Chicken attacked by Hawk

[collisinana]

A few minutes ago I heard a strange squawking and when I look outside I see a feathery lump laying on the ground. I ran outside and the hawk which was on top of the dominique flew away and the chicken jumped up and ran around. It took my a while to catch him, but once I did I found a wound a little above his ear. It's not too bad, but on the other side their's some more on his face. He's lost a lot of feathers- there were clumps laying on the ground were he was attacked and when just handling him a few came out. I've separated him to a different coop and provided him with food and water. He's very flighty and I'm not sure what to do with the wounds or the hawk. This isn't the first time we've had hawk issues and if I had it my way I would've gotten rid of them if it wasn't Illegal. Once before I found a hawk tangled in our chicken run and we had to call the raptor center to pick him up. I would appreciate any suggestions on any of these things. Thanks!

 

[Mattemma]

Some antibio cream or bluekote in the wounds.Some would use hydrogen peroxide on the wound first. I might keep it locked up just so the hawk could not attack it again while it was in a weakened state.

As for the the hawk well it would be a shame it if got tangled in some bird netting now wouldn't it?!?!!?!

Speedy healings for your chicken,

 

[collisinana]

Thanks I'll give that a try!

 

[collisinana]

One more question- Right now I have my chicken separated from the others in a different coop. Will the chickens will be agressive towards him when I return him to the rest of the flock.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

One more question- Right now I have my chicken separated from the others in a different coop. Will the chickens will be agressive towards him when I return him to the rest of the flock.

Be sure 'n get the wound(s) cleaned out well, and cover 'em up w/ the bluekote if you've got it before releasing ... be sure 'n inspect closely for overlooked tears or punctures under the wings and all around the neck/crop area.

As for reintroducing birds to the flock? I've found that puttin' one back during the night seems to work out better, if they're in a tighter space. But, if there's lots of room, w/ lots to do? They most likely won't pay it much mind, but you'll have to check back frequently to make sure they don't pick the wounds.

As for the hawk? I had a favorite squirrel that'd come w/in about six foot of me just about every time I looked around for it ... hawk swooped through the limbs w/ a skill I was previously unaware they had, and snatched her in mid-jump, hauling her away to a nearby hickory tree, w/ her screamin' the whole time -- as it sat there to eat, I realized it was w/in range, and was heading for my shotgun ... for about six feet. I realized quickly that the hawk was simply doin' what hawks were designed to, and my favorite squirrel had become what she was intended to as well.

My lil' brother had the last flock here, and all but the rooster became what open-ranged chickens often do, where hawks fly. The two correct options: Accept the losses, or enclose your flock. At least for now, 'til this particular hawk gives up 'n hunts elsewhere, you should keep 'em in a covered run ...

 

[collisinana]

Thanks so much. This really helped!

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Thanks so much. This really helped!

You're welcome ... hope for speedy healing ~'-)

 

[mg15]

I had to put tree netting from the house to a fence.
Put cup holders on the fascia and then on the fence.
Stretched the netting and this covered quite a large space
that was open to the falcons and hawks. I feel much better
about that part of their enclosure now.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

I had to put tree netting from the house to a fence.
Put cup holders on the fascia and then on the fence.
Stretched the netting and this covered quite a large space
that was open to the falcons and hawks. I feel much better
about that part of their enclosure now.

I was just about to click the quote button to ask how those cup holders worked against predation, and remembered buying a few packets of cup hooks to temporarily stretch some wire to ... was picturing those things that hang in cars w/o consoles ...
As if I didn't already feel less intelligent than my chickens (gotta go out in the rain, so as to get them to go in from it ~'-)

 

[DFamilyChicks]

My Barred Plymouth Rock was attacked by an owl. It left a big bloody gash in the back of her head, right behind the comb. When I found her she was in a kind of shock.

I cleaned out the wound, put on Neosporone (because I wasn't sure what else to do) to try and protect the wound from germs, etc. I didn't separate her from the other birds. None of the birds paid any attention to her wound.

All of that happened months ago. The wound healed fine in about a week. She had a bald spot for about 2 months. Now you can barely tell where it happened, except for a small indent in her head. That is one tough bird!! Her name is Chick-ira.

Here she is when she was younger: