Three injured chickens.

[jnicholes]

I need some help figuring out if these chickens need to be put down or not. I had a raccoon attack last night, I lost five chickens, and three were injured.

The first case is a barred Plymouth rock.

As you can see, she’s got a major cut on her back. No other injuries on her as far as I can tell.

Second case is an amber white.

As you can see, she’s not putting any weight on one leg. I don’t see any signs of a wound, but she is obviously hurt there. She refuses to move from one spot.

Third case is a Rhode Island red.

She obviously took some damage, doing the same thing as the amber White, not using one leg.

Every time the Amber White and the Rhode Island red try to move, it seems like they are really struggling. They almost fall over when they try to move.

Should I put these chickens down?

 

[Squawkers]

I don’t think they are nearly bad enough to put down. I have seen chickens recover from horrific wounds.

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

if white chicken's only injury is a messed up leg, it should be fine, although it does take time to heal and may have a limp in the future/ move slower than it used to. the other two birds could potentially heal, but you should put Neosporin or antibiotic cream (without pain relief, as it is too strong for such small animals) on the wounds, and be very careful to make sure the wounds stay clean and don't attract maggots. some chicken keepers would also recommend trimming the feathers around the edge of the wounds, as feathers could otherwise heal on the wrong side of the flesh and cause pain, sort of like an ingrown hair.

 

[AGeese]

I'd second the advice above. Though if the wound is deep under the skin you might give an antibiotic.

 

[Bawkbok]

I have no personal experience with predation injuries (gratefully) but I've seen many posts on here of similar situations. If you do a search on predation injuries you will see many other circumstances that might be of help providing knowledge of how to treat - i.e., cleaning the wounds, applying antibiotic ointment, keeping them warm, treating for shock, how to splint if necessary, etc. I wish you the best of luck. I'm sorry you lost so many birds and are dealing with this.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I also agree they are not so bad as to put down.

Treat for shock, treat the wounds, monitor behaviour, ensure they are eating well.

Have you cleaned the wounds yet?

 

[jnicholes]

I also agree they are not so bad as to put down.

Treat for shock, treat the wounds, monitor behaviour, ensure they are eating well.

Have you cleaned the wounds yet?

Sorry, I just now got all the notifications of the posts. I don’t know what happened there.

No, I haven’t cleaned the wounds yet. I didn’t know how to do it properly. I was so busy putting up hardware cloth that I kind of spaced it off. I am very tired right now. It’s actually dark outside now, so I bet the chickens are sleeping.

I’ll take care of it first thing in the morning.

 

[AGeese]

Sorry, I just now got all the notifications of the posts. I don’t know what happened there.

No, I haven’t cleaned the wounds yet. I didn’t know how to do it properly. I was so busy putting up hardware cloth that I kind of spaced it off. I am very tired right now. It’s actually dark outside now, so I bet the chickens are sleeping.

I’ll take care of it first thing in the morning.

This is just me personally, now might be the best time to get a hold of her and dab her clean and apply neosporin. If you wait then I think you're giving germs more opportunity. Kinda like with yourself, but I understand it's been a long day.

 

[Sally PB]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chick-attacked-now-wont-walk.1636597/#post-27949817

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...r-beloved-easter-egger.1612172/#post-27508298

Jared, here are a couple of threads about dealing with wounds. One of our members, azygous, is VERY knowledgeable about chicken first aid.

 

[jnicholes]

I was able to administer first aid to one of them.