so_fancy_af
Chirping
Tl;dr: bobcat attack, no punctures, possible broken/dislocated wing that I immobilized with a modded t-shirt. She’s inside and steadily declining. I fear internal injuries. What else can I do? Is the wrap a mistake? There are no avian vets near me who see chickens. I have tried before.
Macaroni was attacked by a bobcat on Friday afternoon. It had just barely got ahold of Mac when I scared it off. She lost a lot of feathers —enough that I hoped the cat had only got a grip on feathers, not chicken— and when I checked her out, she wasn’t bleeding and nothing appeared to be broken. Of course she seemed shocky and I held onto her for a while before I put her back in the coop. She was walking around and appeared OK, and I checked on her every hour or so. About 5 hours later she went into the nest box and just stood there…and stood there…and stood there. I assumed it was a fear response. Her tail started started to droop, and then her wing, though her comb stayed bright, no paleness. She was eating worms, though not out of my hands. Saturday was more of the same, and unfortunately I had to be away from home all day, 8 AM on, and couldn’t check on her until 10 PM. She was still in the next box, though sitting. This morning I pulled her out again and it seems her wing is either dislocated or broken. She’s very lethargic. I got her to drink some water, maybe 6 beakfuls. She’s not eating. Her butt feathers are sticky with broken egg; I don’t know if it’s hers or someone else’s and she sat on it or if she passed a broken egg. There’s no shell or blood around her vent. I modified a cotton t-shirt to hold her wing in place and have her inside in a cool-but-not-cold room (it’s 85 degrees outside today where I am). She’s not doing well. I’m concerned the wrap is the wrong choice. Is there anything else I can do? I’m worried she has internal injuries and the compassionate choice might be to euthanize her. Chickens are so tough though…I’ve had others come back from what I thought was death’s door. I’m so sad and feel terribly.
(Side note: I know her nails are too long. We’ve been slowly trimming them to get the quick to recede.)
Thank you for your help
Macaroni was attacked by a bobcat on Friday afternoon. It had just barely got ahold of Mac when I scared it off. She lost a lot of feathers —enough that I hoped the cat had only got a grip on feathers, not chicken— and when I checked her out, she wasn’t bleeding and nothing appeared to be broken. Of course she seemed shocky and I held onto her for a while before I put her back in the coop. She was walking around and appeared OK, and I checked on her every hour or so. About 5 hours later she went into the nest box and just stood there…and stood there…and stood there. I assumed it was a fear response. Her tail started started to droop, and then her wing, though her comb stayed bright, no paleness. She was eating worms, though not out of my hands. Saturday was more of the same, and unfortunately I had to be away from home all day, 8 AM on, and couldn’t check on her until 10 PM. She was still in the next box, though sitting. This morning I pulled her out again and it seems her wing is either dislocated or broken. She’s very lethargic. I got her to drink some water, maybe 6 beakfuls. She’s not eating. Her butt feathers are sticky with broken egg; I don’t know if it’s hers or someone else’s and she sat on it or if she passed a broken egg. There’s no shell or blood around her vent. I modified a cotton t-shirt to hold her wing in place and have her inside in a cool-but-not-cold room (it’s 85 degrees outside today where I am). She’s not doing well. I’m concerned the wrap is the wrong choice. Is there anything else I can do? I’m worried she has internal injuries and the compassionate choice might be to euthanize her. Chickens are so tough though…I’ve had others come back from what I thought was death’s door. I’m so sad and feel terribly.
(Side note: I know her nails are too long. We’ve been slowly trimming them to get the quick to recede.)
Thank you for your help
