Hawk Attack

centrarchid said:

Odds are she has puncture wounds coming from talons. It is hard for such not to involve the respiratory tract.
Dang saw this too late.

NO BATH!!! Major stressor. Wipe feces away using a wet wipe or rag.

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cpait said:

Day two in a crate covered with a tarp and towels. She's drinking and laid one egg two days ago.
Yesterday I let her out to scratch while I supervised. She acted completely normal. I hazard a visit with the flock but they circled her and started pecking and pulled out a few feathers. I ended this and put her back in the cage. Today she's out away from the flock doing chicken things and eating grass. She's been drinking and eating her pellets but little interest in meal worms or the left over salmon. I'm just wondering how long I should keep her away from the flock? I read somewhere to place the dog crate in the run so they could get used to her again. Thoughts?

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cpait said:

Thank you! I'm new at this can't you tell?
I did put blu-Kote on her. I'm not fimiliar with peck no more. I'll have to google that.
The hawk or another one? Was circuling yesterday so I haven't let the other four out to free range. How long is a hawks memory?

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cpait said:

Aw. I'm so sorry. Bridget is still experiencing social problems. She's been back with the flock for five days. She was away for three and they treat her like a stranger. She hides up the coop. She has to sneak out to eat and drink. Then runs back up the ladder. I have broke my own rule of no food or water in the coop. I also go sit with her and give her food, water and meal worms. I didn't know about the feather feed. I'm checking in to that. The feathers in her elbow seem to be coming in. They are tiny little sticks.
I wish you luck!

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Coop de Grass said:

@cpait It sounds like your girls is coming through! Good work!. One of my Bielefelder hens was attacked on the 19th. I heard the commotion thanks to the coop camera and made it halfway to the coop within 1 minute. The hawk took off when I was at the halfway mark, and Schnitzel took off for the run and the coop. I had just let them out to free range an hour before - something I rarely do because we had a hawk attack in November. I just felt guilty because they were at the gate looking out into the backyard.

At least Schnitzel didn't go into shock, but the hawk and given her a crew cut on her back and she had wounds under her wings. She has been in the family room in a plastic bin. I cleaned the wounds as well as I could, and have been spraying her liberally with Vetericyn wound care and also with Rooster Booster Wound Spray. I have the Pick No More stuff just in case, but the wounds have scabbed over.

From previous experience, I know to keep Schnitzel in a smaller set up inside my main run which is covered. It doesn't take long, but the longer she is separated, the more time it will take.

The hen that was attacked in November was isolated on the porch, away from the flock, but then had a relatively easy re-entry. There were a couple of days when she was out with the flock in the large fenced area of the yard which has bird netting over it. I stayed with her to be sure that everything stayed civil. She went into her porch suite if I wasn't with her. It took 3 days, and she was back to her old spot on the pecking order.

Schnitzel seems to be recovering. She doesn't like the Feather Fixer feed at all, but is eating other stuff like sunflower seeds and oatmeal.

I am more concerned that she isn't drinking that much. (I gave her some water melon today)

And that she hasn't laid an egg, but she isn't straining.

She is preening, which is a good sign!

@Wyorp Rock I think that I should wait another day before I do any internal exam, what do you think? Schnitzel had a prolapsed vent last year, but I handled that on my own, and in the process learned how to "deliver" an egg that is stuck!

Schnitzel is not bored. She can look out the window, or look at the bin next to hers which has 8 3 week old chicks in it.

Question: Aspirin is a blood thinner. Why would you give it to a wounded chicken? I was focused on stopping the bleeding. and from the visit to the vet after the last attack, I know that chickens don't do well on anesthetics. Advice please!

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