Advice for an Injured 3 week old chick

hcrodgers

In the Brooder
Apr 29, 2020
4
4
11
Our 3 week old chicks were in their enclosed run for their first outing today. I was working in the attached garden (only 20 feet away) and a hawk swooped in and tried to grab one of the chicks through the fencing. Although the hawk was unsuccessful at taking any of them, he did get his talons into one of the chicks. She has a small gash on the side of her head and a slightly larger gash on her neck. Neither of the injuries bled too badly and I have put antiseptic ointment on both spots. We have separated her from the rest of the chicks and she seems happiest bundled in a towel on my daughters lap. She has been drinking and eating little bits. She did spit up a clear liquid once after the incident. I am trying to figure out a few things. 1) Is there anything else I should be doing while tending to the wounds? Or for pain relief? 2) I am also trying to figure out where to keep her while she heals as I only have one eco glow heater for all 8 chicks. I considered keeping her in a small dog crate in the house with a space near positioned nearby, but she seemed really unhappy there alone when we tried it out. I'm not sure if the other chicks would peck at her wounds or if that is more of an issue with mature chickens? Any help or advice you have to give would be greatly appreciated. I have chickens previously, but have luckily never had to tend to an injured bird, especially one so young. Thank you all!
 
Our 3 week old chicks were in their enclosed run for their first outing today. I was working in the attached garden (only 20 feet away) and a hawk swooped in and tried to grab one of the chicks through the fencing. Although the hawk was unsuccessful at taking any of them, he did get his talons into one of the chicks. She has a small gash on the side of her head and a slightly larger gash on her neck. Neither of the injuries bled too badly and I have put antiseptic ointment on both spots. We have separated her from the rest of the chicks and she seems happiest bundled in a towel on my daughters lap. She has been drinking and eating little bits. She did spit up a clear liquid once after the incident. I am trying to figure out a few things. 1) Is there anything else I should be doing while tending to the wounds? Or for pain relief? 2) I am also trying to figure out where to keep her while she heals as I only have one eco glow heater for all 8 chicks. I considered keeping her in a small dog crate in the house with a space near positioned nearby, but she seemed really unhappy there alone when we tried it out. I'm not sure if the other chicks would peck at her wounds or if that is more of an issue with mature chickens? Any help or advice you have to give would be greatly appreciated. I have chickens previously, but have luckily never had to tend to an injured bird, especially one so young. Thank you all!
If the wounds are red or bleeding I would keep her away for a couple of days just in case unless you can watch for any issues. You can try using Blukote or similar to damp down the redness of the wound.
Unless she appears to be in pain/distress, I would not give her any pain relief.
You can fashion a heating plate 'cave' out of a human heating pad, read this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958/
Chicks are resilient, watch for infection tho' :)
 

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