Chicken is making rattling noises when she breathes - Help!

[Fn87]

Hello all!
I am having quite a few issues currently with the health of one of my chickens. She must have been recently attacked by a hawk or something because I found her hunched over in the corner of my coop with a wound in her back. This is going to sound a bit crazy but she has also lost all of the feathers on her head. I know it's molting season but I didn't think molting could be quite that severe. I've also noticed her head looks a bit darker than it would naturally be. Now I am worried about blood flow in her body, but I'm also super confused because there are a lot of different ailments she's currently displaying.
After discovering her distress, I brought her in to our house where I've had to hand-feed her water through a water dropper because she wouldn't drink on her own for some reason but appears incredibly thirsty when I give her water through the dropper. I cleaned out the wound and put some Non-Pain Relief Neosporin on it.
She isn't eating on her own or laying at all. The other day I gave her some raw egg through a dropper which she ate quickly. But today, she's started making these wet rattling noises when she breathes and looks uncomfortable to say the least.
I genuinely have no idea what to do at this point. In lieu of taking her to a vet, is there any advice anyone can give me on how to help her? I'm starting to worry she won't make it.

 

[azygous]

The location of that back wound is in the general area of the lungs. Does the tissue in the center move as she breathes? If so, the hawk has exposed her lungs. It's no wonder she's rattling when she breathes. If this is the case, her prognosis is extremely tentative.

She needs a lot of fluids and electrolytes with sugar to boost her glucose and combat shock. It's even more critical that the wound is kept clean and moist. Bathing it in a saline solution at minimum twice a day is essential to keeping the lungs functioning if that's what that exposed tissue is. Neosporin should cover the wound generously.

I know it's crossed you mind so I will mention when I euthanize. As long as a chicken is showing some improvement each day, I keep helping her fight. But if she only seems to be getting worse, I euthanize.

 

[Fn87]

I'm giving her electrolytes today. I applied more Neosporin. How do I give her a saline bath considering the wound is on her back. I don't want to dunk her up to her back because it's kind of cold over here even with warm water.
I was wondering if maybe her lungs had been punctured. My only hesitation to that conclusion had been that videos I'd seen of hens with punctured sounded like they were wheezing for air. Oreo sounds almost like there is fluid in her lungs or something. I'll try to see if I can send a video. Would it still be a possibility that her lungs are punctured? I also need to check if the wound moves when she breathes. It's on her lower back so I'm not even sure if it's entirely that close to where her lungs would be.

 

[azygous]

The saline "bath" would actually be a simple irrigation of the wound. A turkey baster would help in the effort. Saline will restore proper chemical balance in those tissues exposed that weren't meant to be exposed, in addition to flushing away new bacteria attempting to colonize the wound.

It's very hard to tell the location of a wound on a chicken from a photo as it always lacks complete context. In other words, you have the home advantage of having the patient in real life and can measure her to determine where the wound is and if it may involve the lungs.

Chicken lungs ride just millimeters under the back exterior and are very subject to damage when trauma occurs there. Chicken lungs aren't the total of a chickens respiratory system as they have air sacs distributed around their bodies to bring oxygen to their tissues. But the lungs are a major driving force in their respiration.

Whether or not the lungs are exposed, you still need to care for the wound aggressively to avoid infection and promote healing. The wound care I suggested still remains the same.

 

[Fn87]

Okay! Thank you so much for all of your advice and help. I feel a lot more confident now, having a more sound plan of action.