Hawk attack, should I give antibiotics?

[yinzerchick]

I have a 6 1/2 week old Jersey Giant chick that's lucky to be alive. She was attacked by a hawk, but I managed to get there before the hawk could do too much damage and chase it away.
I have treated the wounds with iodine wound spray and blue kote. Nothing seems broken and she can walk around. She has eaten a little and I've gotten a little water in her with an eye dropper.
Question is, her one eye is shut and looks like it my have gotten scratched or something. She's keeping it closed, but has opened it once or twice. (It's still in there) Should I give her some Tylan 50 in case there is some damage to it that I can't treat? I tried putting some eye ointment on, but since it's closed I don't think its going to help, and my fingers are too big to try and pry it open to put the ointment in it.
If I should give her some Tylan 50, does anyone have any idea about the dose size?
Thanks, I'll appreciate any advice.

 

[yinzerchick]

Anyone?

 

[chickensbythesea]

How bad is the damage to the area, is she just keeping her eye closed, or is there a clear wound?
Can you try shining a bright light at her eye to see if it will open so you can examine it? (Kind of like EMTs do with head injuries)

If it's a blunt trauma (no wound, just getting hit) she won't need antibiotics. If it's a surface wound, apply some neosporin, or a similar product made for eyes if you know one (I don't off the top of my head). If it's a deep gash, (it doesnt sound that way or you'd have been like AHHH HER EYE IS CUT) then you'd want to use some heavy duty antibios.

 

[yinzerchick]

Thank you! No, I don't see any obvious wound to her eye, but the top of her beak looks like it got scratched in the scuffle, there was some blood there when I was first cleaning her up. I shined a light in her eye, but she only will open it for a millisecond. It looks bloodshot, kind of red and watery. She has one puncture ( more like gouge) that took a chunk of skin out, not too big, but a chunk none the less. I could see blood. I put some iodine wound spray on it and then some blue kote. Do you think that's enough? Besides that, a small puncture on the back of her head, very small...just enough to make a mark. Again, iodine and blue kote.
She is standing, ate some and drank out of an eye dropper. I'm thinking I should keep her quite and isolated for a few days. This is one of my chicks that was being raised by my broody. Do you think it's a good idea to keep her in and quite for a few days?
Thanks again...sorry so many questions.
Deb

 

[chickensbythesea]

Definitely isolate her, if she's not feeling well she'll need the safe space to rest up without getting bothered. Other birds can be jerks if they know you're feeling crummy.

Iodine is just a disinfectant,good for initial cleaning, not as much for fighting gnarlies... neosporin is an antibiotic, unlike the other two, so I'd add some of that.

And too many questions? No way. We all are pretty chicken-crazy 'round these parts.

 

[yinzerchick]

Thanks again. I have kept her isolated. She has eaten and drank and seemed to be resting pretty comfortably. I'll definately put the neosporin on her tomorrow!
What a stressful day this has been!

 

[CMV]

You can also use Neosporin (without -caine ingredients) in her eye. I hesitate to treat with antibiotics prophylatically. A topical agent I have no issues with, though.

Good luck with her. She's very, very lucky. Most hawk attacks have a different ending.

 

[yinzerchick]

I know we're really lucky! Glad I was outside and not to far away. The momma hen screamed a sound I had never heard before. it was blood curdling! Dropped what I was doing in the barn and just ran. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that hawk on my chick and had to actually fight it off and take the chick out from it's talons!

A second later and she'd have been lunch. Very upsetting....for all of us!
I know this is silly and optimistic, but I'm hoping that since the hawk didn't get an easy meal, and had a fight on it's hands it may think twice about returning, but I know that's it will probably be back. I'll just have to be exrtra vigilant.

 

[CMV]

It will be back. Hawks always return to the site of a kill or even a site of a near kill. They are ever the optimists.

My first major attack a Cooper's hawk got a hold of one of my hens and flayed her. That poor bird was missing more skin than she had left on her. Somehow she survived. That hawk stalked around their pen for weeks after- going as far as walking around the whole pen on the ground to see if there was an opening in the fence that it could fit through. Relentless little bugger. I couldn't let the flock out for free-ranging the rest of that summer.

 

[chickensbythesea]

Yep, it will be back, and it will now keep it's guard up a little better, but it won't stand down.

We have 2-3 red tailed hawks that have made our yard a very frequent spot to check since they ate a few chicks in 2008, despite having not caught anyone since. They're like the velociraptors in Jurassic Park, they will constantly check the "fence" waiting for a gap to appear.