Hawk attack. Graphic pics *Updated pics 3/30/15

[ChickieKat]

I am letting her dry off and going to wrap her up in a towel and put her on the kitchen table under bright lights to get a really good look at it in a bit.

 

[ChickieKat]

So, I looked at her wound and I can't figure out what is what. It is such a jumble of skin, fat, muscle, bone, feathers and scabs. I tried to feel her crop and squeezed a bit to see if I could push a bit of fluid out to find the hole and it got slightly damp but I couldn't find it. It felt about half full, which worries me as she has had nearly nothing to eat in over 24 hours. I just rinsed it with iodine again and gave her a drink (she is drinking and eating raw yolk on her own and seems super thirsty) and put her to bed.

I am feeling so frustrated.

 

[MrsBachbach]

So, I looked at her wound and I can't figure out what is what. It is such a jumble of skin, fat, muscle, bone, feathers and scabs. I tried to feel her crop and squeezed a bit to see if I could push a bit of fluid out to find the hole and it got slightly damp but I couldn't find it. It felt about half full, which worries me as she has had nearly nothing to eat in over 24 hours. I just rinsed it with iodine again and gave her a drink (she is drinking and eating raw yolk on her own and seems super thirsty) and put her to bed.

I am feeling so frustrated.

I have read that it is best not to try to fed a bird that is dehydrated. They need fluids to digest food, so best to let them hydrate properly before trying to feed them. Unless you try a food with high water content like cantalope. Maybe that would be ok. One other thing you might try is baby food. Like peas or green beans. I think that has some water in it.
As far as the crop, I hope the cut is mid way or upper crop. I have done a couple of crop sugeries in the past and you always make the incision high on the crop. Reason being, liquid will leak out if you don't. I never stitched the crop muscle, just the skin where I cut. It was always a small cut, nothing very long. The muscle always closed on it's own and didn't require stitching. However, food was withheld for 24 hours to give the crop a chance to shrink and close. The crop is like an elastic muscle. So, if you can dampen some feathers and locate where the hole is, that can answer some questions. If it is on the lower end of the crop, it's going to be hard to keep the bird hydrated and fed without leaking. That wound isn't going to heal well with food sitting atop it. It may even infect. If it's low on the crop, you may need a vet. Idk, you can try the superglue, but I've never used that. I just don't see it working if the area stays wet. If it is midway or upper crop, you can probably work around that as long as we arent talking a large one inch gash. It is just going to require frequent small meals and watering. Don't let the bird stretch out her crop by gorging. Soft foods only. Oatmeal, baby food, soft eggs, yogurt, etc. But she will need frequent small waterings. Because you don't want the liquid to fill the crop, stretch, and leak out. Food after water. Right now, best just to keep her hydrated. The yolk is good, but she still needs water. I think at the very least, four ounces a day. You may have to break those ounces up to eight different waterings. She will probably drink herself, just don't leave a bunch of water out for her. She may drink too much and it leak out on her. So, small frequent feedings and waterings for several days to allow the muscle to heal itself. At least five days like this with soft foods. Then maybe by day six, try some soft mash of her feed. Still small feedings for a few more days. Don't want that crop stretching out until it has healed and closed up.
It's alot of attention and work for a good week when trying to heal a crop. Hopefully in her case it can be done. Just depends on location and severity.

 

[ChickieKat]

I am pretty sure it is high up on her crop and a small hole. When I heard gurgling and saw bubbles, it was definitely not where the bottom of her crop would normally be.

Thanks so much for the crop info. Today she had maybe one or two bites of scrambled egg before I realized what was going on with her crop. Since then, I have only given her liquids and a bit of raw egg yolk. She only started drinking on her own this evening and I offered 3 times in a few hours, but definitely did not get in 4 ounces. I will offer again in the morning and frequently throughout the day. My husband is home tomorrow and can offer every hour or two and I am home Tuesday and can do the same. I just can't believe she is still alive and I am making plans for how to care for her tomorrow!

Her shoulder is so torn open though that I almost wonder if it has pulled her crop out of its normal position. I was looking through the mess that is her shoulder and the gap between the two sides of skin that were cut is about 2-3 inches wide. There would be no way to stitch that closed if I wanted to, not that I do because I don't want to seal in infection. It makes her wing hang so low though, I think it is pulling some parts of her body out of place. One of her upper wing bones is completely exposed. I can't imagine how that will even begin to heal... Maybe skin will grow back over it and eventually muscle too? She can still move the wing a bit, so I know there is still some nerve/tendon connection, but just a seeing that wing bone there just looks so wrong to me.

Has anyone dealt with an exposed bone before?

 

[MrsBachbach]

I am pretty sure it is high up on her crop and a small hole. When I heard gurgling and saw bubbles, it was definitely not where the bottom of her crop would normally be.

