[Under The Hill]

Oh my goodness, I looked out of my window this morning and saw a fox under our garden table mauling Tango, one of our lovely chickens.  I rushed out screaming and the fox ran away, I thought the fox had taken Tango as we couldn't find her anywhere.  The other two chickens were the other end of the garden so seemed oblivious to the attack.  I locked them up in their run and then found Tango.  She is limping a little and her wing seems a little bit odd but we picked her up and found no blood and apart from limping slightly she seems fine.   She is eating and drinking fine too.   What can I do to help her?   

  so it seems I can't let them loose in the garden unless I am in there, what a shame.  I only used to let them out for a few hours every day, they love roaming free.  At least I love gardening so do spend some time in the garden.  And I suppose at least Tango is alive.  We thought we had lost her!

Any advice on how to help her through this shock would be greatly appreciated.
Love Juliet

[joyfull]

do you know if her wing is dislocated? If it is it will need popping back into place as soon as possible. She may go into shock so like humans she will need warmth (perhaps bring her inside to rest in a cat carrier for a day or so). Critical care formula or rescue remedy may help her over this. In the meantime keep a close eye on your girls as the fox will be back looking for an easy meal.

[barley]

oh my how awful

agree with joyful

keep her warm and calm but defiantly think the wing needs looking at by vet

he will be back so don't leave them unattended - don't blame yourself  its nature I'm afraid x

[compostqueen]

You could keep her quiet in a cardboard box in the house for 24 hours.  I had a box that I got when I bought mine but a box or cat carry box would do. That sort of size. You could keep her quiet and somewhere not too warm. Keep checking her obviously.  She might well have been bitten, although it might not be obvious.

When mine were attacked by a fox I only took one of them to the vet. The most badly injured one wasn't even fit to move so the vet said to leave her in her box overnight.  I think he thought she sounded beyond help.  When I took the one with the damaged wing to the vet she had a painkiller and anti-inflammatory injection. He gave me antibiotics (liquid) for all three of them to be administered as dusk when they;re sleepy, straight into their beaks. He gave me a proper applicator but it was tricky doing it single handedly. I sat on a straw bale, got the girl under my arm (very gently) It's easier when they're sleepy. They seemed to like the taste thankfully. The one with the wing, which just hung loose on the ground and she couldn't stay on her feet, recovered totally. The badly injured one, which looked to be pulled to bits, was fine too. The third girl seemed unhurt

I was charged £10  It's well worth getting them looked at if you're worried that they're injured. 

[Asherweef]

Make sure her wing is not dislocated (dragging etc)

If there are no injuries to her legs or bottom joints then hold her upside down so that she relaxes and give her a thorough check over: pull each wing out and blow her feathers so that you can check for minor injuries.

Bring her inside for a day and then let her back in with the others with plenty of corn if she's OK.

[compostqueen]

The bird has a muscle that holds their wing against their body. When they get bashed about and mauled by a fox etc they will get a lot of bruising so maybe it's just too painful for her to hold the wing in. She will get better but a painkiller might be needed.  My girl did recover but the vet said that if she didn't the wing could be taken off and she would be ok without out

My most badly mauled girl, the one we thought was in bits, made a full recover. When the feathers regrow from being totally bald they look amazing. Like a wonderful tapestry effects. It's a wonder to behold 

[Under The Hill]

thank you all so much.  I am very pleased to report that my lovely chicken seems 100% and even laid an egg this morning!!!   I got a box ready for her yesterday as suggested but when I went down to get her, she seemed completely fine and was no longer limping and was jumping/flying onto the perch and off again with both wings working perfectly so I thought I would leave her there as she seemed very happy.  I can see no damage to her at all.  So I can only think that the moment I looked out was the moment the dastardly fox had pounced so no damage was done, just the shock for her which she seems to have recovered from.   I won't let them out again now unless I am in the garden.  Oh well will have to do lots of gardening now, what a chore!  NOT x

[New shoot]

Glad to hear all is well now 

[barley]

that's good news

we keep ours in too unless were out there

we lost one to a buzzard a few years ago and have seen a fox during the day in the field opposite

unfortunately chickens are easy pickings for both predators