Sussex mauled by a cat, not eating

[coop410silkies]

hi, Brittany, and welcome. I am so sorry to hear of your LS' misfortune. Like you, I have Light Sussex (hens and roos), and like yours, mine have been attacked by a feral cat. I have found the cat inside my coops in the morning, and lurking by the pop doors at other times; I do free range my birds, and the cat may go in the coop during the evening via pop door while it's still open. It takes my birds in their sleep, and it can take down a large Roo if it is sleeping. it killed all but two of my Silkies early this Spring, in the wee hours of the morning while they were sleeping; walked off with a few, left most dead on the ground, some beheaded, not one intact showed any sign of injury or had missing feathers. No sign of other predators, just this feral cat. Bobcats are said to kill with a bite in the neck, behind the head. I've come to believe this is the killing mode of my feral cat. I think you are right about your wild one.

I have two roos that have sustained an eye injury: one recovered on his own, and the other manages rather well with sight in just one eye. I hope your girl recovers. I agree with the others citing brain - or spinal - injury. If you are worried about eye infection, colloidal silver eye drops are safe and effective, if you can get it (in a health food store?). One of my large LS roos showed up with a very bloody neck, right below and behind his head, as though he had tangled with something, and he continued on, business as usual. Your hen may not have suffered a mortal wound, is what I am saying.

Liver is amazingly nutritious; all that vitamin A works wonders to the immune system. Also eggs, especially the yolks. Great suggestions. My birds love hamburger, and if they needed encouragement to eat, i would maybe offer them some of that. I would maybe put a couple of drops of B-carotene on it to fortify their immune system. My birds are nuts about live foods, too - superworms, pinkies, mealworms, crickets, and the like; these can also be dipped in vitamins. Beware though; if your hen recovers, she will be spoiled. Just keep at it. I have raised sick chickens from the dead, and it is possible. Good Luck! Fortune favors the bold.

 

[BrittanyM1]

hi, Brittany, and welcome. I am so sorry to hear of your LS' misfortune. Like you, I have Light Sussex (hens and roos), and like yours, mine have been attacked by a feral cat. I have found the cat inside my coops in the morning, and lurking by the pop doors at other times; I do free range my birds, and the cat may go in the coop during the evening via pop door while it's still open. It takes my birds in their sleep, and it can take down a large Roo if it is sleeping. it killed all but two of my Silkies early this Spring, in the wee hours of the morning while they were sleeping; walked off with a few, left most dead on the ground, some beheaded, not one intact showed any sign of injury or had missing feathers. No sign of other predators, just this feral cat. Bobcats are said to kill with a bite in the neck, behind the head. I've come to believe this is the killing mode of my feral cat. I think you are right about your wild one.

I have two roos that have sustained an eye injury: one recovered on his own, and the other manages rather well with sight in just one eye. I hope your girl recovers. I agree with the others citing brain - or spinal - injury. If you are worried about eye infection, colloidal silver eye drops are safe and effective, if you can get it (in a health food store?). One of my large LS roos showed up with a very bloody neck, right below and behind his head, as though he had tangled with something, and he continued on, business as usual. Your hen may not have suffered a mortal wound, is what I am saying.

Liver is amazingly nutritious; all that vitamin A works wonders to the immune system. Also eggs, especially the yolks. Great suggestions. My birds love hamburger, and if they needed encouragement to eat, i would maybe offer them some of that. I would maybe put a couple of drops of B-carotene on it to fortify their immune system. My birds are nuts about live foods, too - superworms, pinkies, mealworms, crickets, and the like; these can also be dipped in vitamins. Beware though; if your hen recovers, she will be spoiled. Just keep at it. I have raised sick chickens from the dead, and it is possible. Good Luck! Fortune favors the bold.

So I bought beef liver at the store, prepackaged, frozen. Thaw it and give it to her raw?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You can serve the beef liver either way

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Any improvement?

 

[coop410silkies]

Yes, either way is good, but I prefer to feed raw if she will eat it, simply because heat destroys nutrients and I feel it packs a bigger bang for the nutritional buck when consumed raw. My birds like it both ways, perhaps favoring cooked (simmered lightly). I just cut it up into pieces with scissors. Increased protein in the diet has been said to cause loose stools (diarrhea), so you might want to prepare yourself for that. I am not sure it is harmful, but you will want to make sure she's getting lots of water to compensate. Blessings to you for your care.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Another newbie question, I plan to scoop out the FF that I need each day. When it gets low, can I just add more feed to the container or do I need to start all over again?

hi, Brittany, and welcome. I am so sorry to hear of your LS' misfortune. Like you, I have Light Sussex (hens and roos), and like yours, mine have been attacked by a feral cat. I have found the cat inside my coops in the morning, and lurking by the pop doors at other times; I do free range my birds, and the cat may go in the coop during the evening via pop door while it's still open. It takes my birds in their sleep, and it can take down a large Roo if it is sleeping. it killed all but two of my Silkies early this Spring, in the wee hours of the morning while they were sleeping; walked off with a few, left most dead on the ground, some beheaded, not one intact showed any sign of injury or had missing feathers. No sign of other predators, just this feral cat. Bobcats are said to kill with a bite in the neck, behind the head. I've come to believe this is the killing mode of my feral cat. I think you are right about your wild one.

