So much chicken drama with me lately. Roo attacked by possum. Large puncture.

[kvmommy]

A possum got in my coop tonight. I didn't even know it was still there. My 3 chickens were scattered across the yard but I saw no sign of anything. I called my Boxer, which btw is the best chicken protective breed ever. And she ran into the coop which is small and can barely fit my 3 comfortably. There was growling and the whole shook. Then she ran out. I promptly shut the door and my husband lifted the roof. My dog had done a number on it, but it was still alive. My husband shot it 3 times before it died. Its still in the coop. DH wants to make sure its fully dead before handling it since its raining and dark out. So, it appears only my roo was attacked. He's a pure Brahma and has so many feathers. He was definitely in shock, didn't even react to my dog licking him. I took him side and he was perfect while I looked through his feathers. He has a puncture/slight tear near his tail. I couldn't find anything else. I kinda pulled it open and flushed it really well with antiseptic wash and slathered it in neosporin. I have Penn C from my injured chicken last year. How long is it good for? Do you think he needs it? She died during my injection (she had a hole under her wing and bones were exposed for 3 days but I missed it when I was looking). I dont' want to do it again if I don't have to. Also, how do I disinfect the coop after the possum has been removed? They're all in the pool shed with my 5 week old. I really hope they don't kill them. Soooo much stress.

 

[kvmommy]

Is there any advice for me? I'm not going to suture it because there is no real tear and I know sewing punctures is bad for dogs, they need it to drain. But in terms of antibiotics? Can I give oral human antibiotics? I have amoxocillan.

 

[Malibu99]

Chickens have great healing ability; keep it clean and he should heal up nicely. To help with the shock, put him somewhere dark. This will calm him. As for disinfecting the coop, you can put some bleach and water in a spray bottle and spray it in the coop, then power wash it with a hose and add new bedding. Once the coop is dry (thoroughly, I'd say a day or two. But that's just me... whenever you feel it's dry enough), you can add the birds back. You can put some blu-kote on the rooster's wound to keep them from pecking at it, or you can keep him inside until it's completely healed. Personaly, I'd put him back out sooner rather than later because being away from the others may stress him out. Hope he feels better soon.


ETA- Can you get a picture? How big is the wound? For extra protien, you can scramble an egg (no seasoning, salt, etc.) for him.

 

[kvmommy]

I wasn't able to get a pic. He was great and calm last night, today absolutely will NOT let me get near him to check it! You can't see it through the feathers and theres no blood so no one is picking at it. But he is eating and drinking fine. And his color is great, the only aftermath is he is a little stiff. He had no problem doing his job today and mated my spunky hen no problem. What are things I need to look for in terms of infection?

I got the coop cleaned out, don't have a pressure washer but sprayed it with a hose. The chickens are dying to get in it. I might let them in tonight...its pretty dry already. Not 100% though.

thanks so much!!

 

[Malibu99]

You're welcome. Try to catch him a few times a day to check for flies/maggots. I'd say he's okay, just watch for flies and infection. I'm not sure quite what an infection looks like, to be honest. Just keep up with the neosporin (WITHOUT PAIN RELIEF. The pain relief is toxic.) If he starts to act off, then definately do a thorough check.

 

[kvmommy]

I'll definitely keep an eye on it. Lucky its cold out so I don't have to deal with maggots for the most part. I'm sooo glad my 2 year old got into my neosporin with pain relief. I was planning on using it and then remembered I tossed it because he decided to paint his leg with it for an itty bitty scratch! I put them in the coop tonight. Its small and the roof comes off so it dried quick. Something tried to get them again! I decided to let them into the pool shed until their coop is more secure. One flew right in to the rafters, my roo followed me in as happy as can be, and my other hen gave me a hard time but once I carried her in she was pretty happy.

 

[Chicks on DL]

We had a possum attack too. It unfortunately got one of my hens by the head and punctured her eye. She didn't lose the eye but she is now blind in that eye. We don't have a rooster. I did give the hen some child liquid amoxicillin (I searched for the dosage on the internet and had to calculate how much to give her) I just happen to have in the fridge for a few days but she was in really bad shape though and the day after we thought we were going to have to cull her. I am glad your roo is doing better. It is not easy on us when things like this happen. We too fortified our coop to keep it from happening again. It was very frightening to me to run outside and find one of our favorite hens on the floor. It changed her personality but we still love her.

 

[LuvinChickens]

Becuase you have possums in the area and they might get in again (let's hope not). Here is a link to a great article for treating big open wounds: http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/cell.htm

I hope the roo heals just fine.

 

[kvmommy]

Thank you! We had another attack right after that. With the weather turning cold it seems they are all hell bent and determined to get in my pool shed where my chickens have decided to stay and crap all over my equipment!