Limping, after suffering a dog attack, is not a good sign whether this be humans limping or chickens limping.
This article looks into everything you need to know if your chicken started limping after a dog attack
Table of Contents
Chicken limping after dog attack:
The natural predators of chickens will become bolder and bolder the hungrier they are and may be more prone to attack and injure your birds during this time.
Your dog may also injure your bird when simply playing with the bird, dogs can sometimes get carried away and injure your pet chicken quite badly when playing.
Here is what you need to know if your bird is injured after a dog attack:
Your chicken and a dog attack:
Your dog may have quite the bite force and your chicken’s body is quite soft, the pressure from your dog’s bite can be quite damaging to the bird’s body.
Your bird may have suffered a bone fracture or damage to the muscles and this could have caused your bird to limp, the pain of the injury will also cause the bird to limp.
The bite could have also caused spinal injuries or ligament ruptures,
Your bird’s injured leg may be warmer than the other leg, this is caused by the increase in blood flow to the injured leg.
This happens because the bird’s body is trying to send more blood with white blood cells to the area to heal the injury.
Not only can the attack injure your bird, but the whole ordeal can also cause the bird to go into shock and suffer emotional distress. This shock and emotional distress may go on for days after the incident.
What to do:
If your bird’s leg is bleeding then you can stop the bleeding using cornstarch, or styptic power, the area also needs to be cleaned with betadine, vetericyn wound care spray, or chlorhexidine 2% solution spray.
Your dog’s bite may have injured the bird more than you know, the bird’s feathers may be blocking the severity of the bird’s injury.
In addition, any bacteria that may have been on your dog’s teeth may have entered your bird’s body and your bird may have developed an infection.
If your bird is injured to the point of limping then it is recommended that you take the bird to the vet.
The vet will thoroughly examine the bird checking to see what injuries the bird sustained and test the bird to see if it needs medications like antibiotics.
The vet will also clean the wound, give the bird pain medications, and remove any damaged tissue in the area.
Once the bird is back from the vet you’d need to keep it isolated, safe, and stress-free as it recovers from the attack.
How to keep this from happening in the future:
While I can’t promise that doing all this will keep your dog safe I can say that taking these precautions may help to keep your bird safer from your dogs:
Keep the dog on a leash:
While this won’t be the best for the dog it will definitely keep your chickens safer. Keeping your dog on a leash will keep it from running after and attacking your chickens
Create a physical barrier:
You’d also need to create a physical barrier that will keep your chickens away from wandering off into where your dog is.
Create a barrier enclosing the chickens but make sure that the birds still have enough room to live freely and comfortably
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Chicken Sneezing When Eating, Why Your Chickens Head Doesn’t Move, How Do Wild Chickens Survive In The Winter?, Why Is My Duckling’s Neck Swollen?, Duck With A Twisted Foot, Chicken Shaking Head And Walking Backward, Do Chickens Shake When Scared?, Chicken Trembling Legs, Rooster Shaking Legs
