First of all, I have NEVER culled a chicken before, but I think this might be the best thing for my hen. Here is the story: about a month ago my RIR hen, Rose, came into the garage to see what I was up to. Then, she decided it would be fun to start attacking my chihuahua mix; as she attempts almost every day. Before I could break it up, my dog bit her on the head. One of her canines got her just to the left of her comb and above her eye. It bled a lot, but we cleaned it up and put her in the dog cage. That evening, she seemed to be in shock, but she was eating and drinking. The next day, we noticed she was gasping and sneezing. We went to TSC and got her some general antibiotics and gave her the dosage for an Upper Respiratory Infection. After 14 days of treatment with no improvement, we decided to call a vet. Turns out, none of the vets around here take chickens. So, I put her back with the flock and hoped for the best. After an entire month, she has not improved at all. She used to be the most outgoing and happy of all my chickens. Now, she stands off by herself with ruffled feathers, gasping and sneezing. She feels like she lost some weight and went from laying the most eggs in the flock to laying none. I feel so horrible. Part of me wants to wait for a miracle, but I know she is suffering. I also worry she will bring in disease due to her run-down immune system. Does anyone have ANY idea what this is from? I cannot find a cause for this, no matter how hard I look. The one possibility is a punctured nasal cavity, but I don't know. So, I am left with little choice but to cull. If this was you, what would you do?
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