Help!! Neighbors dog attacked my chickens!

[nina1993]

So this morning I had to chase off my neighbors dog again after it has already gotten a hold of my rooster once before, and pulled out all of his tail feathers. This time he got a hold of my rooster again, but I haven’t gotten a chance to assess his injuries fully yet. He is walking around and I don’t see any visible blood so I held off on prioritizing him, and went and looked for my hens. So far I have found one of my hands to be fine, but I just found another hen and I need some help on what to do with her. She has an obvious broken leg with an obvious bite wound, but it is not a compound fracture. She has a small puncture under her wing. My biggest concern however, is that when she breathes it sounds very crackly. I’m not sure how else to describe it. It sounds like she has fluid somewhere inside… like if a person has a stuffy nose. I hear a lot of piping and crackling as she breathes and it also sounds like her stomach is growling and gurgling and she has a slight wheeze. There is no blood coming from her nose or mouth but I’m afraid she may have a collapsed lung . I don’t see any wounds around her neck area. Please help! I don’t know what to do for any of her injuries. I currently have her laying on mg lap loosely wrapped in a towel to keep her calm and still. I inherited these chickens when a friend passed away unexpectedly and have only had them for roughly 4 months so they don’t know me super well and are still pretty shy but she is not putting up a fight to get away at the moment. Please please help!

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Chickens that survive a dog attack usually go into shock because dog's like to make it more of a stressful game. You're doing the right thing by having her wrapped in a towel, if you can put her under a warm light, like a ceramic bulb with electrolytes to prevent shock, then after she is calm and in the clear you can assess the injury. I'm really sorry you're dealing with a high stress situation but how is the dog getting to the chickens?

 

[nuthatched]

She likely aspirated a bit of crop contents, not as serious as it sounds. Treat her for shock then clean her wounds.

 

[nina1993]

How do I treat her for shock and what exactly do I do for her wounds other than clean and splint and wrap her leg? Will the aspiration sort itself out

 

[nina1993]

Chickens that survive a dog attack usually go into shock because dog's like to make it more of a stressful game. You're doing the right thing by having her wrapped in a towel, if you can put her under a warm light, like a ceramic bulb with electrolytes to prevent shock, then after she is calm and in the clear you can assess the injury. I'm really sorry you're dealing with a high stress situation but how is the dog getting to the chickens?

They were out foraging in my yard and the neighbors dog apparently “got loose”

 

[nuthatched]

How do I treat her for shock and what exactly do I do for her wounds other than clean and splint and wrap her leg? Will the aspiration sort itself out

Gatorade, warm water with honey/sugar/molasses and and a pinch of salt. Keep her warm, dark and quiet to let her sleep.

They were out foraging in my yard and the neighbors dog apparently “got loose”

Both you and your neighbors need to strengthen your animal security.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Keep her warm and give electrolytes. If you don't have any commercial on hand you can diy. Water, sugar, baking soda, salt. Tablespoons to a gallon of water (teaspoon on salt.) I treat wounds with Vetericyn but if you don't have that you can use triple antibiotic. Sorry again, mine free range too and dogs can get loose. It's the risk I take even though my property is mostly fenced. Hope she improves.

 

[MrIgmo]

If someones dog "got loose" into my yard more than once and did something like that I'd just go ahead and shoot it. First ones a freebie, second one is on them. You could call the police, there is no reason you should tolerate that behavior. I trained my dogs not to touch the chickens in a few days. If the dog is doing all that and having fun and not getting in trouble by the owner it's just going to keep doing it. They may even be sending the dog to do it. Some people don't like roosters around.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

I'd just go ahead and shoot it.

 

[FunClucks]

Might consider building a fence. Or at least a fenced run/range area for the chickens. Electric fence is often used to deter dogs.

Sorry this happened, and I really hope your chickens are okay.