•2 min read•from chickens
Will my hen recover after a dog attack?
Our take
Oh no, it sounds like your brave hen has been through quite the ordeal! First off, it’s impressive that she was able to walk away after such a terrifying experience. Missing skin can be concerning, but with proper care, chickens can be quite resilient. The fact that she’s still moving, eating, and even laying a gorgeous green egg is a fantastic sign! While it’s difficult to determine recovery solely based on the percentage of skin loss, many hens have bounced back from severe wounds with the right attention. Keeping her in a quiet, dim space is a great choice, and continuing to monitor her wounds and overall behavior will be key. Let’s explore what steps you can take to help her heal and thrive!
I tried posting this with pictures but it was removed as soon as I posted it. I can send/link pictures if needed but to sum up, two large patches of skin missing, the biggest one is about the size of my entire hand. It’s bare muscle, a little bit of muscle might be damaged but she’s still moving freely. I feel like the percentage of missing skin might be too high to even hope for a recovery. The second patch of missing skin is about half of my palm. I’m more worried about the giant hand-sized patch. I’d estimate she’s probably missing 25-30% of her skin, total.
One of my neighbors down the road has a little dog that got loose and ended up inside my fence, and attacked my hens. This hen was able to walk away from the attack when I went outside to stop the dog (and give my neighbor an earful over the phone). I brought the hen inside and put her in the spare bathroom (dim, quiet, rarely used), cleaned her off with chlorhexidine, and applied a vetricyn gel.
But I’m worried, is she missing too much skin to be able to recover? Shes resting in a nest of bedding right now but earlier she did walk over to check out the food and water bowls nearby. Can she recover or is it too cruel to wait this out? One wound is on her right side, the other wound is at the base of the neck/right breast. I don’t see any organs and no active bleeding. Crop feels full of food/forage and intact.
Edit: she just laid a gorgeous green egg in my bathroom.
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#chickens#fear of chickens#recovery#hen#wound#skin#dog attack#active bleeding#chlorhexidine#attack#muscle#patch#vetricyn gel#bedding#percentage missing#intact#green egg#food#crop#forage