Hen attacked by dog

[Frazzled chicken tender]

My hen was attacked by a large neighborhood dog on Saturday. She is still alive and able to walk around. I bathed her wounds with hydrogen peroxide spray, then applied chlorohexidine, then iodine. I have her in our garage, and she is eating and drinking water (just her favorite treats, scrambled eggs and mealworm). I am thinking of putting her in a small coop we have in the chicken yard so she can be near her flock, but separated. She got up this morning, ate eggs and mealworms, then stood up and seemed to be calling to her flock. Now she is just sitting down, grooming herself. The dog chased her, caught her, and carried her through a forest to its owners house, so i imagine she was pretty traumatized. They brought her back to me Saturday night, very apologetic and are getting a trainer for their dog. I'd like to bathe her, but dont want to stress her too much. I need to clean her again, but she is hard to catch. Any advice (wound care, how long to keep her separated, etc) would be appreciated! Thank you

 

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

My hen was attacked by a large neighborhood dog on Saturday. She is still alive and able to walk around. I bathed her wounds with hydrogen peroxide spray, then applied chlorohexidine, then iodine. I have her in our garage, and she is eating and drinking water (just her favorite treats, scrambled eggs and mealworm). I am thinking of putting her in a small coop we have in the chicken yard so she can be near her flock, but separated. She got up this morning, ate eggs and mealworms, then stood up and seemed to be calling to her flock. Now she is just sitting down, grooming herself. The dog chased her, caught her, and carried her through a forest to its owners house, so i imagine she was pretty traumatized. They brought her back to me Saturday night, very apologetic and are getting a trainer for their dog. I'd like to bathe her, but dont want to stress her too much. I need to clean her again, but she is hard to catch. Any advice (wound care, how long to keep her separated, etc) would be appreciated! Thank you

Bathing her in warm water should be ok. I’d advise doing it at night, so she doesn’t have to be chased. On the bright side, her being faster than you means she’s clearly doing well!

 

[Frazzled chicken tender]

I forgot to attach a picture of her

 

[Frazzled chicken tender]

Bathing her in warm water should be ok. I’d advise doing it at night, so she doesn’t have to be chased. On the bright side, her being faster than you means she’s clearly doing well!

Yes, i think so too! If she lets me get close, i might apply more chlorohexidine, put her in the small coop outside, then bring her inside tonight to bathe her, then blow her dry. She has some wounds under her wings that i need to get to. Thank you for your reply!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

No more peroxide. For our dog-damaged hen, we made a sterile saline solution (2 tsp salt to a quart of water) and put it in a spray bottle. I used that twice a day to thoroughly wash the wound to clean it without scrubbing. Then I coated the wound with triple antibiotic ointment that does not contain any pain reliever and then sprayed it with Veterycin to seal it and keep it moist. In three weeks she was good as new.

 

[Frazzled chicken tender]

No more peroxide. For our dog-damaged hen, we made a sterile saline solution (2 tsp salt to a quart of water) and put it in a spray bottle. I used that twice a day to thoroughly wash the wound to clean it without scrubbing. Then I coated the wound with triple antibiotic ointment that does not contain any pain reliever and then sprayed it with Veterycin to seal it and keep it moist. In three weeks she was good as new. I'll lay off the hydrogen peroxide. Just wanted to flush out any dirt at first. I have a lot of saline washes, and also the triple antibiotic ointment. Thank you for your response!

 

[Frazzled chicken tender]

I'll lay off the h2o2, just wanted to flush the wound at first. Have plenty of saline washes and also the antibiotic ointment. Thank you for your response!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Chlorhexidine is also good, I understand, but I don't know if it's more of a wash or something you leave on for healing.

 

[Frazzled chicken tender]

Chlorhexidine is also good, I understand, but I don't know if it's more of a wash or something you leave on for healing.

My understanding is it can be used both ways. I left it on, at first. And last night gave her a bath, she seems to be feeling better. Only thing is she is just eating mealworms and drinking water..but not regular feed.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

My understanding is it can be used both ways. I left it on, at first. And last night gave her a bath, she seems to be feeling better. Only thing is she is just eating mealworms and drinking water..but not regular feed.

She needs the nutrients of her regular feed. Try making a mash of it by adding enough water to make it like cooked oatmeal. Throw a few mealworms in it to entice her, and stop giving the mealworms otherwise.