# Chicken Attacked by Fox



## sly_skittle (May 12, 2017)

Hi everyone,

Just over 48hrs ago one of my chickens (Isa Brown called Henny) was attacked by a fox. One of my dogs chased the fox away before it could take her. She has two large wounds: one on her back and the other around her neck. On the day she was attacked I just cleaned them out with soap and water as I didn't have anything else available. Then yesterday I cleaned them out with saline solution and today with diluted hydrogen peroxide (3% diluted in water 50:50). She couldn't stand on the first day of the attack but yesterday she was standing up, eating, drinking and she also laid an egg. She is also pooing normally.

However, today she has been a lot more lethargic: mainly sitting down with her eyes closed. I have also noticed a light yellow discharge (sticky) in her mouth and I can audibly hear her breathing. There is no discharge coming from her nostrils and her eyes are clear and alert (though she doesn't open them much). She has tried to drink water but I think the mucus is getting in the way. She also isn't eating now.

Her wounds look fine - they are clean and do not smell - however, I'm worried she might have a respiratory infection. Do you think I should take her to the vet and try to get her on strong antibiotics? I live in a small town and the vet hasn't been much help in the past when my chickens have been sick. I'm also worried that it might be too late to administer antibiotics: the discharge started during the night because she has dried mucus down her front feathers. But do you think there is still a chance the antibiotics might work?


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Actually, the fox may have bruised her lungs in the attack. I've had the same thing happen to one of mine. She may recover and she may not. You might try putting her in a dog crate with food and water. Continue to clean the wounds with water only and apply antibiotic oint. I doubt that oral or injectable antibiotics would help much.
Someone else on the forum may be more help.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Also she's going to be very sore. You might try giving her a baby aspirin.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Ask your vet to prescribe Baytril for the hen.It works wonders with respiratory infections.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I don't know what to think. I wonder if there is "crop" or esophageal damage that prevents her from swallowing.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

The "respiratory infection" is not related to Henny picking up a poultry respiratory disease but rather picking up a possible bacterial infection from the bites from the fox.
I recommend getting her started on amoxicillin 250mg twice a day for 7 days.
Here is a couple of links where you can purchase it;
https://www.jefferspet.com/products/amoxicillin-250mg-jar100-fish-mox
http://www.revivalanimal.com/product/fish-mox?sku=22150-475


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## sly_skittle (May 12, 2017)

dawg53 said:


> The "respiratory infection" is not related to Henny picking up a poultry respiratory disease but rather picking up a possible bacterial infection from the bites from the fox.
> I recommend getting her started on amoxicillin 250mg twice a day for 7 days.
> Here is a couple of links where you can purchase it;
> https://www.jefferspet.com/products/amoxicillin-250mg-jar100-fish-mox
> http://www.revivalanimal.com/product/fish-mox?sku=22150-475


Thanks for this. I ended up taking Henny to the vet a couple of hours after my first post. The vet said that her wounds were very deep (they went into the muscle) and that the best bet was to operate. She said it would cost about $300 and she didn't think that she would survive the operation.

Instead, I asked for a course of antibiotics. She is currently on 600mg of Amoxil a day and I've been cleaning her wounds with warm water and Epsom salts twice a day. The mucus is gone from her mouth and she is slowly getting back to her old self.

For the first two days she was barely drinking or eating but now she is drinking about 1/2 cup of electrolyte water a day and also spending a couple of hours outside in the sun (separated from our other hens). She is a lot perkier as well: she's keeping her eyes open longer, walking around and fighting back when I try to give her the Amoxil.

I'm only having one issue: she is barely eating anything. I have tried feeding her probiotic yoghurt, lettuce, chicken seed, scrambled eggs, dry cat food soaked in water and also baby food (spinach, pumpkin and pasta flavour). This means she has barely eaten anything in a week.

*Is it OK to keep offering the food or should I start forcing her to eat e.g. using a syringe to put the food directly into her mouth? Or are there other foods that might tempt her to eat on her own?

I was also thinking about applying medical grade Manuka Honey to her wounds but I'm not sure if I should apply this to open wounds or wait until they have closed up. Does anyone have any experience with this?
*


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Wounds need to be kept moist to heal better and faster. I don't know about the honey, but I work with a dermatologist who used plain vaseline on all of his surgical wounds. After an attack like this, remember that they are very sore, too. I had an attack like this last year and it took some time. My girl finally healed w/o antibiotics and after several months, she has all her feathers back.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

It sounds like you've done a good job with her wounds. I Recommend packing the wounds with an antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic ointment. Pack wounds with the ointment as needed until healed.

As far as her not eating goes; it's possible the deep muscle injury might be effecting her ability to eat since muscles are pretty much all connected together throughout her system. Which muscles...I dont know, but TIME will heal and it's a slow process when it comes to muscles.
Think of an athlete who pulls or tears a muscle. It takes months to heal, sometimes requiring surgery, then rehab.

