Vet or time to heal? Do i need to seperate her?

[Sonya24]

We had a raccoon attack our coop and lost 1 of 5 hens And 1 is injured. She's also molting so uncomfortable as it is. Her injury to me looks horrible. Bascially all the skin off her back is just gone like to the bone. Stitches aren't even an option! She won't let me near her but she's eating and drinking. I saw 1 hen peck at her injury today but it wasn't in attack mode it was to remove her molting feathers In a gentle way. My poor girl looks so tired. I have a German shepherd that's territorial and I don't know how or where to separate her from flock of needed ?

 

[Sonya24]

We had a raccoon attack our coop and lost 1 of 5 hens And 1 is injured. She's also molting so uncomfortable as it is. Her injury to me looks horrible. Bascially all the skin off her back is just gone like to the bone. Stitches aren't even an option! She won't let me near her but she's eating and drinking. I saw 1 hen peck at her injury today but it wasn't in attack mode it was to remove her molting feathers In a gentle way. My poor girl looks so tired. I have a German shepherd that's territorial and I don't know how or where to separate her from flock of needed ?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I saw 1 hen peck at her injury today but it wasn't in attack mode it was to remove her molting feathers In a gentle way. My poor girl looks so tired. I have a German shepherd that's territorial and I don't know how or where to separate her from flock of needed ?

Can you gather her gently up after she's roosting so you can better access her wounds?

From what I can see, most look to be healing but you don't want another hen pecking at the injury or removing molting feathers(?) could it have been maggots instead of feathers(?).

She has a wound further up her back under those feathers - you can trim the feathers to keep them out of the wound.

I assume you cleaned the wounds initially, but you will want to re-look at them to see that they are scabbing over, that's there's no maggots and/or infection.
Since she's molting, she's even more standoffish, so I would use a spray like Vetericyn to apply to the wounds instead of trying to apply ointment.

She would likely benefit from extra protein - you can give her a boost with egg, fish, meat. Buttermilk or yogurt added to a little feed to make a wet mash is often very well accepted too.

Where is she sleeping? Is she roosting/sleeping on the floor? How is your coop/run set-up? You mention your dog is territorial, so I assume they birds are confined to coop/run? If so and you feel she needs separated, do it within the coop/run if you have enough space. A large dog crate will work well. You can lock her in for protection for all or part of the day if you wish. Some birds do not tolerate the crates very well - you will have to observe and use your best judgement on how she's doing in confinement - some get very depressed and decline, others appreciate having their own little area while they heal.

 

[Sonya24]

Can you gather her gently up after she's roosting so you can better access her wounds?

From what I can see, most look to be healing but you don't want another hen pecking at the injury or removing molting feathers(?) could it have been maggots instead of feathers(?).

She has a wound further up her back under those feathers - you can trim the feathers to keep them out of the wound.

I assume you cleaned the wounds initially, but you will want to re-look at them to see that they are scabbing over, that's there's no maggots and/or infection.
Since she's molting, she's even more standoffish, so I would use a spray like Vetericyn to apply to the wounds instead of trying to apply ointment.

She would likely benefit from extra protein - you can give her a boost with egg, fish, meat. Buttermilk or yogurt added to a little feed to make a wet mash is often very well accepted too.

Where is she sleeping? Is she roosting/sleeping on the floor? How is your coop/run set-up? You mention your dog is territorial, so I assume they birds are confined to coop/run? If so and you feel she needs separated, do it within the coop/run if you have enough space. A large dog crate will work well. You can lock her in for protection for all or part of the day if you wish. Some birds do not tolerate the crates very well - you will have to observe and use your best judgement on how she's doing in confinement - some get very depressed and decline, others appreciate having their own little area while they heal.

I would bring her in the house and let her have the peace e and quiet but my dog will not allow that he'll stress her out more and to be honest there's not a quiet space In the house for her. I do try to get near her but she's very skiddish since the attack. It does look better but I'm worried since she looks and feels vulnerable the others will hurt her. They're all locked in their coop night she lays in a difficult spot for me to reach too I don't want her to suffer. Should I take her to a vet? Or try the vetercyin spray. I feel like she's traumatized she's molting and injured poor thing has to be beat and she's mourning the loss of her sister. I can leave her in the coop/run and let the other free in the yard hopefully that will give her time to rest. After the attack they wouldn't go in the coop/run.it was so sad.i never knew chickens had so many emotions!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It's up to you whether to take her to the vet or treat her at home.
Transporting can be very stressful on them.

She may do ok with the flock if they are not attacking her, but if possible, see if you can give her quick look over for signs of infection or maggots.
I don't really see anything alarming in the photos - nothing is oozing, the skin I can see doesn't really look inflamed and she's scabbing up. Chickens can heal from very bad wounds. The molting complicates things of course because this make her even more flighty.

See how she does with the flock, but you may want to try to entice her to the side to see if she will eat a little something for you. My molting birds usually don't have that great of an appetite, so the molting may be partly why she's not eating that well.
If you can get her to come to you to eat, you may be able to see the wounds better without touching her and if there's infection, you will probably be able to detect the odor of that too by not having to handle her.

Good news is, it looks like she's feathering in pretty well - I also can see her oil gland at the base of her tail - it looks to be intact and not damaged at all! That's always a good thing when a bird has been attacked.

 

[Sonya24]

You've put my mind at ease tonight thank you! If I don't have to take her into the vet that'd help my pocket but ultimately I don't want her to suffer so ill keep a close eye on her .I'm going to keep trying to get her closer too to have a good look! Than k you so much for all your advice I appreciate it!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Good luck!

Please keep us posted on how she's getting along.