First hawk attack

[LizGio]

I'm so sorry Liz! I hope she'll be ok. You have wonderful neighbors!

I really do! I didn't ask for permission to post her picture so out of respect I blurred out her face. She literally had the chicken in her sweater until I got home.

Keep her wounds covered in antibiotic ointment. I find the name brand works better because it melts into the wounds. Be patient and continue to treat her wounds. I assume you have cleaned the wounds with normal saline or mild soap and water to help avoid infection. This is important, as is keeping antibiotic ointment on the wounds until healed.
If she does not eat for a couple of days, it is probably from being in shock, check her neck for wounds (they may be small puncture wounds) If she refuses to eat, we make an omelet with layer pellets in it. Our girls seem to enjoy that very much. Be. careful of how much treat food you feed her. Good luck to you and your girl, my. thoughts and prayers are with you both. Do please keep us posted and please feel free to ask questions. We all learn things when questions are asked.

Thank you.

 

[LizGio]

Can someone give me the best method to clean a chickens wounds thoroughly. I don't have saline but I have a variety of baby soap... I feel like immersing the chicken in a tub of water would probably stress her out. Do I just use a soft washcloth and a wipe or do I let the The soapy water run over her wounds? Can somebody please give me detailed instruction.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Where are all her wounds?

I would not put her in water at all, she's too weak and shocky.

For any facial tissue, I prefer using Saline, Vetericyn or Banixx - something that can be used around and in the eyes.
Saline for cleansing wounds can be made at home with 2tsp salt to 1quart of water. To make it sterile, simmer on the stove for 15minutes.

Triple antibiotic ointment to the wounds, this can be put on the face and in the eye if necessary. Just warm it a bit between your fingers to make it easier to apply to delicate facial tissue.

If she has other wounds on her body, then trim the feathers away from the wounds so you can see them better and it's less messy.

Your Neighbor is a sweetheart!

 

[LizGio]

Her left leg and sides of her head have the most damage. I don't think it's bad compared to other injuries I've seen. It's just a little patch of skin open on her leg and some things around her head and neck. I flushed it out with the saline solution I created according to your directions @Wyorp Rock. Too bad I wasn't aware that pin feathers bleed. Oops. I rinsed it off, they didn't bleed too bad. I don't have any antibiotic cream that is fresh or that I'm certain doesn't have pain relief in it so I only used the vetericyn on all the wounds. The wounds that I found yesterday and sprayed already look less swollen today. She stood up and took a few steps but it's apparent that her left leg is giving her trouble. I kind of made her a little "donut" to help relieve some of the pressure while she was standing. She stood there in between the two towels for a little while and then took a few steps out. She did drink one mouthful of water that I witnessed myself and maybe one piece of crumble mash. I gave her about 2.5 ml of electrolytes with a syringe. I tried rubbing watermelon on her beak along with scrambled eggs that are a little watered down but she was not interested. She just seems pretty tired but she's opening her eyes and seems to be alert.

I searched my property and the surrounding properties of my neighbors for a dead bird or a pile of feathers by didn't find anything major. Since she's only 3 months it's completely possible that the same or different hawk flew off with her. I've seen coopers and red tails frequently the last couple of days.

 

[LizGio]

 

[Ursuline Chick]

I love your pictures! I have the same waterer and am using the same little white custard cups.
I wish I had thought about using the little tent, we have at least two. That was a great idea

 

[LizGio]

I love your pictures! I have the same waterer and am using the same little white custard cups.
I wish I had thought about using the little tent, we have at least two. That was a great idea

It's my brooder from incubator warehouse. It has a mesh zipper too, the best! I also put her eggs up on a candle stand in case she couldn't comfortably bend to ground level trying to make her as comfy as possible.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'd put the water and food on a block so she's not having to bend over.
Take out the majority of towels so she has a flat stable surface to move around on. A small towel "nest" to snuggle in if she wishes.

I do like the tent! Puppy pads to line the bottom if you have them would work well. Easy cleanup and you can see her poops.

Glad to see she's moving around.

 

[KyCoop]

×2 on the puppy pads. Easy to clean up and monitor poops also to see if she is still bleeding anywhere. I had a girl injured so badly (by another chicken) I used the pads to gage her blood loss.

 

[LizGio]

Baby girl is doing well in my opinion. We took out the balled up towels and just kept the towels lining the bottom which I had to change out anyway because I'm an idiot. I went to slide the brooder and didn't pay attention to the water and it's spilled everywhere so she got fresh towels and fresh everything. Don't worry this whole process did not bother her. My husband then put a small piece of 2x4 in there for her to perch on at night which she enjoyed. She doesn't seem to want to get off of it. I brought her food and water which are in ramekins placed on candle stands right in front of her face and she's eating and drinking on her own. She's also responding to my conversation with her honk honks. She looks pretty good in my opinion. When is the soonest I can put her out with her friends? Her coop mates are [ 5 ] 1.5month old chicks and 3 the same age as her. What signs should I be looking for to tell me that she is ready to go out. Can I stick her out in the coop at night time when she's ready? They are pretty mild birdies.