I have two roos that have sustained an eye injury: one recovered on his own, and the other manages rather well with sight in just one eye. I hope your girl recovers. I agree with the others citing brain - or spinal - injury. If you are worried about eye infection, colloidal silver eye drops are safe and effective, if you can get it (in a health food store?). One of my large LS roos showed up with a very bloody neck, right below and behind his head, as though he had tangled with something, and he continued on, business as usual. Your hen may not have suffered a mortal wound, is what I am saying.

Liver is amazingly nutritious; all that vitamin A works wonders to the immune system. Also eggs, especially the yolks. Great suggestions. My birds love hamburger, and if they needed encouragement to eat, i would maybe offer them some of that. I would maybe put a couple of drops of B-carotene on it to fortify their immune system. My birds are nuts about live foods, too - superworms, pinkies, mealworms, crickets, and the like; these can also be dipped in vitamins. Beware though; if your hen recovers, she will be spoiled. Just keep at it. I have raised sick chickens from the dead, and it is possible. Good Luck! Fortune favors the bold.

Raccoons take of heads. And anything from the weasel family will bite the back of the neck and wipe out a whole flock if possible.

Sorry for your losses.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Honestly I don't think she sees me. Or not enough to recoginze me. So I've watched my other chicken, when she looks at me her pupil dilates in and out and then that nictating membrane slides over her eye to blink for her. My injured bird doesn't do any of that, no movement of the pupil and no "blinking" so I really don't think she is able to focus on an object in front of her to see it clearly.

So I wasn't home when it happened, my husband found the mess inside the coop. We don't free range our girls. But it was daylight when he found them. He hadn't been out in the morning so really it could have happened overnight.

I live in what I guess you could call is the country, about an acre but neighbors on both sides, on a lake, land is mostly cleared down to the lake with the exception of some pine trees. The area in general around the lake is wooded.

I do agree that a cat could be unlikely because it did take a whole chicken away...crazy. But it's the only animal if seen around my coop before. I do have a bald eagle's nest in my area. (This is why I don't free range) Other than that I have not seen any other predators..
I didn't suspect the bald eagle as the culprit because where it got in wasn't large enough for it to fit I don't think. But I guess stranger things have happened

I would be highly suspicious of raccoon, mink, weasel. The description of having a lake near by means you could have all kinds of predators. Yes a feral cat is possible. But the others are more likely IMHO.

Also note that it WILL be back to where it found an easy meal! It's my understanding that a weasel can fit through a quarter sized whole even near the roof. Ensuring that your coop is repaired where they got in is of the utmost importance. If it is chicken wire and not hardware cloth then a raccoon can reach through and easily decapitate a chicken.

It could be a brain injury... but you don't have to get a brain injury to sustain an eye injury that could blind you.

Anyways, sound like your girls are in good hands!

 

[chitownhens]

So I bought beef liver at the store, prepackaged, frozen. Thaw it and give it to her raw?

Yep hens love raw organ meats. They are nutrient dense and the majority of carnivores/ominivores eat the organs first..........it's intuitive. Of course a hen can't take down a really large animal but they seem to have the same instinct on knowing which parts are better.

I give my hens 100% pastured raised beef liver which is completely organic. It's the same one I eat.....................store bought is a good second option.

 

[BrittanyM1]

Any improvement?

Yes and no. Still not eating/drinking on her own. She perks up at the sound of my voice, she's getting fiestier when I try to force feed her so I guess she's building strength.
The biggest obstacle now is I work 12 hours today and tomorrow, so she's alone all day in this heat. We put out some frozen water bottles if she gets too hot hopefully she'll huddle next to it.

She made this sweet almost pur/cooing like noise this morning while I was feeding her! Slightly reassuring! She's opening the left eye more and more. Doesn't look like any infection going on, no drainage or redness, probably just a chicken black eye sort of thing.

 

[BrittanyM1]

Her diet is consisting of raw beef liver, mashed up feed/water, water with electrolytes and hard boiled eggs

Thanks for all the recommendations! I'll keep up the updates