Hello Everyone,
A couple of small dogs managed to get on my property (I have no idea how, I am still looking for the point of entry) and attack my birds. Fortunately, the damage was not as bad as I initially thought as many of my birds managed to fly away, fight back, or otherwise hide (though, still hurt). However, I still have a few birds recovering physically and mentally from the attack. One hen is of particular concern, pictured below. It is now day four after the attack and I realized this morning that it appears that she cannot lift her head. Because I have been trying to keep them from getting more stressed I did not try to handle the birds this weekend. She is with the other still-recovering hens, but away from the more rambunctious recovered birds. She will peck at food, and she moves a little, but not much at all. For those of you with more experience with hurt birds, is this something she will likely recover from, or is this just a painful existence that will not get better? I have a rooster with what appears to be a dislocated wing, but I do not think there is anything I can do to fix that, but he seems to be recovering just fine. The hen on the other hand...
Thank you, in advance, for any advice anyone can provide.
Replies
Since she pecks at food, I assume she can move her head up and down a bit? Does she move it from side to side? I assume she can walk and is pooping?
As Cathrine suggested, check her neck. You should be able to feel all the vertibrae lined up . A broken or misaligned vertibra in the neck would require a vet, courage to try to pop the bone back in place (hard to do with a chicken's neck), or gently stretching her neck if she allows it to help the bones realign. If it's torn muscle or ligaments, she may well heal with time. So check the spine and if all seems well, keep observing. It can take time for injuries to heal.
Yes, she turns her head from side to side and appears to have about nearly an inch of vertical movement. I checked her neck again and found a small puncture at the base of her neck (top). No obvious protruding bones--but I am a novice at chicken anatomy. Her neck looks stretched out more than typical, but that could just be the position she is in. She can walk around. I have not noticed defecation, but she likely has not eaten much over the last few days. I refilled her smaller bowl and when I left her, she was drinking up more vitamin supplemented water. If it is just torn muscles and ligaments, this is something that will take weeks for recovery, correct? I can separate her within the coop so as to make sure the other birds do not consume her food and water.
K, it sounds like you're doing all the right things.
Personally, I would separate her so she doesn't have to compete for food or water and so other birds won't harass her. I would also clean the puncture wound with hydrogen peroxide. Then I'd watch her for a while. I'd also make certain she's eating and processing the food. If not, it could indicates possible internal injuries.
If need be, I'd mix some food with yogurt into a paste and feed her a few times/day. You do this by opening her beak (she'll protest, but you can do it) and putting food into her mouth using a large dropper or even a straw with an edge cut out so it acts like a little spoon.
The small puncture is probably a tooth puncture. Whenever your birds are hurt, inspect them thoroughly right away and clean any open wounds, then keep the wounds clean until they heal. Chickens tend to heal faster than we do.
In response to your comment: "There is a tremendous lack of information and concern about chickens in my experience--from the dog owners who chewed up my birds (upset that they were getting a ticket for unleashed dogs) to the officers who were more concerned about the "cute" little dogs that attacked my birds to the vets who know little about chickens and refuse to see them. Because self-treating appears to be the "norm" (or just dispatching birds instead of treating), I thought the community here would have some advice :["
You are very right, the chicken community tends to be the best source for information. Have you heard of the chicken movement here in Arizona? Check out Backyard Farmers United on Facebook and you'll learn about the bill going through the state to make chickens available to all homeowners, and about what's going on in each city. It's good stuff, and we all need to be involved!
Thank you for the information, Sheri. I am separating her today and treating the wound. I should be able to tell if she is defecating with the separation.
I knew about the bill, but not Backyard Farmers United. I will check it out.
K sorry your chickens were attacked. I hope your hen has a full recovery.
Sheri thanks for the Backyard Farmers United info. I had no idea about the bill and have written Speaker Tobin. I'll call tomorrow during office hours.
Thanks, Silvia! We need as many people as we can get to speak in favor of the bill, and to attend city meetings when they address poultry issues. Things went pretty poorly for Chandler last summer, but they are going well so far in Gilbert as they revise their poultry rules.
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K. can you get her to a vet? I realize that may be financially unworkable, but if she can't lift her head there may be permanent damage to either bones, cartilage/muscle, or nerves.
If it was me, I would try to gently lift her head and see what her reaction is. If painful that should be immediately evident. You can also try to gently feel her neck from shoulders up to the head for anything obvious like distended neck bones or muscles.
Not sure what else to suggest. So very sorry this happened.
Besides my finances being extremely limited right now, I do not know a vet that would look at a chicken. Two years ago, I was lucky to find a vet that would even look at my duck (for nearly $100 just to walk through the front door). My regular vet, even though he cares for parrots and similar pet birds, refuses to treat chickens and ducks.
I just tried touching her neck. She let me touch it as I felt around, lifted her head, and such. She did not squawk. she was able to turn her head on her own and lift her head about an inch. I put a small bowl of water and food next to her, and now that I realize her limitations, will be able to keep a closer watch on her today. I saw a possible bite mark, but no puncture. I did not feel any obvious protruding bones. I know this is difficult over the web, but do these sound like possible good signs?
Again, thank you. I greatly appreciate your advice.
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