I recommend that you make a watery gruel with her poultry feed in a bowl, add 3 drops of Poultry Nutri Drench to the mixture and stir it well. Then syringe feed her as best as you can. Another option is to tube feed her. Seminolewind (Karen) can help you with that if you wish.
Here's a pic of Poultry Nutri drench. Dont over do it with the Nutri Drench, it can cause diarrhea if too much is given.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

When my Blue Belle was recuperating from serious injuries caused by a dog,she wouldn't eat at first so I forced generic Ensure in her.It was easier to force liquid than food and it is complete nutrition(for people anyway).It only took a couple of days until she was eating on her own.Her injuries were really bad.A big portion of her back was torn off exposing bone and muscle.If you saw her today,you couldn't tell she was injured.Even all her feathers grew back.It took months for her to heal.I hope yours does,too.Good luck!!!


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## sly_skittle (May 12, 2017)

Thanks for all of this help everyone!

I live in Australia and I can't buy a lot of the products you have mentioned, but I now have Henny on a complete nutrient supplement (liquid form) that I am feeding her through the mouth. She seems to enjoy eating it, but still can't eat on her own. Her course of antibiotics is finished and the mucus in her mouth has gone. Today, I cleaned her wounds with Epsom salt and then rubbed pure vaseline over the wounds. I was just wondering how often I should be doing this?

*Should I put vaseline on every day and still wash her wounds out with Epsom salt twice a day or will the vaseline repel the Epsom salt?

Also, I'm thinking of letting her wander around the garden with the other hens in a couple of days: just for an hour or so while I watched her. I've read about people putting children's T-shirts on their chickens to stop the other hens pecking at her wounds. Would this be a good idea?*


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

You don't need the Epsom salt. Just plain water is good enough unless it starts draining or look infected. Vaseline is good 1 or 2 times daily if you can catch her. You can let her out with the others, but watch to make sure they aren't picking at the wound. Try a littlr t-shirt, it can't hurt. I tried isolation and wet to dry bandages on my wounded hen but she just walked out from under them. She will have slow granulation of the wounds edges until you no longer see muscle , but no feathers until the next molt.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Antibiotic ointment would do better than vaseline.Vaseline keeps the moisture in and the wound can't breathe and it has no medicinal properties.I kept my hen's back covered with triple antibiotic ointment(Neosporin)until the big,dark scab(eschar)formed then let it heal and fall off on it's own.Last Dec my hen was attacked by a dog and her back was ripped off.Today you can't tell it.Even ALL of her feathers grew back but it was a long,slow recovery.Good luck!!!


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

0I said plain vaseline simply because I work for a dermatologist and that's all he ever wants. However, his pts. don't scratch around in the dirt and poo....


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## fiatmom (Nov 7, 2012)

I had a similar experience. A raccoon got to my chicks and ate one through the fence. It tore both wings off of one of the birds and one wing from another. The chicks are 7 weeks old. They seem ok though the one without wings looks strange.The wounds seemed to heal over and they are eating. Should I be concerned? I will start introducing then to the flock shortly.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Did you secure the area to prevent further attacks?If not,the **** will be back for the others.***** can and will kill adult chickens.***** are totally unacceptable around chickens.You need to trap it and kill it....


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

fiatmom said:


> I had a similar experience. A raccoon got to my chicks and ate one through the fence. It tore both wings off of one of the birds and one wing from another. The chicks are 7 weeks old. They seem ok though the one without wings looks strange.The wounds seemed to heal over and they are eating. Should I be concerned? I will start introducing then to the flock shortly.


OMG! What a terrible thing to happen. I think that if they act normal and are eating and drinking, they'd be okay. I can't imagine how a chick would survive that.


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## MikeA_15 (Feb 21, 2016)

I hope your hen recovers. I treated a rooster with 250 mg cephalexin, once a day for a week while he recovered from a bobcat fight. He had a few punctures. Best thing to do is buy a dog sized cage trap. Bait it with cat food. Each one you catch, shoot it and throw it to the vultures. I have seen one of my hens taken in broad daylight by a bobcat, and seen the remains after a coyote or fox attack. I won't let birds range unless I am home and not too preoccupied with other projects. Fortunately, when I built their yard around their coop, I made it big enough and secure enough (woven wire fence around the perimeter, and 1" wire fence over the top) so they had plenty of space if not allowed to range each day.


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## sly_skittle (May 12, 2017)

Thanks for all of the help. I wasn't able to get antiobiotic ointment in Australia so I've ordered some from the US and hopefully it should arrive by next week. Henny's wounds aren't looking infected and new skin is slowly starting to grow around the edges.

Unfortunately, Henny's got wry neck at the moment. It started five days ago. I have been feeding her Vitamin E tablets + raw egg yolks every day and she is slowly starting to lift her head up for small amounts of time. The good news is that she has had a lot more energy over the last two days and is gobbling up all of the food I give her (she is still on a liquid diet, but I'm pureeing lots of food to fill her up). Does anyone have any tips for treating wry neck? She seems to be recovering from it slowly, but any pointers would be great.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Here is info about wry neck, including treatment at the bottom. I've also read that selenium helps in conjunction with vitamin E and B-12:
http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/wry-neck


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