Silkie with attack wound in back-new to this/don't know what to do

[Erika]

Something (land based predator we believe) has come and attacked our little flock...we are from 7 guineas down to 3 now. Silkies survived, but Shelly has been acting funny--slow, quiet, putting his head in the corner of the coop--didn't notice at first (and they were so spooked I could hardly get near them) but by yesterday it was unmistakeable. I picked him up and really looked at him well today (3 days after attack) and he has quite a wound in his back. Hard to tell exact nature and extent of it because of the feathers crusted on there, but it seems he has had a bite taken out of him. Is there anything I can do at this point? I do not know the proper temp for a chicken, but when I picked him up it did seem pretty warm under his chin. I am just sick about this and have little experience with injured animals of any kind.
Thanks,
Erika

 

[winekntrychicks]

I'm fairly new as well. But I have had issues recently with sick chickies. I would bring him in the house if you can. When I have a chickie I want to monitor I bring it in and put in in the shower. I have 2 bthrooms so the hospital is a shower floor pan with glass sliders. I line the floor with paper towels and replace as needed. I would keep the light on during the day. I give food and water free will but monitor closely. If I feel they are not eating or drinking I force it. I have a little syringe I feed with. I put oatmeal in my blender and make a paste. I drop water droplets on side of beak and I make them drink every few hours. I have seen lots of people on these threads use boiled egg, and yogurt. Mine won't eat that. Keep chickie quiet away from the rest. As for the wounds I would use a warm compress to soften the dry blood, then gently remove caked up blood, feathers. If you have a betadine wash you could put just a bit on the compress, it can be sudsey so don't use too much, so you can see what you are dealing with. If you have any antibiotics start that. I used some of my left overs awhile ago. I had no idea how much to give so I just winged it. I opened the capsule and mixed just enough to make the water cloudy (I used about 2-3 tablespoons water) then just a titch more. I forced it, gently of course, with my water syringe. Be patient some one will come along that can help you, further good luck.

 

[winekntrychicks]

Another thought, your baby is no doubt hurting, search these threads, I have seen people giving baby aspirin for pain. It might help bring down fever as well, but fever is fighting infection. I would not know how much to give.

 

[countryentertainment]

My chickens always feel warm to me, not sure what their body temp really is but when I bathed them(for showing) I tried 103 as one book suggested and they were calm as could be, but when I tried 95 and the book suggested 90 they didn't like it at all.
It takes a while to soften dried blood, you will probably have to keep it wet for quite a while, be sure the room is nice and warm.
When you do get it cleaned neosporin is good on it also and sanitary pads work great to cover the wound, just use masking tape on the back of the pad and tape it to feathers.
You should be able to find Oxytetricycline where you get your feed, hopefully. Read the directions carefully some of them give directions for large batches. Put it into a container don't leave it in the package, moister will get into it in the package. Most powdered medicines I've checked 1 gram = 1/2 teaspoon. If I know there is an infection I give the high dose for a couple days then at least 7 more days of the medium dose depending on how the chicken looks and acts. Chickens will grow back skin if you give them the time to do it. We always keep antibiotics on hand just in case.

Good luck!

 

[talkinboutmygirls]

I would hold other chicks to see if this one is really suffering from temp - they are supposed to be warm.

I had RIRs that were "chew toys" for the neighbor's dog - they each had bite wounds on their backs. You should bathe your birdie in warm water - I don't know about the betadine - get all the blood and/or goo off, dry well - I used a hair dryer on low - then apply Neosporin. NOT the one with pain reliever! Keep warm and in the dark to heal - she will sleep a lot which is good for her healing. Even if she has never been fed yogurt before, you should try and offer her some plain. it has the live cultures in it that will help her heal from the inside out, as well. Another excellent food for her is mashed, boiled egg. My girls love watermelon and when they wouldn't touch anything else, they would always eat the watermelon! Offer her Pedialyte instead of water to drink. Polyvisol vitamins daily. Someone on here told me that anything you would use for a baby is probably good for your birdie.
My girls came out of my bathroom ICU (intensive chick unit) within 5 days - I lost one little sweetie from a really bad attack - but all the rest are now happily laying eggs!
Good Luck with your baby!

