A couple days ago, DH looked out the window and saw our neighbors dog at the side of our house with a chicken in his mouth. He saw that it was bloody, and immediately thought it was ours. He ran outside, but the dog was gone with the injured chicken.
Upon checking to see "who it was", he discovered that our pen was still secure and no one was missing.
Only thing we could figure out, is that maybe it was our other neighbor's chicken.
Then yesterday morning we noticed drops of blood on our back patio. Getting a little too mysterious, DH says we're gonna have to call CSI.......lol. We puzzled about that all day, trying to figure it out, since it wasn't there when DH saw the dog with chicken the day before.
And then, up walks this chicken..............that had been in dogs mouth. Horribly injured. She has all the flesh missing down to the bone on her back and beneath one wing. I can't imagine how in the world she is still alive, much less walking around. She walks very gingerly, as if it's painful, with a slight limp. Poor thing. This chicken must have 9 lives to have survived.
Now she just hangs around the outside of my chicken coop. I put out some food and water for her and she is eating it. I don't dare put her in with my chickens, as I know they would finish her off for sure, since she is injured. But I'm afraid that the dogs or coyotes are going to get her. She's very tame, and so very vulnerable in her weakened condition. I feel so bad for her.
Badly injured hen hanging around my pen
Oh, I feel so bad for that hen,too. Poor hen
I had my neighbor killed one of my rooster for me. He was alive but weak. I can see its flesh, bone on back. I don't want rooster to stay alive and suffered. So neighbor ended his suffering.
I wanted to do something for this hen, but didn't know what to do since she wasn't ours. I would have had to build some kind of cage / coop for her to stay in until she healed.........if she ever did. Then DH said that if I nursed her back to health, I'd have to go give her back to where she came from, lest the neighbor think I tried to steal his chicken. But I didn't care. I just wanted to keep her from further harm until she was stronger. I was going to build something for her this afternoon, but then she disappeared. I hope nothing got her.
She probably should be put down to end her suffering, like your rooster.
I just wish people would keep their dogs penned up so these things wouldn't happen.
Please in the name of humanity put this poor suffering creature out of it's misery.
I agree that ending her suffering would probably be best for her. However if you can't bring yourself to do that, if she ever comes back give her a small but adaquate pen and keep the wounds soft with something like warm olive oil or better yet Scarlet oil. The Scarlet Oil is available at most livestock supply stores and is not expensive. It will keep the wound soft until new flesh grows back. Just pour the oil on so your don't have to touch the wound and cause more pain. I think I would keep liquid babies tylenol or Ibuprophen in her water to help with the pain.
I've seen birds suffer terrible wounds, go into hiding, and survive. You never know. My brother has a hen that had a similar injury and healed up quite well, other than having some bald spots. They can be tough birds!
George
Tahlequah, OK
Thanks. I hope she is tough like that. She must be to have survived the dog attack the way she did. She was eating and drinking ok and seemed to have a will to live. She is no longer hanging around. Hopefully she decided to go home to her own flock.
hi Peggie,
Poor thing! if she comes back, do you have a small dog carrier? that would make a great temporary home! Or you could find a toddler play pen at a yard sale and lay something over it for a roof?
I would also offer her good water with some apple cider vinegar and garlic cloves mixed in it. will help her feel better, reduce risk of infection, etc.
sorry i missed this. pc is acting funny. hope you find her soon!
tf
I think she went home to her flock.
My neighbor who owns the chicken, is all up in arms with my other neighbor about the dogs. Seems that this is not the first time he has had chickens attacked and killed by their dogs. He says he's going to shoot them next time he catches them over at his place around his chickens.
He says he's warned them before, more than once.
MMmmmmm, think I'll let them duke it out !!! Maybe there will be changes
(without me sticking my nose in) . I'd LOVE to see something done about the dogs, but since they haven't been over at my place, I really hate to start up something with any of my neighbors unless I have to. So far they haven't bothered my chickens. But then, I keep mine all penned up tight.
and the dog DID come to your place... hope it brings abou tchanges for the good. my nieghbors who has MANY chickens penned up, has had dogs dig under the fence, even tear apart cages andkilled many birds. but she is keeping silent, actually siding with the guy whose dog killed my guineas because "he doesn't complain about the noise" and he is right next door to her. besides, she got two new birds in a new color out of the deal. oh, well.
hop ethings get settled there. you really want to be able to free range yours, the cholesterol is lower in the eggs that way, and they taste better...
tf
Ok, now I'm a little more ruffled. I saw them out around my pen this morning. Also, they got into my raised garden beds and dug up some of my veggies I've planted. It rained here, and I can see their tracks all around my pen & garden. I worry that now with the ground so soft from rain, it would be easier for them to dig under.
I'm not very tolerant in these situations, something will be done, one way or another if they continue to come over here ( and we know they will). I just need to think about it a little to decide what to do. Got a couple of ideas, but decline to share them for now, if ya know what I mean.
YA, I KNOW... waiting to hear...
they DUG UP VEGGIES?
Urgh. Sic em, Peggie.
DITTO!
I know this is way after the fact. But I'm just sitting back and taking it easy this evening - it's very hot up here today - and I'm reading some of the old threads and come across this one about an injured chicken. Back a couple summers ago my DH took home a chick he caught outside of a chicken farmers barn. Farmer didn't want it in case of disease, so we kept it for a pet. Long story short - the chicken ended up with an open sore on her back. Of course the kids did not want it killed so we put some Hydrogen Peroxide on the sore. It did heal and the chicken did live after ward.
I had a coon get a hold of a silkey
she had no skin left on her back
I worked at a vets so she went to work with me and her one chick that was left alive
she lasted 5 weeks and she finally died
But she needed skin grafts......
I would clean it with peroxide
Put that stuff....that looks like Iodine....dang,why cant I remember the name......
Put that stuff all over the wounds
Then put this stuff that, again ,I have a mental block
Furzone or some thing
you can get it at feed stores
Its like vasaline thats floresent colored.......
Has lots of healing stuff in it
I have some in the barn
I need sleep and then I can think
OOOoh lordy, I had a rooster that survived a Dog attack, His entire back was ripped open! Thankfully his lungs didnt get punctured. He just went into hiding in the back of the barn for two weeks, I put water and food for him and let nature take its course!
Now as for the dogs.... Neighbors do not like for you to tell them what to do about their dogs and get mad....BUT... They hate for their pocket books to get emptied even worse!!! Thats what we did here in Georgia! Calling the Animal control did no good unless you had the animal! WE even tried to Paint Ball it for Identification, so AC could find who it belonged to by following the "Painted Dogs". that didnt work! Dogs were tooo smart and fast.
So we took control and asked a lot of questions about our rights and property protection! As it turns out we had the right to shoot the animal ( which we didnt want to have to do) and call the Animal control and the Sheriff! They took over from there and the county sued the right party and took care of the rest of the uncared for dogs!
Honestly, you were doing those dogs a favor too, Only a matter of time before someone else would have shot them. Or run them over. Good for you!
My next door neighbor has 5 big dogs. They chase my car sometimes and I've TRIED to run them over with no luck at all, they're fast.
Since we are out in the country, animal control won't do anything. The sherrif just says to shoot them if they're in my yard. I'm afraid I might overshoot and kill my other neighbor's horse or worse yet hit someone. I hate that kind of thing. My brother in law was killed in a hunting accident, so I'm really leary about where the bullets may go.
These dogs may just go the way of the racoons............. if ya know what I mean.