Fox attack

[barham]

Hi
I am hoping that someone will be able to give me some advice. One of my pekin bantams was captured by a fox this afternoon, the fox was seen and dropped the hen, she has no tail left, and a nasty patch above her tail where there is a small piece of skin missing. It has not bled very much, and does not seem to bother her, as she is eating and drinking. I have isolated her so that the wound will not get pecked by the others, but am not sure how to treat it? Any suggestions would be gratefully recieved, I would like to avoid vets extortionate charges if possible.

 

[tygrysek75]

Fox mouth is a nasty place and she may get an infection.It would be best to have an atibiotyk for her,but if you think that the wound was more from tearing her feathers out antiseptic would be fine,You may treat her allready with this.Keep her until wound heals as other can peck on this.Make sure that all your defences in places as the fox for sure will be back.He will look for another oportunity.Lucky escape for you little hen,she may still be in shock so look out for any trouble.

 

[chrismahon]

Tygresek has covered everything there Barham. It should all grow back in time.

A friend of mine had one of his Leghorn Bantams taken by a fox. A neighbour spotted her in its mouth and shouted. The fox dropped the hen who ran back to the coop and laid. She then continued to lay daily, showing no sign of stress from the attack at all.

 

[Lordcluck]

Gentian violet antiseptic wound spray, as sold by most ag merchants. Wonderful stuff! she should heal up in no time! the only real solution to preventing fox attack is keeping birds in covered pens with wired floors. wire up all vents and windows on housing as well, foxes will smash their way through glass or plastic to get to stock, and will also climb, or dig their way into open pens as well.

 

[Marigold]

I agree with lord cluck, violet spray is fine for wounds and you can buy it specifically for poultry. It's messy stuff though, so wear disposable plastic gloves when using it, and if the wound is small, spray a cotton bud or piece of cotton wool and use this to apply it exactly where you want it. It will stain the feathers for a long time which isn't very nice on a light-coloured bird.
An alternative which doesn't stain and is just as good is antiseptic powder for poultry, which again is easily available from pet stores or agricultural suppliers. I use this on my quail when they've had a fight, which they do with monotonous regularity, and it helps to stop the bleeding when you puff it on. It's really good to have one or both of these things in stock, because when you need them, as you will, you don't want to have to waste time going shopping!
You did right to isolate your injured hen, but if she can be in a separate part of the run, or somehow alongside the others where they can see each other through the wire, you are less likely to have further problems reintegrating her when she has healed up.