Hawk attack, exposed bone under wing

[crikkit]

This is my first time dealing with a chicken injury, and I'm not as prepared as I thought I would be! At this point I'm glad she is alive. I found her outside with the hawk standing on her. She was on her side lifeless when I chased the hawk away, and I thought she was dead or close to it. I put some treats in the coop to get the other hens back inside, and she hopped up and ran into the coop to get her fair share.

She has a minor injury on the back of her neck. The worse injury is under her wing. Although it is not a large area of damage, there is a broken, protruding bone. I have circled the area that is the end of where the bone is sticking out when I lift the wing. I have cleaned her up and sprayed the area with Vetericyn. I have Blue-Kote but have not used it yet. Would Tylan help? I don't have any, but can get some this evening. I have Nutri-drench in her water for her, but she is just resting in a dog crate in the garage right now. Is there anything else I should do? Can the wing heal with broken/exposed bone?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would try to see a vet if at all possible, since with an exposed broken bone (compound fracture,) she will need some strong antibiotics. Tylan is not enough. Vetericyn is good to use, twice a day and plain Neosporin ointment is good for wounds after it is dry. Do you have any chlorhexidene or betadine at this time to splash on the wound (weaken with water first?) That would be good for such a deep and intrusive wound. Trim any feathers near the bad wound.

I would get Baytril online if you cannot see a vet, since it is one of the best antibiotics to use, and can be given orally. Dosage is 0.05 ml per pund twice a day. Get a 1 ml syringe without a needle to administer it. Here is a link to buy it:
https://allbirdproducts.com/products/baytril-10

Feed stores sell procaine penicillin G which can be given as an injection into the breast muscle. Dosage is 1/4 ml (0.25 ml) once a day for 4-5 days. Use a 20 gauge needle and inject it only 1/4 inch deep. So sorry about your hen, but glad you saved her.

 

[crikkit]

I got her to take in some dissolved aspirin for pain, but she isn't eating or drinking other than that. I found a couple of vets in my area who will treat chickens, so we'll go that route tomorrow so I can be sure she is getting the correct medication and dosage (if it looks like she has a good possibility for recovery). I gave her a pep talk this evening to let her know she needs to let me know in the morning if she's ready to give it the good fight.

 

[Eggcessive]

You can give a low dose 81 mg aspirin for pain to a standard chicken twice a day, or you can put a 325mg regular aspirin or 4 low dose aspirins in 250 ml of water for drinking, and change it twice a day. In the morning, try to get her to take some chicken feed made mushy with warm water, a bit of chopped egg or tuna. Ground meat or chopped liver are other possible tempting foods in very small amounts. Water is most important, and electrloytes with vitamins, such as Poultry NutriDrench orally, or SaveAChick added to water is good. Let us know how she is doing in the morning.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

I’m so sorry about your sweet chicken!

 

[crikkit]

Sam was alert, eating, and drinking this morning. I got her to a vet who treats chickens. Because of the location of the break and the protruding bone, the best options were amputation of the wing or euthanasia. When I got chickens I thought I could be reasonable about giving first aid myself when possible, and having the chicken put down if I could not. I was wrong! She's giving every indication this morning that she wants to try, so she is scheduled for surgery on Friday to have the wing amputated. They gave her an injection of pain medication today, and I now have antibiotics (doxycycline) and additional pain meds (loxicom/meloxicam) for her.