Coyote Survival

I wanted to share a story with my chickens. If you have a soft stomach, this might not be a story for you.

I have a small flock, 10 chickens, that free range as I use chickens mostly for tick control on my wooded property. I have lgd dogs for protection, guineas and a rooster that deter hawks fairly well. I lose a couple every year, but this is reality for chickens that aren't locked up.

At 1pm my trail camera picked up a lone coyote coming into the back of my property. My dogs were at the front during this time. The coyote injured two of my hens and my rooster is still missing, presumed dead. One hen has a leg out of place, and can walk with a limp at this point.

The second was ripped open in her chest. Her skin and fat was hanging open. I could see her muscles and organs under the membrane that separates it from the skin and fat on top. The membrane looked to still be intact. I smelled for any smells, she was clean. She still wanted to eat and drink as well. I decided if she wanted to live, I would do what I knew to do.

So I brought her inside and had my husband hold her on her side while I poured betadine into the hen's wound until it filled up, then let it drain. I put sterile bandages on every part of the raw spots, then used coban around the hen, pushing the loose flesh to adhere to the exposed membrane underneath, pushing the 3by3 inch wound closed. Not too tight, just enough pressure to keep the two sides of the wound closed. She was a wrapped chicken.

I changed her bandages with a fresh pour of betadine over the wound every evening. Smelling for any bad odors. She had none. After a week, she ripped the bandage off and was preening the feathers that started to grow back. I watch her to make sure she wasn't picking at the wound, she wasn't.

She is now laying eggs again, along with her wounded friend. She has scar tissue and she will never be a standard of perfection due to the injury, but she is alive and I'm so proud of her. She could have decided she wasn't going to live and not eat, but she was very determined to live no matter the struggle.

We are in the process of fencing off the back of the property, so this doesn't happen again.

I wanted to share in case someone also has a hen that was attacked but survived. I have healthcare experience, but I'm certainly no vet or doctor and I'm sure I could have done something better. This is what I had on hand and I felt like I needed to act quickly to ensure survival.