Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[Poultry in Motion]

I woke up to a clucking commotion this morning - went outside and there were feathers all round the garden and some agitated chickens. On closer inspection, one had a badly damaged wing - all the long edge feathers torn away and a nasty looking bloody mess.

 

I am assuming a fox grabbed at her through the bars - is this likely? All the chickens had been in the eglu/run with the run door closed, so nothing's obviously got in there.

 

I cleaned up the injured wing as best I could with salt water. Chicken is not in obvious pain and has gone back in to peck around. Is there anything else I should do? I guess the main risk is possibly infection but otherwise it seems superficial damage (although looks quite nasty).

[Snowy]

Oh no! Not sure what it could have been - but a fox is most likely. They have been known to grab through the bars.

 

I agree keep an eye on the wound, bathe in salt water if necessary. The biggest risk is from the other chickens pecking at it as they seem to be drawn to open wounds. Purple spray is useful as it is antiseptic and disguises the redness.

 

Hope she is OK.

[Plum]

What a shock. The problem is the fox may come back, I would shut the door tonight.

 

Hope she's ok.

[Poultry in Motion]

Update: All seems OK with the injured hen. There was a bit of pecking by the others, but they seem to be leaving her alone now. Local farmer seems to think she will recover fine - just a sad-looking wing at the moment, but it looks to be healing. We've been shutting the door at nights now to stop any similar incidents.

[Plum]

Glad she's getting over it

[ejaym39]

We've just had a fox attack where the fox ate through the wire mes to get at our ladies. We though our pen was secure and it is always locked at night. We have now reinforced the wire and lock them in their house in their pen at night just to be safe. I'm told the fox will stake out the chickens first and then return until all the chickens have gone or until they realise they can no longer get access to the chickens.