unless she has injuries you aren't able to see.

 

[Time-Out]

Do you have an electric blanket? Wrap her in towels and pop her on that for the night (on a low setting, though!). I would try to give her some vitamin water after a few hours. She'll need the fluids.

 

[cakebird]

Thank you both for your reply. Angie past sometime in the night. I wish i would have
used an electric blanket or heated towels. But perhaps it was Angies time. In the future I will be sure to give my ladies electrolytes, vitiamins. I use to give them to the ladies daily, then felt perhaps i was going overboard. Thanks again!

 

[Coop Deville]

Sorry about your loss. I lost two hens to a possum a few weeks ago. One from the actual attack and one from fright. It was very sad.

 

[cakebird]

Coop deville so sorry for you loss and thank you for your empathy regarding Angie. Just love my hens, two roosters and 7 ducks. I also.raised 5 5 turkeys. I made a deal with my husband If I could raise the turkeys Then I would have been processed. Yanks to that deal but I committed to it. Turkeys were so much fun to raise.. they were so inquisitive.. I love to hear on bark when I came in the yard.. won't make that deal again!. Ask for predators, do you have any tips on possums? I bought these devices kinda like Nighthawks They are supposed to ward off predators. I'm praying they work.. but I guess they work at night so I guess dogs are in the daytime are off limits of the Nighthawks.

 

[satay]

Sorry for your loss

 

[Coop Deville]

There have always been lots of possums in the neighborhood, but they weren't a big problem until the drought (We're in Texas). Lately they've come sniffing up to the coop for water and food, and I guess it got so bad that one night that possum felt it had to go after the chickens themselves. I got outside maybe a minute after the hens started sounding the alarm. By that time it had attacked my Buff Orpington and one of my Ameraucanas was frozen in fright. Those are the two that died.

My nine year old daughter and I stayed up until 11:00 the next night armed and ready, but the possum stayed away. Then early the next morning the hens sounded the alarm again. I had gone to bed dressed and armed in case it returned. I was ready and I exterminated him. I posted a picture of the dead predator on another thread.

Probably the best advice is that chicken netting keeps chickens in and not predators out. You really need chicken wire if you don't have it already. Also there was a small gap in my fencing that the possum found and that's all it needed to get in.

 

[cakebird]

Thank you

 

[cakebird]

Thank you