Bird Attack

[Abby01]

I have 11 free range chickens. One of the neighborhood dogs got loose today and two of my chickens are missing and one has injuries (as she was in the dog's mouth). There is some blood on her underside and under her wing and also some of her feathers are missing on her tail. She is still in shock. I don't know if anything is broken. She is standing. I put her in one of the nesting boxes for the night. I may put a towel over her to keep her warm. If she isn't better by morning, I will call a vet. I am not familiar with chicken injuries and don't know her serious this is. What can I give her so she her wounds don't get infected? Any suggestions??? I can't find the other two chickens but there are alot of feathers. I hope they are hiding for the night but it doesn't look good.

[Irish_Lass]

Can you find any wounds? I would separate her from the other birds. They can sometimes pick off weaker/sick birds...depends on the breed. Try adding a little sugar to her water, that will give her a "lift" after the shock, if she drinks. I had an injured Taiwan bird a few months back and after having a sip of sugary water she picked up a little. I wouldn't worry so much about cleaning the wound to be honest, unless its filthy. Just get her into a cosy spot, away from the other birds where she can relax until the vet visit. Sometimes they're more resilient that we think. Good luck and come back and let us know how you get on. x

[Dirky47]

Better consult it to experts. your pet really needs a treatment. Give time on it.

[Yambasticks]

chickens are just like exotics, they are birds, any bleeding is serious. Find the source of the bleeding and then you need either styptic powder, flour or corn startch to simply throw on some probably make a paste, and hold it on with a little pressure until you notice the bleeding has stopped.

Yes, remove the bird from the others, even if it means taking it into your house for a few days, and no sugar water isn't really recommended, I know there are two over the counter antibiotics, one I can't remember what its called, but the other is Ornycin, You can buy it at petsmart, its a 7 day treatment, but if your bird looks far more injured than simple care of stopping bleeding, take the bird to the vet and don't be waiting a day, you may be needing to pound on your vets door in the middle of the night, and be sure that your vet is avian certified. Other vets often end up killing a bird because they don't know what they are doing. Hopes this helps.