Thanks so much for the crop info. Today she had maybe one or two bites of scrambled egg before I realized what was going on with her crop. Since then, I have only given her liquids and a bit of raw egg yolk. She only started drinking on her own this evening and I offered 3 times in a few hours, but definitely did not get in 4 ounces. I will offer again in the morning and frequently throughout the day. My husband is home tomorrow and can offer every hour or two and I am home Tuesday and can do the same. I just can't believe she is still alive and I am making plans for how to care for her tomorrow!

Her shoulder is so torn open though that I almost wonder if it has pulled her crop out of its normal position. I was looking through the mess that is her shoulder and the gap between the two sides of skin that were cut is about 2-3 inches wide. There would be no way to stitch that closed if I wanted to, not that I do because I don't want to seal in infection. It makes her wing hang so low though, I think it is pulling some parts of her body out of place. One of her upper wing bones is completely exposed. I can't imagine how that will even begin to heal... Maybe skin will grow back over it and eventually muscle too? She can still move the wing a bit, so I know there is still some nerve/tendon connection, but just a seeing that wing bone there just looks so wrong to me.

Has anyone dealt with an exposed bone before?

No, not to that depth. I don't think muscle will grow back, skin maybe. Did you start her on Pen G? Because she is going to need some serious antibiotics to prevent infection, because it sounds extensive. PenG is best for wounds of this nature. I would do it for five days. It has some staying power.
I'm not too sure the gurgling and bubbles is solely from the crop. Like I said, I've done a couple of crop surgeries and there wasn't any gurgling or bubbles in my experience. That normally happens when there is air involved. So, it sounds like there is some air escaping from somewhere. If she doesn't appear in any respiratory distress, maybe it too will heal.
I'm not familiar with the wound dressing you are using. I imagine there will be a tightening up of all skin and muscles involved while it heals. I do know that my hen that was missing skin and had a large area of exposed muscle healed up well with Wonder Dust applied. It just basically scabbed the whole area over and dried it up. It was ugly looking and black (the powder is black charcoal base) but it did the trick with time. I would think the most important thing when dealing with flesh wound injuries is to get a scab on it as quickly as possible. Personally, I wouldn't use anything that tends to keep the wounds moist, but that's just my opinion, I'm not a vet.
Just an fyi if you are using antibiotics. Sometimes the use of the antibiotics changes the flora in the gut. It can cause sour crop. If her crop is distended and seems to be full of air, this could be the problem. Or sometimes the shock of the attack, or the lack of eating can cause the lower intestinal track to stop, or back up. This could be why you feel a full crop when she hasn't had anything. Could be full of air. You might gently try to burp that air out if you can. I wouldn't do it too much or often because of the injury. But, a crop full of air, a bird likely won't eat.
So, obviously she is going to need those antibiotics. But make sure you give her some probiotics when you finish with the antibiotics and try to get the gut back on track.
Your girl is going to need extra attention on this. Not only to prevent infection, but extra protein and vitamins to repair damage, etc. Good luck to you and her.
Keep us posted on her progress.

 

[ChickieKat]

Tractor Supply did not have Pen-G, so I bought the only antibiotic they had for poultry which is a broad spectrum powder that dissolves in water. I calculated the dose according to the packet and she needs .5ml as a dose, but it says to "dose continuously", which I don't really understand. I accidentally have her a much higher dose as her first and second this afternoon and evening, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ramp it up at first. I am going to try to give it to her at least twice per day for a week or so.

I was sort of wondering if maybe her digestive system has slowed way down due to shock. She had pooped three times today and they all look completely normal. Her crop feels about half full with liquid, not her normal feed, so I have no idea what is in there. The gurgling noise was definitely strange. I saw the bubbles and assumed it was just the water coming through the bloody sticky mess that is her crop and shoulder. I don't dare to burp any air out, as I don't want the hole to rip open any more than it already is. I definitely massaged it pretty well (although gently) earlier and had a bit of liquid leak out that seemed like it had a little watery feed mixed in.

I am also so confused about wet wounds vs dry wounds. I keep reading conflicting things about very large wound care. Some say to let them dry out and some day to keep them wet with antibiotic ointment. Her wound is so large, I swear it looks like about half of her wing is exposed with no skin and very little muscle left on it. It is the upper more muscular portion too, so quite a massive injury.

Also, I didn't realize I should have watered down the iodine before spraying it on her. I sprayed her down twice too, which I now know is too hard on healing tissues. I hope I didn't cause damage and I don't have any Wonder Dust. I have some antibiotic ointment, but not a ton so I don't know if it would cover her entire wound or not.

This is so hard...

