injured chicken dog bite help

[tonk1221]

Hi. I have a small flock penned & safe I thought!!! A big stray lab dug under my fence enough to grab a hen. She got away. He had her by the back end. No blood no skin injury. She has trouble standing & walking. More of a scoot & then a flop. I have her in a cage. She is eating this morning. She seems to be in pain. Left side worse than right. Left foot just is limp & curls under her. Any type of wrap I can use? Any type of safe pain reliever chicken safe? She is around 2 years old. Bodily function seems normal. Hope she does not lay an egg!! Any help would be greatly apreciated. Thank You!!

[LadyLynn]

Although you don't see internal organs, this bird may have some serious injuries, and it would be in this hens best interest to take her to an avian vet, A.S.A.P!!

You could lose her in a relatively short time because of the injuries....... and if you think she might be possibly going to lay an egg that's all the more reason to get her into an avian vet.

You do know about egg binding don't you???

considering her injuries, laying an egg could be fatal to her.

No amount of bandaging is going to help her, but you do need to put her in a seperate cage away from the others to give her time to either heal, or die in peace, as much as I hate telling you this.

just please do the right thing for this chicken.

[tonk1221]

Hi, I live in a very rural area where vets (I have called many in the past 12 hours, I called vets over an hour away.) think chickens are not treatable just snap its neck & move on. HOW DISGUSTING!! I have her in her own pen in my basement since her attack. She is as comfortable as I can make her. She seems to be a bit more active & alert in the last couple hours. Still not walking, but getting around. She is an egg layer (Rhode Island red). I know about a stuck egg so to speak. I know it is leathal. I am just hoping I do not lose her because of that. I am trying my best to help her as much as I can. She is my pet as are the rest of my flock. If she is not any better & I feel she is suffering I will take her to a vet to be put down. That is all any vet will offer me, kind of laughing because I WON'T do it myself. Thanks for your time in replying.

[Jerica]

If you can't get her to a vet have you looked over her legs to see if there are injuries to them, that is if she lets you. Try to keep her a little bit warmer than usual and the smaller the area she's in the better, the least movement is what you want. I'd watch her for a few days and see if she starts to get better. If she's not using her leg and its limp and curled it is probably broken or even crushed. There should be some vet that will at least be willing to take x-rays, you need x-rays. The vet also could recommend a pain killer, though I can't think of one used on chickens, but I'm sure there must be something, chickens can be put under anesthesia so a pain killer I'm sure would be safe. If you are worried about egg binding give her some cuttlebone like you can get for other birds, it'll give her some calcium to help her out. I don't know what else to tell you except it'd be a good idea to get x-rays and just have a vet check her out. There must be a vet somewhere who is willing to at least look at her, its money for them after all. Hope your chicky gets better and you find a vet with a heart.

[tiffers]

Have you talked to avian vets? I know we see chickens, ducks, and even TURKEY'S! : ) They are more expensive, but they'll defiantely see your Chicken.

[gwynetham]

Hi,
I also have a chicken which was attacked by two dogs. It has been a week since the attack and she seems much better.
She had a lot of torn skin, it was really bad, honestly really surprised she has made it to the one week mark. I went to our farmer's co-op and got some stuff called blue-kote. It is an anti-bacterial and anti-fungal spray. I have also washed her wounds with mild shampoo and dried her as best I could with a hair dryer. she is so good!
I am worried though, her wounds don't seem weepy or pussy but the feathers covering them seem to be creating warm and moist air around the wound, and the feathers seem kind of moist. I don't want her wounds to become infected, I worry that bacteria may breed there under her wing. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[LadyLynn]

Either make an appointment with your "Avian certified vet, and part with some cash, or at least call one, and ask for advice, and if that doesn't work call a bird breeder in your area, they should know what to do.

God bless you and that precious chicken too.