Fox attack

SatNavSaysStraightOn

SatNavSaysStraightOn

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So my plans for today went out of the window last night at lock-up. Fox attack.

It was a complete surprise to me when I took a casual glance out of the window to see where the chooks were in their way to bed. I spotted a mass of feathers and know instantly what had happened but there was no warning calls from them at all which usually there is and I hear.

One of the chooks was on the ground in amongst all of the feathers that were her's. Amazingly she was alive but just lying there. I immediately scooped her up holding her and realising how heavy she has become.

Looking around chooks were scattered everywhere and, yep there was a fox. Totally unafraid of me.

I rounded up last year's chicks who were scattered everywhere and too afraid to go into the chook house. I did manage to get them in and locked them in with the other 6 that were in there, then started looking for the others.

I found 1 injured who had buried herself into a big wood pile. She'd not have survived the night there. I got her out quite easily. Her injuries don't appear to be fatal thankfully but she's now laying the most expensive eggs!

I found the body of another inside the electric fence area so suspect that the fox went in the way the chooks go in and out and hence why they were so afraid of going back in to the chook house.

We've located a mass of feathers for another missing chook so I'm certain she's dead. But we're missing even a single feather for another...

So this morning I was surprised to see both injured chooks had lived through the night. I was expecting one of them to have died but she hadn't and even accepted water and then took it of her own accord. That's Mrs Yeti. She may yet die, but she's been to the vets and has pain relief and will get more and antibiotics when I get home.

Harriet is the one that tried hiding in the wood pile. She's needed surgery but the fact that she could even have it is a good indicator that she'll pull through if we can keep her free from infection. So I have at least 1 chook living in the house with me for the next few weeks and this evening will be spent making chicken nappies for her!

Right, off to the vets to pick her up.
 
Well there are 3 officially dead. We found 1 body and enough feathers to know that our white australorp didn't survive. The other is missing without a trace. Not even a feather.

Of the 2 injured, amazingly both are still alive. Both are on opioid painkillers and antibiotics. They're both in the house. One in a large dog crate and the other still in the pet carrier. Harriet is in the dog crate, she needed stitches and debraidment. Mrs Yeti wasn't strong enough to survive that so we just had to rest her, let her sleep and feed her. I was having to put food down her throat but today she started to eat from my hand. She still can't stand without help but after looking at her injuries I suspect she had some internal injuries that likely need to heal first.

Harriet is now preening herself and is rather puzzled about the absence of feathers at the rear.
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HairyHeaven said:
Oh no, poor girls. Glad to hear the two injured ones are doing ok.
It's a horrible feeling to see the carnage, hope you are going ok SatNavSaysStraightOn
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I'm concentrating on the survivors. It's all I can do and we're outside around lock up time at the moment. They others are not being allowed to free range, but at behind the electric fence in an area that's about 175m². However, they are still being let out into that area manually (they have an automatic coop door on a daylight sensor). My OH didn't see the fox again tonight, but i saw it yesterday. However he also didn't see the watering can full of water or their internal coop water container right at the back door (he would have had to walk around them!) so him not seeing the fox is taken with a healthy dose of salt.

I typically don't allow them to free range unless we've not seen a fox for over a week. And I'm going to have chickens living in the house for a while. It's too cold outside at present for the 2 survivors until they grow some feathers back. I will have to do a series of half way houses... we have a smaller coop that 2 can live in that will go on the front verandah and we've another larger coop that they can go into after that before they rejoin the main coop.

They'll be on a high protein diet for a while which will help with healing and feather production. Both are cold climate breeds. Mrs Yeti is so named because she even has feathers on her legs, feet and individual toes! But she has a long way to go yet sadly. But she had chosen to eat from my hand today and she tried to get away from me when I was force feeding her (open the beak and stuff it into her mouth approach) so that is also actually a good sign.

Harriet is taking 2 of us now to give her her antibiotics and pain meds! Always a good sign.
 
Harriet is looking abit dishevelled but otherwise is thoroughly bored and fed up. So she's now roaming the sitting room periodically otherwise study is hard.

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I've found that playing then bird song music helps considerably as well. And hubby came home via Ikea to buy a couple of cheap mirrors $5 each (£2.50) which are now behind her dog cage. It gives the impression of being with others and luckily chooks can't tell that its themselves they are looking at, though they can recognise 100 chickens and know if they are a friend or foe!

Mrs Yeti is feeding herself and doing a good job of shitting everywhere. Puppy training pads come in very handy. That's what she is sitting on.

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And I'm using Harriet as incentive to get Mrs Yeti to eat! She'll steal her food if given a chance. It's a way of keeping Mrs Yeti alert and getting her to eat at the same time. Mrs Yeti has yet to stand off her own accord, but I'm seeing daily improvements, so for the moment at least she has a future. I'm not certain what will happen if she fails to walk. I have been having thoughts that I need what I know as a baby bouncer where the kid sits in the seat that's a harness at the same time and is hung off a door frame and the height set so that they can bounce up and down strengthening the legs. It might have to be a DIY job!

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Harriet is currently having a very good preening session.

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