 

[MrsBachbach]

Tractor Supply did not have Pen-G, so I bought the only antibiotic they had for poultry which is a broad spectrum powder that dissolves in water. I calculated the dose according to the packet and she needs .5ml as a dose, but it says to "dose continuously", which I don't really understand. I accidentally have her a much higher dose as her first and second this afternoon and evening, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ramp it up at first. I am going to try to give it to her at least twice per day for a week or so.

I was sort of wondering if maybe her digestive system has slowed way down due to shock. She had pooped three times today and they all look completely normal. Her crop feels about half full with liquid, not her normal feed, so I have no idea what is in there. The gurgling noise was definitely strange. I saw the bubbles and assumed it was just the water coming through the bloody sticky mess that is her crop and shoulder. I don't dare to burp any air out, as I don't want the hole to rip open any more than it already is. I definitely massaged it pretty well (although gently) earlier and had a bit of liquid leak out that seemed like it had a little watery feed mixed in.

I am also so confused about wet wounds vs dry wounds. I keep reading conflicting things about very large wound care. Some say to let them dry out and some day to keep them wet with antibiotic ointment. Her wound is so large, I swear it looks like about half of her wing is exposed with no skin and very little muscle left on it. It is the upper more muscular portion too, so quite a massive injury.

Also, I didn't realize I should have watered down the iodine before spraying it on her. I sprayed her down twice too, which I now know is too hard on healing tissues. I hope I didn't cause damage and I don't have any Wonder Dust. I have some antibiotic ointment, but not a ton so I don't know if it would cover her entire wound or not.

This is so hard...

Pen G would not be sold in the poultry section at Tractor supply. It would be located in their little refrigerator where they keep vaccines and stuff, usually in the cattle section. Small or large brown bottle. Most poultry antibiotics deal with respiratory issues or e- coli or such. I really think you need the PenG. Almost all feed stores carry it, if your Tractor supply doesn't. It's injectable. Or, if you have a vet you may be able to get appropriate antibiotics from them.
For her wounds, I would go the dry route, so I'd try the Wonder Dust. It does have antibiotic properties and a drying agent. Tractor supply does carry Wonder dust too. I've seen it. In the horse section.
On the crop, if you open her beak and smell her breath, does it smell sour or like yeast? That would be a sign of a sour crop. Food that just sits in the crop and ferments causing a sour or yeast smell. It would get gassy too I would imagine. If that is the case, you might search this site for sour crop solutions that might be easy to administer for her situation. I can't remember, but I think you would want to avoid sugars of any kind and possibly administer some ACV or is it baking soda? But don't take my word on it, because I'm just guessing at this.
Yea, don't make it any harder than it is. Just do the best you can. Simply, I would apply the Wonder Dust because it is easy and do the once a day injections with PenG because it's easy and then the small frequent watering and feedings. She will have to do the rest. Thats about all you can do.

 

[ChickieKat]

I will stop back at Tractor Supply tomorrow after work. I only work half days so I should be back home by 2. I will check for the Pen-G and Wonder Dust again and if I can't find it I will start calling around. I so hope she pulls through.

Just re-read the antibiotic packet and it is oxytetracycline. Not sure if that means much to you. I am exhausted and sick with worry.

 

[MrsBachbach]

I will stop back at Tractor Supply tomorrow after work. I only work half days so I should be back home by 2. I will check for the Pen-G and Wonder Dust again and if I can't find it I will start calling around. I so hope she pulls through.

Just re-read the antibiotic packet and it is oxytetracycline. Not sure if that means much to you. I am exhausted and sick with worry.

Well, reading up on it, it does say it can be used to treat wounds, so, continue with it if you want to. My concern would be if she is getting enough since she has to drink a certain amount of water to get the proper drug dosage. Always hard to determine just how much they are getting especially if they are not consuming regular amounts. It's just easier to do the injectable. You control the dosage then. It is long lasting too. I'm not sure how long you would have to keep her on the other. I would guess until chance of infection is gone.
You sound like you need as much rest as her. Don't worry, there is only so much you can do, short of spending a fortune at a vet, to help. Keeping infection at bay is the biggest hurdle. Time will do the rest. If there is something more serious wrong with her, there isn't much that can be done and you did what you could.
I'm pulling for you guys!

 

[ChickieKat]

So this morning she was even perkier. She drank quite a bit and I heard no gurgling and did not see any leakage. Her crop felt like it still had some liquid, but wasn't distended at all. She ate about a quarter of an egg yolk after drinking 1-2 tablespoons of water. She even was pecking at the rug under her and caught and ate a tiny feather that floated by. Her tail, which has been very down was about halfway up, which really made me feel more optimistic.

I really feel like her injuries are unlikely to kill her at this point. Now if we can just keep infection from setting in, she just might make it. I really think her wing will always be very droopy and she will never have much use of it, but as long as she can walk and eat and live with our other hens eventually, we can figure the rest out.