Chicken attack last night, not sure how to manage the one wounded survivor

[u/Who_is_Billy_Shears]

Something got into our coop last night and murdered one chicken, the other (as seen above) is greatly wounded. The wounds are all over the back and quite extensive. She’s alive, breathing, and able to walk a little. She can probably eat and drink. She is covered with ants..

I know is hard to tell from photos, but is it possible she can survive? If not, should I euthanize? Is there anything I can do to help her heal if we think this is possible?

Please, any and all advice greatly appreciated.

[u/mehanilll]

Ask to r/chickens

[u/Who_is_Billy_Shears → u/mehanilll]

Thank you, I’ll do that

[u/lombuster]

dont know about yours those wounds , they look serious so infection might be a concern. one of mine survived a marten attack and lost an eye so off with its head it was and made a good dinner out of it. but that one i wouldnt feed it to my dog tbh

[u/Who_is_Billy_Shears → u/lombuster]

Oof, in your experience do you think I should euthanize and put her out of misery instead of waiting for infection or should I give her a chance?

[u/Pvt_GetSum → u/Who_is_Billy_Shears]

As someone who used to take care of a lot of chickens, put her out. Very slim chance she'll make it, even slimmer chance she'll make it and not be fucked up for the rest of her life, and she's likely going to be suffering till the end either way. Sorry for your loss, never feels good to get your chickens killed like that

[u/lombuster → u/Pvt_GetSum]

this, if you live near a forest or wooded area you can take out and feed a scavenger, if not just burry it, but killing it is the best thing you can do

[u/enbenlen]

My chicken didn’t have as much exposed muscle, but she did have a pretty good size wound. We sprayed it with vetericyn 2x a day and she made a full recovery. They can recover from some pretty bad stuff, but vet care would be your best chance.

Edit: I would only try keeping her alive if she’s still eating and drinking. Give her plenty of protein and water. If she’s not eating or drinking by the next day, I’d end her suffering. I’m not medically trained, just trying to give you my experience.

[u/ElegantBurner]

I have brought chickens back from raccoon attacks and they lived a good life.

Basically this bird is going to have to live indoors with you. Get a tote and put some bedding in it with food and water. Get her cleaned up and take care of the wounds. I used chicken safe topical antibiotic stuff, gauze and some of the self adhesive medical tape (I do like the idea someone mentioned about medi honey). Clean the tote every day and their wounds every day.

If you have other hens you might need to reintroduce slowly as they might pick on her a bit.

Also if it doesn't work out, don't be hard on yourself.

[u/DirtiestOFsanchez]

Put a and e ointment on it and keep clean. Had a dog attack my bird last year. You could see the bones to her rib but she made a full recovery afterwards. Took a couple months yo heal and I still have her

[u/Conscious-Ticket-259]

She will need put down in all likelihood. They aren't particularly hardy woth deep wounds and infections unfortunately. Was the tender pic an accident or was this a joke?

[u/Insomnia_muffin]

That’s a lot of skin loss. But if they’re still eating, drinking and moving around they should be able to heal. My roo was attacked by my puppy and had a large skin tear that went to the muscle. The first night I rinsed all the wounds with diluted iodine, then covered him in raw honey to prevent infection. I continued the iodine rinse and used medi honey that you can get at tractor supply. Three weeks out and the large skin tear is almost gone and all his feathers are regrowing. That amount of damage is going to be a nasty scar, but not necessarily a death sentence. As others have said, the biggest issue will be preventing infection. A lot of people are going to tell you to put her down. Personally, I wouldn’t unless you think she’s in a lot of pain or would be severely handicapped.

[u/Fancy_Farmer1934]

I would just put it down no point in suffering

[u/trentdeluxedition]

That’s bad. I would cull this bird.

[u/BarnacleThis467]

Cull. That is a lot of pain.

[u/[deleted]]

Definitely have her nice and warm inside. I understand going to the vet is not an option for many people. Find an antibacterial ointment to put on the wound. I use betadine diluted (no exact measurements) and dab it on with a paper towel. Also use a soothing ointment after and make sure to keep the wound moist. I wouldn’t bother with dressings but that’s up to you.

I’ve had 2 chickens with similar injuries from dog attacks both took to the vet but it was way too expensive. They have since died from old age.

I had one that was missed while we were moving our chicken caravan and its head had awful injuries. This happened about Christmas time and we had lots of family staying with us. Everyone told me to put her down but because I already had antibiotics and painkillers I decided to give her a chance. She was in shock so that was the hardest part and she wouldn’t eat. After a week of syringe feeding and medication she was starting to improve. Now many months later we call her headless Mathew (because she has no feathers on her head) and she lays an egg everyday and is always in the garden and up in our business.

[u/Slow_Exit_3614]

That looks extremely painful and it prob gonna take a while to heal. Chicken bounce back quick. Observe her and and if she looks to be suffering you know the next step. Spray her with vetercyn spray and keep it clean. You may possibly be able to wrap her and she continue being with the flock.. Silver honey I heard was excellent for predator attack wound. There a few routes you can take.they also have an ointment but can't remember the name of it. Chicken Schmidt farms on tiktok / YouTube has an excellent video on first aid for attack. Her stuff is like my chicken bible. Also poultry dvm is a great site. YouTube as well. I learn my stuff from other chicken keepers and research in the process .

My flock had a predator come in Monday night (9/16/24)and it got one of the babies and ripped out feathers outta my mama hen. Last night I ended up closing up coop with the manual door and setting a trap on the ramp. No bait . I just put the trap in the way the next meal. Caught it.I googled which predator eat what part of the body when they attack and compare that to my baby chicks injuries. Certain animals attack and do stuff a certain way. Learn some new stuff and taking to the step to try prevent another attack. It's a Learning process . You got this!

[u/jason-murawski]

This is really bad. I've seen them survive attacks but never ones this intense. I would recommend euthanasia.

Cervical dislocation is easy enough if you're willing to do it yourself