 

[winekntrychicks]

Betadine is okay. It's meant for cleaning wounds. I keep it on hand for us as well as the Chickies.

 

[Erika]

Well, Shelly is now in the tub with a bathtowel "nest." I applied warm compresses and did what I could to get feathers out of the way of the wounds. They are very bad. In fact, I can't believe he lived through the attack and made it this far. I find I don't have much for emergency care of this sort, but I did get things cleaned up and slathered in neosporin, covered in gauze. Infection is not apparent. I'm now waiting to see if he will drink on his own. Things don' t look real good here, but at least this way I will know that I did what I could if the poor little guy doesn't make it. My mother in law (2 places up the hill) reported seeing a very large, well-fed fox in her yard by our woods yesterday, so I would imagine that's our culprit. Can't imagine these wounds were caused by anything less than a big fox or a really vicious dog. It is just so sad...there are already now so few of them to stay warm in the coop for the winter. Thanks so much for the suggestions, folks.

 

[winekntrychicks]

Keep us posted. You are doing as much as you can for him. Poor baby. Time will tell. Try to keep him fed and watered for strength. He needs protein for healing his wounds. Get some pedialyte (sp?) from the grocery store, this will help keep him hydrated as well. Your love and support care will go along way. Lisa

 

[Erika]

Still staying the course here...Shelly seems to have perked up a little bit: protests the eyedropper of water sometimes, and will turn to look if you come in. He's eating a little oatmeal today, but had quite a bit (1/3 cup cooked?) last night. He just kind of sits or stand there in his little towel nest. We have to go out of town for Thanksgiving week so I sure hope he's a lot better by then--we'll only have someone to stop down once or twice a day to look after the critters. Also have the other survivors on the enclosed porch til we can do something about that fox--don't know that we can reinforce the coop enough to keep out a big, hungry, determined fox. Oh--didn't post that here--I caught this fox trying to get into the little chicken run last night at dusk! I ran out there screaming, and it ran to the edge of the woods. Ran back in, got the air rifle (only weapon I've got) and if I'd had a functioning scope and the darn thing hadn't jammed, well, would have at least caused him to think twice about coming back around here. Whole thing is a bit of a mess and rather depressing.

 

[dancingbear]

Erika, I find my chickens respond very well to herbal remedies, I keep a number of herbs on hand. You can make a strong tea of golden seal, echinacea, chapparal, or other anti-infective herbs, and add to his water. That way if he does have any infection, you can begin treating it from the inside out. Bag balm is amazing stuff, too, I've used it on many a wounded bird, with great success. They get it all over and look truly awful for a time, but it works great.

We've had rouge foxes here, twice. Don't give the fox any warning by running and shouting. Just keep the gun handy, examine your situation, and envision different ways you might be able to give yourself time to aim and shoot, before the fox knows you see him. Even though the air gun probably won't kill him, it's possible that a good shot will deter his return. I'm been told that if they get a non-fatal hit, they won't be back, but I don't know if that's true. It could be a myth. But it'll sure make him think twice, and if you shoot him more than once, I'd expect he'd either die or give up, eventually.

My DH managed to shoot the first fox, he kept running, but never came back. I assumed the shot was fatal, just not instant.

The 2nd fox, a couple of years later, my funny-looking little brown dog Cleo caught and chewed on, but she isn't big enough to take down a fox. That one kept coming back, she kept catching him, and kept him from getting any chicken dinners. She literally rescued hens right out of his mouth. One was so badly wounded that we went ahead and butchered and ate it, (it was a meat bird anyway)
but the fox got a hard run, chewed on by my dog, and nothing to eat for the trouble. Same thing 3 more times, then he tried my neighbor's down the road, who was able to get a good shot in and killed him. We knew it was the same fox because his back foot was chewed up, (classic Cleo damage).