Advice for injured silkie who narrowly survived hawk attack

[Strato]

Hey all, as the title says, I just came in from immediately rescuing my silkie when a hawk swooped down on her. I didn't see how it attacked her, just heard the screams and ran out to chase it away.

She is in shock and was bleeding a lot from one wing (I put stiptic powder and that seems to have fixed it) but her face/mouth were bloody and sticky and I worry about her not holding her head up. Perhaps she is in shock, but I'm concerned maybe she's injured irreparably if the hawk hit her very hard. (She was under a bush when it attacked her so I don't know if it could have really slammed her hard enough to break/injure her neck.)

For now I have her propped up in some towels, cleaned her face best I could, gave her a little water to wash out the sticky blood clotting in her mouth and making her breath sound sticky. I was worried about that, too, but she seems to be breathing normally now.

Any other suggestions on what I can do?

 

[boskelli1571]

Hey all, as the title says, I just came in from immediately rescuing my silkie when a hawk swooped down on her. I didn't see how it attacked her, just heard the screams and ran out to chase it away.

She is in shock and was bleeding a lot from one wing (I put stiptic powder and that seems to have fixed it) but her face/mouth were bloody and sticky and I worry about her not holding her head up. Perhaps she is in shock, but I'm concerned maybe she's injured irreparably if the hawk hit her very hard. (She was under a bush when it attacked her so I don't know if it could have really slammer her hard enough to break/injure her neck.)

For now I have her propped up in some towels, cleaned her face best I could, gave her a little water to wash out the sticky blood clotting in her mouth and making her breath sound sticky. I was worried about that, too, but she seems to be breathing normally now.

Any other suggestions on what I can do?

So far so good. Double check to make sure there aren't any other injuries that need attention. Keep her isolated tonight in a warm, quiet area. Give her some food and water.
She probably is a bit shocky but will get over it. Chickens are remarkably resilient.
Hopefully if there are no other injuries, she will be back to relative normal tomorrow Keep us posted.

 

[Strato]

She seems to only want her neck to go one way, and sometimes will struggle around and her head falls limply back, against her back. It's very distressing to see. Is it possible her neck is broken? Could she have survived this long? (about 3 hours?)

Edit: I've read after some Googling that she would be totally paralyzed if her neck were broken. Is this true? She definitely isn't paralyzed, because she has tried to move/flail a few times while resting.

 

[glassdragonfly]

Probably not paralyzed,but could have an injury to her neck. Swelling and pulled muscles can cause strange head movements. First rest,quiet,warm and safe. You already stopped the bleeding and cleaned her up a bit. Use triple antibiotic ointment on her wounds.

 

[glassdragonfly]

How's she doing?

 

[Strato]

How's she doing?

I'm very sad to report she had to be put down. Thanks for all the suggestions/support.

She was still trying (and failing) to lift her head in the morning, and so I took her to the nearest Avian Hospital to get a professional opinion. The vet said she was showing signs of severe neurological issues from head trauma and the only option was to euthanize her, because she was suffering a lot and there wasn't hope for a recovery.

I'm very sad to have lost my favorite silkie but I'm glad she's not suffering anymore (and that I didn't have to put her down myself, I just couldn't do it.) I'm also at least glad to know we tried everything we could before letting her go. She was a fighter to the end!

I have since moved their coop (It's an Eglu run) over to an area with a lot more tree cover, and as we've never had issue with hawks before this that was hopefully a freak incident that won't be repeated.

 

[Henry&Friends]

Awh I’m sorry you did what you could, good job moving your coop as well You might want to lock your birds inside for a couple days, to ensure the hawk moves on.

 

[Henry&Friends]

Inside a covered run**

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm very sad to report she had to be put down. Thanks for all the suggestions/support.

She was still trying (and failing) to lift her head in the morning, and so I took her to the nearest Avian Hospital to get a professional opinion. The vet said she was showing signs of severe neurological issues from head trauma and the only option was to euthanize her, because she was suffering a lot and there wasn't hope for a recovery.

I'm very sad to have lost my favorite silkie but I'm glad she's not suffering anymore (and that I didn't have to put her down myself, I just couldn't do it.) I'm also at least glad to know we tried everything we could before letting her go. She was a fighter to the end!

I have since moved their coop (It's an Eglu run) over to an area with a lot more tree cover, and as we've never had issue with hawks before this that was hopefully a freak incident that won't be repeated.

I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[boskelli1571]