Chickens attacked, 2 dead, one injured. GRAPHIC PICS

[NatureGirl74]

I think an owl attacked my chickens last night. My younger birds are smart and like to sleep on top of the coop, which is surrounded by fencing and netting. If something crawled up there from the ground it would have been loud and the birds would have gotten away.

I had 27 chickens. But only my newest sleep on top of the coop. I found one dead on top of the coop. Her head isn't attached, and her insides are everywhere. Another one was found dead on the ground on the other side of the run, but I didn't see any blood on her. It looks like she flew off the coop and broke her neck flying right under the waterer.

One of my cockerels was severely injured. He chirped once which is good. He can stand, but doesn't stand for long. I think one of his eyes is gone, but it's hard to tell. Both eyelids are stuck shut. He has a cut on the front of his neck, and an enormous hole on the other side. His comb is really bloody, which is to be expected, and is slightly purple. He lost a lot of feathers around his head. He's not gasping for air, but he does breath very loud. He did kick his legs a bit when I was holding him, and when I put in the sink. I tried to wash the blood off, but I couldn't. When my dog found the dead birds she started whining like crazy. She was whining when watching Peep, the hurt one, too. She keeps pushing him to the ground when he tries to stand. She also tried to clean him off. He doesn't smell very good either. I'm really panicking and don't know what to do. Please help!

 

[SmiYa0126]

Hello! I'm so sorry!!! Clean his wounds with saline or warm soapy water, and then cover them with antibiotic ointment. Give him sweetened water to drink and keep him in a warm and semi dark place. Offer him some tasty food as well, raw yolk, tuna, grubs or meal worms. This will help him recover from shock. Once he's up assess him again for injuries, bruising will show up as green in color. You'll need to clean his wounds and cover with ointment twice a day for a few days.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I'm so sorry about your birds...

His wounds don't look too bad, but he may have internal injuries. @SmiYa0126 gave good advice. You need to keep him from going into shock, and the sweet water (or electrolytes, if you have them) will help along with the warm and dark environment. Clean the wounds you can see, but use a cloth or a squirt bottle rather than bathing. Bathing can be super stressful. Don't let his wounds dry out - keep them moist with antibiotic ointment. You will be better able to assess his wounds after careful cleaning. Poor boy...

 

[NatureGirl74]

Hello! I'm so sorry!!! Clean his wounds with saline or warm soapy water, and then cover them with antibiotic ointment. Give him sweetened water to drink and keep him in a warm and semi dark place. Offer him some tasty food as well, raw yolk, tuna, grubs or meal worms. This will help him recover from shock. Once he's up assess him again for injuries, bruising will show up as green in color. You'll need to clean his wounds and cover with ointment twice a day for a few days.

I'm so sorry about your birds...

His wounds don't look too bad, but he may have internal injuries. @SmiYa0126 gave good advice. You need to keep him from going into shock, and the sweet water (or electrolytes, if you have them) will help along with the warm and dark environment. Clean the wounds you can see, but use a cloth or a squirt bottle rather than bathing. Bathing can be super stressful. Don't let his wounds dry out - keep them moist with antibiotic ointment. You will be better able to assess his wounds after careful cleaning. Poor boy...

He finally opened one eye, but I do think the other one is gone. His legs are fine, and I don't see any injuries other than around his head and neck. He has a tiny cut on his wing that is a little bruised, but I think that one will heal really quick. He still hasn't pooped, and he won't eat. He drank a little, but only when I held it up to his face. I found a cut in the corner of his mouth. I cleaned some blood off the roof of his mouth. The inside of his mouth seems ok though. He started kicking a lot when we were holding him, so that's good. He lays down really fast though when we put him down. And his comb is really purple, but you can't see it in the picture.

 

[NatureGirl74]

He finally pooped, so I'm happy about that. He still doesn't want to eat, and I don't know if he's had any water since this morning. The last few times I've checked on him he's been standing up.

 

[Aunt Angus]

He finally pooped, so I'm happy about that. He still doesn't want to eat, and I don't know if he's had any water since this morning. The last few times I've checked on him he's been standing up.

That's a step in the right direction. It will take time. Keep offering him the electrolyte/sweetened water.

Have you been able to clean or treat his wounds yet? Any updates on those?

 

[NatureGirl74]

That's a step in the right direction. It will take time. Keep offering him the electrolyte/sweetened water.

Have you been able to clean or treat his wounds yet? Any updates on those?

I tried to clean them with a warm wash cloth when I found him, but I think the blood was frozen to his face and was really crusty. I couldn't get much off. I was only able to get blood off of his feathers, but not the skin. He isn't bleeding at all anymore. I washed the wounds with saline and did my best to put an antibiotic cream on them, but it was hard to get it to stay.

 

[NatureGirl74]

I put a heat lamp on him for the night, since it gets below zero. He was really happy when I turned it on. He's moved around in the crate a few times. He started opening his eyes more. Peep also drank a ton of water.

 

[Eggcessive]

You might want to bring him in for the night. What is your general location? Is the heat lamp safely secured? The antibiotic cream can be put on again, and add some to his bad eye.

 

[NatureGirl74]

You might want to bring him in for the night. What is your general location? Is the heat lamp safely secured?

He's in our garage behind our house. We are in Nebraska. The heat lamp is clipped onto the back of our four wheeler. I'm going to check on him again at least once before we go to bed.