by Melissa Caughey of Tilly’s Nest
This past summer I received a call from a chicken friend. While she and her family were outside with the flock, a hawk scooped down and picked up her largest hen! They were able to shoo the hawk away and the hen was dropped from its talons. They immediately ran to the hen.
Used under Creative Commons |
The chicken appeared limp, was panting with her mouth, and had puncture wounds in her wings. The hen was in a state of shock. Quickly, they wrapped her in a towel and brought her into the house. They gingerly assessed her wounds. Thankfully they had stopped bleeding. They quickly treated the wounds with Vetericyn, wrapped them and then re-wrapped her in the towel. She was still stunned but seemed to be regaining her bearings. They set up a makeshift brooder, complete with a heat lamp and placed her inside. They gave her only water with vitamins and electrolytes to drink and sat there watching and waiting. Within a couple of hours, she had recovered a bit more and stirred from the towel. They unwrapped her and she began to drink.
She had been in a state of shock from the events of the attack. She stayed in the brooder for a few days until she seemed to return to normal. After a few days, they reintroduced her to the flock and today, it is as if nothing had ever happened.
A dog crate, like this one shown in the role of a brooder, would make the perfect place for a hen in shock to recover. Used under Creative Commons |
Shock is a medical condition that is an emergency as it can lead to death. The signs of shock in chickens include pallor of the wattles and comb, open mouth breathing, listlessness, rapid heart beat, weak pulse, collapse, and a stunned appearance. The causes are many including trauma, illness, cancer, predators, excessive bleeding, reactions to medication, and sudden changes in temperature usually hot to cold.
Treatment for shock in backyard chickens includes keeping them separated from the flock and keeping them warm. To keep them warm, you can try wrapping the chicken in a towel, placing it in a warm brooder, or making a warming unit for more severe cases of shock. Seek veterinarian assistance if your chicken is experiencing severe blood loss or illness as their care requirements are most likely more than you can provide. Adding vitamins and electrolytes to the water source can be helpful too. It is not recommended that you feed your chicken until they are fully alert and moving about normally.
My friends were prepared. They had a chicken first aid kit and were ready for anything. I am a firm believer that their quick actions saved their chicken’s life.
Click on the links to learn more about shock, how to make a warming unit or how to prepare yourself by creating a first aid kit or locate/add a chicken veterinarian near you. I invite you to follow Tilly’s Nest where I chat chicken, beekeeping, gardening, cooking and crafting. I’d love to see you there.
10 Comments
Hi, I am looking for help with my chicken. She’s a Rhode Island Red. My dog attacked from behind and it looks like pulled out a chunk of her back feathers I don’t see any puncture wounds. But she’s in shock labored breathing and unconscious. I have her wrapped in a towel and laying in the warm in the house. Is there anything else I can do?
Hi I am looking for help with my chicken. She’s a Rhode Island red my dog tactor from behind and it looks like pulled out a chunk of her back feathers I don’t see any puncture wounds. But she’s in shock labored breathing and unconscious. I have a wrapped in a towel and laying in the warm in the house. Is there anything else I can do?
Same scenario, how do I make her drink she won’t even open her peack, she will die soon if she doesn’t even drink?! Do I force the water in her peack or what? This is day 2. 🙁
Megan was attacked by our dog her neck looked like a nick you would buy at the grocery store half of her wing was gone and chest feathers were all ripped out. After the amazing advice online she survived and is doing fabulous and thriving today!
Hi, I am looking for help with my chicken. She’s a Rhode Island Red. My dog attacked from behind and it looks like pulled out a chunk of her back feathers I don’t see any puncture wounds. But she’s in shock labored breathing and unconscious. I have her wrapped in a towel and laying in the warm in the house. Is there anything else I can do?
I went to let my chickens out like I do every morning and I noticed my rooster didn’t come out when I looked in he was just laying unconscious on the floor of the coop so I started checking him and thought he was dead then his leg started twitching so I knew he was still alive..I then brought him inside and got him warmed up and he started taking breaths again but now he is just in what I would say is a coma but still breathing and moving his legs a little bit when I touch him but other than that just laying there on his side with his eyes closed
My Hen is going through something similar. after an attack I thought she was dead but like you, I saw her legs twitching and I grabbed her and she jumped up. it is day 2 and she’s in a coma like state. she’s drinking, not eating much. (I liquidfied her food) hows your chickens progress?
my hen want stand up or walk its been 4 days now if she was in shock from hawk attack I didn’t see it thres no wounds
Hello all,
I went to my chicken run with morning to find one of my hens of the floor (looking dead) I went to see her and one of the cockerels stood on top of her and pulled her crown. I shooed him away and she turned out to be alive so I took her up and put her in the sun with food and water in a pen for herself.
She will not take more than a couple steps, looks stunned and her crown has collapsed, Ive been trying to feed her but she’s only eaten a little and drunk a bit of water. So now she’s indoors and warm, but I have noticed that she’s keeping one eye open and the pupil is becoming very faint but the other eye occasionally opens and that pupil is huge, what could this be? She is also shaking her head.
Thank you
I’m so happy someone wrote about how to prevent shock in chickens. This definitely works too! I had 10 chickens, and a couple skunks broke into the coop and killed 4 of my hens, and left one injured. I took out our old dog crate put hay in it, and added feed and water and placed her inside. After being stunned for a few days she began to pull out of it. She was beginning to chirp and eat and drink and became more conscious. She still had a hard time walking, and it would take quite a few months for her to be able to walk right again, but though she had a limp I did reintroduce her back into her flock where she got along just fine, just a little slower then the others.
Since she was slower then the other chickens, when I had let them out to feed a dog had attacked her, my dog had ran the attacking dog off, but he had her rear in his mouth, I had to do the same thing all over again for her with the dog crate. She pulled out of it a whole lot faster then the first time. Now she’s getting along just fine, I just call her Miracle now, since she had such a rough start in the beginning of her life.