When should I put my hen out of her misery?

[Hannahhubers]

So I made a recent post about how a snake tried to pull my hens head through the chain link fence in my coop. She was alive and I put her in my barn so she’d be in a more comfortable situation. She is eating and drinking now but she still won’t stand up or move. She’s actually acting like she may be blind. How long should I give her to recover? I don’t want her to live in misery if this is something that probably won’t get any better. Should I put her with her flock and see if that perks her up? I found her on Tuesday and it’s now Thursday.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Should I put her with her flock and see if that perks her up? I found her on Tuesday and it’s now Thursday.

She's likely to be brutalized by pecking order if returned directly to the flock at this point.. using a dog kennel or other "look but don't touch" set up is highly recommended if you wish to try this. Being alone certainly can cause some depression and reduce will.

I would consider trimming her crest so she can see better, if she can still see. There are ways to test vision. Still or returning to eating and drinking are good signs!

Discomfort is not quite the same thing as suffering.. and sore muscles may take some time to recover.

I found your other post and included the link for any others who may see this post and have recommendation..

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/injured-hen.1643336/

1/2 inch hardware cloth (installed properly) will keep out the majority of predators.. incase you have the ability to upgrade your coop.

Perhaps, it's just the trauma.. Is it possible she's showing signs of Marek's?

If she's not standing, are you able to keep her vent clean from poop build up? Sometimes doing what's humane includes what best for the keeper.

I hope she continues to recover and starts to thrive again!

 

[ChicNmom]

You know your hen better than anyone else so you are the best to determine quality of life or if she is suffering.

Just going by what you wrote I would probably give it more time since she is eating and drinking. She must be able to see to find food.

You could try a supervised or separated visit with the flock to see if that helps her.

Does she have any visible injuries to her neck or back?
Do you know what kind of snake it was?

 

[Hannahhubers]

She's likely to be brutalized by pecking order if returned directly to the flock at this point.. using a dog kennel or other "look but don't touch" set up is highly recommended if you wish to try this. Being alone certainly can cause some depression and reduce will.

I would consider trimming her crest so she can see better, if she can still see. There are ways to test vision. Still or returning to eating and drinking are good signs!

Discomfort is not quite the same thing as suffering.. and sore muscles may take some time to recover.

I found your other post and included the link for any others who may see this post and have recommendation..

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/injured-hen.1643336/

1/2 inch hardware cloth (installed properly) will keep out the majority of predators.. incase you have the ability to upgrade your coop.

Perhaps, it's just the trauma.. Is it possible she's showing signs of Marek's?

If she's not standing, are you able to keep her vent clean from poop build up? Sometimes doing what's humane includes what best for the keeper.

I hope she continues to recover and starts to thrive again!

Hi, thank you for the response. I have trimmed her crest and tried eye test and she doesn’t respond. I have to put her food and water right in front of her and peck it to mimic eating sounds and that seems to be the only way she can figure how to eat. Her eyes aren’t foggy though and they don’t have mucus, so I don’t quite understand how this even happened.(if she is blind)
I have been daily giving her epsom salt baths to clean her vent and to calm her.
I moved her in my home and put her on a heating pad wrapped in a towel. I’m hoping being in my home will eliminate some of the depression because it’s not so dark and there’s more going on around her.
I have added some more preventative measures to my coop. We actually have chain link fence with a layer of regular chicken wire over it to keep small and strong predators out. Snake found a small opening in the corner that I have since covered.
I need to do some research on mareks, I’m not familiar with the symptoms.

 

[Hannahhubers]

You know your hen better than anyone else so you are the best to determine quality of life or if she is suffering.

Just going by what you wrote I would probably give it more time since she is eating and drinking. She must be able to see to find food.

You could try a supervised or separated visit with the flock to see if that helps her.

Does she have any visible injuries to her neck or back?
Do you know what kind of snake it was?

Hi, thanks for the reply. So the way I’ve been able to get her to eat and drink is by putting the food/water in front of her and pecking it so she knows it’s there. I’m not positive if she’s blind, but she doesn’t respond if I move my hand in front of her face quietly which is strange behavior.
My flock is small and quite friendly to each other, I have another injured hen and they don’t bother her. So I’m not actually worried about how they will treat her.
No visible injuries other than her beak is a little beat up. Looks like that’s what he grabbed and dragged her with.
I’m not sure what kind of snake but thats the only animal that would have been able to get into the area she was being dragged out of. Hard to explain but I have a drainage pipe in the corner of my coop that goes into a ditch(for when I clean my coop) and that’s what she was being pulled into.
Hope that gives more information.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Do you have raccoons where you live? Dragging a chicken head first through a chain link fence sounds more like the action of a raccoon, not a snake. A snake would be more likely to swallow (or attempt to swallow) its prey on the spot, not try to remove it and eat it elsewhere. Just my opinion, having actually lost a hen this way and spotted the culprit practically in the act. The chicken would have passed near the fence and the raccoon would have reached through and grabbed it.

 

[Hannahhubers]

Do you have raccoons where you live? Dragging a chicken head first through a chain link fence sounds more like the action of a raccoon, not a snake. A snake would be more likely to swallow (or attempt to swallow) its prey on the spot, not try to remove it and eat it elsewhere. Just my opinion, having actually lost a hen this way and spotted the culprit practically in the act. The chicken would have passed near the fence and the raccoon would have reached through and grabbed it.

I would normally agree, however the area she was pulled through was through a small black drain pipe I have in the corner on the ground that goes to a ditch.(Where I send all the dirty water when I clean my coop) I can’t figure out any other animal that would fit through there. I’ll have to upload a photo later so yall can see what exactly I’m talking about.
Possibly instead of the snake pulling her through maybe she stuck her head in there and then he grabbed her.

 

[ChicNmom]

Weasels can get through small openings. Or even rats. We have woods rats or Norway rats around here.

If her beak and face are sore that could keep her from wanting to eat. I would make sure she has a lot of soft food options like scrambled egg, wet mushy chicken feed etc.

If you think she is in pain you can give her a low dose aspirin (81mg0) or half if she is small just for a few days. That might make her more comfortable.

I have had chickens not respond to a hand waving near their face. I usually take a finger and slowly move it directly towards their eye to determine if they can see out of that eye.

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

I would normally agree, however the area she was pulled through was through a small black drain pipe I have in the corner on the ground that goes to a ditch.(Where I send all the dirty water when I clean my coop) I can’t figure out any other animal that would fit through there. I’ll have to upload a photo later so yall can see what exactly I’m talking about.
Possibly instead of the snake pulling her through maybe she stuck her head in there and then he grabbed her.

raccoon can fit through spaces as small as 7 inches.

 

[aart]

I’ll have to upload a photo later so yall can see what exactly I’m talking about.

That would help, as well as a tape measure on pipe.
...and where in this world do you live.