Heartbreaking Loss: Seeking Advice for Helping Our Traumatized Flock Recover

[Gcacos]

We returned home to a scene that can only be described as a nightmare. Feathers were scattered everywhere. Many of our beloved chickens were dead, some had somehow survived, and others were so badly injured that we had no choice but to end their suffering. The devastation was overwhelming, especially as we were still recovering from Hurricane Beryl, and many of our neighbors hadn't yet repaired their fences.

When I checked the Ring camera, it confirmed our fears. Two stray dogs had made a beeline for the hen pen. They broke through the door, and although the camera couldn’t capture what happened inside, it recorded the heart-wrenching screams. We are deeply mourning the loss of our sweet hens.

In the aftermath, it’s been four days since the attack. We have five brave survivors. Two are walking around as if nothing happened, even laying eggs. Two others are injured and limping, and one poor chicken is deeply depressed. She won’t eat unless we take her out of the coop. When she does eat, she returns to a corner in the coop, facing the wall as if hiding from the world.

We've doubled down on securing the pen, and we now have someone keeping watch at all times. We’re doing our best to comfort our girls by giving them their favorite treats.

Questions:
- How can I help my depressed chicken feel better?
- Are there any vitamins or foods that can help all of them recover from such a traumatic event?
- When would be a good time to introduce younger chickens to the surviving flock? I plan to wait until they’ve recovered, but I’m unsure how long to wait.

 

[nuthatched]

She's likely injured, not depressed. Those are symptoms of sick/in pain chickens.
Check her over again for injuries, if she's doesn't show improvement improvement in 4-5 days, put her down.
Sorry for your loss, every poultry owners gone through it, it's certainly not pleasant.
Throw images of the dogs up on your local next door and Facebook group, see if you can find the owners.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Have you given electrolytes or vitamins? Don’t fill them up on treats they need good solid nutrition to recover. If your hen is eating that is progress. It often will take days to knock them out of the shock and another week or two to recover when they get like that. I have had a few like your hen and what they needed was good nutrition, electrolytes and time to recover.

 

[triciayoung]

Give her more time. I don’t agree that she has to be injured to have this behavior, especially when she is eating away from the “trauma scene”. Chickens can feel empathy and be depressed over the loss of their flock mates. I would say she needs a few months after that trauma.