Chickens attacked by dog - Won't open eyes - Advise please

[atkinsonfive]

My free ranging Buff Orpingtons were attacked by the neighbors dog today. One of the was killed and another injured. The injured hen has a small pucture wound on the side of her neck. I see no other bleeding on her. The fluffy feathers under her wings are falling out in handfuls, but there doesn't appear to be any missing skin or other parts. The curious thing is that her eyes are closed tight. I thought she was in shock and that they would open up as she calmed down. She was panting heavily right after, but now is just sitting on the coop floor under the nesting boxes. She talks back to me when I speak to her, as usual, but I can't figure out if her eyes were somehow damaged. There is no blood or gashes on her head, just the one small puncture wound on the neck. What can I do to help her? I don't have any aspirin - which I see after reading some of the other posts I should give her - and the stores are closed now. Can I give her advil? or anything else? What about her eyes? any ideas? She can't see so she just lays in the corner. I don't want her to suffer. Any ideas on ways to help her would be great. Can a blind chicken survive as a normal chicken would (in case her vision never returns)

 

[cherrychicken]

im so sorry!

 

[sammi]

no, do give her Advil or Tylenol..

if you suspect any internal bleeding..no aspirin either.
might be determined by droppings, or heat or swelling anywhere..

do you have electrolytes?
do you have vitamins?
if not, do get some ASAP..she needs them to treat stress.
in a pinch you can use diluted Pedialyte or Gatorade as electrolyte..but best to get commercial mix..Durvet is a good brand.
for vitamins, you can use Poly-vi-sol liquid baby vitamins, Enfamil brand, no iron..3 drops on beak once a day..
same with electrolyte water..drops on beak as much as possible to keep her hydrated.
moisten food with warm water, and add cooked egg, or egg yolk..dab a bit at end of beak, or roll into small pellets and place in mouth...
hopefully, she will open her eyes and she is just stressed ..
and will eat and drink on her own.

recheck under wings..
watch carefully for any other symptoms..
keep a check on crop..
and feel body for any heat or swelling.
see if she will walk...

fingers crossed.

 

[kinardmommy]

Only give her Aspirin.Crush 1 1/2 325 mg pill per quart of water or five pills per gallon of water. Only give aspirin. It is very possible she is in shock. Any puncture wounds she may have you need to flush with a saline solution , you can find out how to make this yourself by doing a search on the term. Do not use peroxide on any of the wounds as it will damage the good tissue. After cleaning add neosporin. Keep her in a dark warm and comfortable place so she can settle down. Offer her some treats or comfort foods such as cooked egg, yogurt, or cooked oatmeal. She will more likely eat this than just plain chicken food. I'm sorry this happened to you and good luck.

 

[atkinsonfive]

She is walking. She has moved around the hen house. I don't have any baby vitamins, just regular childrens chewables. No pedialyte. I am headed to the barn right now to try to get her to eat. I am taking milky oatmeal, applesauce and yogurt. Hopefully she will eat something. I will re-examine her for injuries I may have missed earlier. How can I tell if she has internal bleeding?

 

[atkinsonfive]

This may be a dumb question, but is the sale solution that you use for contact lenses the same thing?

 

[kinardmommy]

I looked it up for you and if you want to make a sterile saline solution you can bring 8 oz. of water to a boil with 1/2 tsp of non iodized salt. Boil for a few minutes and allow to cool. You can refrigerate what you don't use for another time. If you want to make just sterile water boil your tap water or bottled water for five minutes and allow to cool and use that. No, I would not use the eye washing solution for contact lenses.

 

[Ladysonja]

I hope your girl pulls through... I only hope that she is just stressed...

For those who have posted suggestions...

Is there a link on BYC regarding Chicken First Aid Kits?

 

[atkinsonfive]

Back from the barn...I layed her on my lap and checked her underside. Most of the feathers seem to be plucked right away, but the skin is intact. She has poop (loose from trauma?) stuck on the remaining feathers (I'm sure I'd soil myself too if vicously attacked) but I don't see any blood. She feels very warm. I know chickens have a higher body temp, but it still seems elevated. I diped her beak in the yogurt and watery applesauce and got her to eat some. I also got her to eat some oatmeal mixed with garlic oil, for a natural antibiotic - the only thing I had on hand. She didn't eat a lot by any means, maybe a teaspoon or two, but I was please at her effort. She seems to have a very slight wheeze when breathing. Maybe internal injury? She walked around good, flapped her wings at me a bit when I first picked her up and then when I put her done again. They seem to be intact. I put her in big storage tub full of fresh straw. I made a hole for her and she moved the straw around with her beak like they do when they go into the nesting box to make things just so. That made me feel like maybe she will be okay. I sure hope so!

 

[atkinsonfive]

She still wont open her eyes. She has drank water thirstily a couple of times this morning. I have gotten a little more yogurt and some mushed up breakfast cereal that they usually go crazy over. The wound that I though was a punture either sealed up completely or was more of a scratch. It is more on her face an inch or so below her eyes. There is some dried blood there and I wiped it gently and her lid pulled down. That is on her right side. I can see that her eye is fine. It looks around, but the lid closes right up. Do you think it is a muscle issue? If she never opens her eyes again can she live a normal life? A great suprise...I was holding her, wrapped in a towel, to feed her and an egg came - splat to the ground. The shell was fully intact...it was a little thin because it cracked and usually my girls eggs are hard enough that my dd's can accidently drop them on the ground and they are no worse for wear. It has been about 21 hours since attack - is the egg a good sign? or was it probably already formed and ready to be layed prior to the attack and just got delayed? I have no way of telling wether she had already layed yesterday with 24...used to be 25 girls

. Thanks again to those who have given advice and to any future advice offered. I really appreciate it!