Need advice for hurt hen

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.

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Replies

  • You can give her a baby aspirin dissolved in a cup of water to help reduce swelling and pain.  So sorry!  Hoping for the best.

    • A whole pill or just part of one?  I did not realize aspirin was safe, thank you.

      What about an infusion made with willow (true) leaves? I have a willow tree and am curious because of concentration...

      Thanks.

      And thank you everyone for your concern and sympathy.

    • You could try using the willow, but I don't have any experience with it so I can't advise.  As for the aspirin, one 81mg aspirin in a cup of water is what I have used for my hens, once daily.

    • Thank you!

    • K. Let us know how she is doing.

    • K, hopefully Kari sees your question, but FYI willow and older lettuce leaves all contain salicylic acid (aspirin) but concentrations will vary.  With the small dose of baby aspirin you have a defined amount.

    • Catherine, I tried posting to you earlier, but somehow it got messed up.  Thank you for your advice.

      Yes, the defined amount is good.  I just like to be aware of different options.  I like to make sure that if I use herbal remedies that I do it properly.

    • You are welcome.  I have not used aspirin on my girls when I had them, so I can't speak from personal experience.  I hope some of the info everyone has suggested is helpful to you.  Best of luck with your girl.

  • I am so sorry to hear about your birds.

    I have not had this experience and would suggest Vet if financially feasible.

    If not, as long as she appeals not in pain, let her recover on her own.

    Our bodies have way of healing themselves....just lots of love.

    • One of my responses did not successfully post.  But, unfortunately, besides being very financially limited making spending a few hundred dollars not feasible at this time, I do not know of a vet that will treat chickens (I am in the Gilbert area).  My regular vet will treat parrots and similar pet birds, but refuses to see chickens or ducks.  A couple of years ago, I managed to find one that would see my duck, but it was $100 just to walk through the front door. And even then, the vet said that he did not know much about ducks so did not know how much help he could provide. 

      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 :[

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