HAwk Attack - skin missing - Hope?

[TVoyak]

Hi everyone, I really appreciate having this message board for advice and I've never posted before but I have read ALOT - Thanks so much for contributing to this!

Now, I need a bit of advice on one of my hens. She was attacked by a hawk - at least that's what I think. Her skin is missing - pretty much the whole patch between her wings on her back - I'm talking about a 5" x 5" area. This is the second hen that was attacked now, the first one I had to cull due to massive injuries. This one seems to be taking it remarkably well. She is acting almost normal but has no skin on her back. I irrigated the area to remove any foreign material and have put a loose bandage on her. Now what?

My husband thinks I should put her down but I'm not sure after reading some messages here. I have her in the garage in a cage under a heat lamp. Should I expect that large of an area to heal?

Any help is appreciated! Thanks, Tina

 

[myfloridaflock]

I had a hen who was attacked by a neighbor's dog. She was also missing quite a bit of skin and had a huge gash as well.

We cleaned it and put some Neosporin on it. Then we kept her in away from the rest of the flock and she got well and lived many more years. She laid eggs and was a wonderful chicken.

I don't know if Neosporin would help your girl, but I do know that it won't hurt her.

Hope this helps.

 

[crtrlovr]

If she's not shocky and acts normal, just keep neosporin on it and keep it covered if you can so it's not picked by the other chickens. I've heard so many stories of how injuries that were very severe have healed with minimal damage. Apparently chickens are more resilient in some ways than we assume!

 

[menageriemama]

I have been amazed by the wounds that I have had hens recover from! Keep her isolated under that heat lamp, put some antibiotics in her water and keep a close eye on her. Clean her cage each day if you can, and I bet she heals up just fine

 

[DutchChic]

I would give her a chance if she's acting alright. A month or so ago, my male cocker spaniel got out and attacked one of my buff Orp hens. I heard the commotion and was able to stop him before he totally killed her. Her worst injury was the fact that she was missing skin from the base of her skull, all the way down the back of her neck to her shoulders. The width was from ear to ear, and you could see all down inside of her and everything. I cleaned all of her wounds, trimmed feathers from around all of them, and put Nolvasan cream on everything...daily. She was in shock for the first 24-48 hours, then started eating and drinking. I let her out of isolation last weekend as she was totally healed up, and had started laying eggs in the crate...lol. I never give up, unless the animal is flopping in pain or something....but that is me....my medical background won't let me...

 

[TVoyak]

Thanks so much for responding and giving me back-up to support my cause to save her. I mentioned my husband has no hope whatsoever for her but I just couldn't believe how alert she was given the injury. I think she was just too heavy for the hawk and it pulled her skin right off.

What will happen to the area - will it just be a huge scarred area?

I just checked on her and she's pulled the bandage off so I'll have to clean it again and bandage it better. I think I still have some of that vitamin mix for chicks around here - I think I'll add that to her water - that would be good, right?

 

[DutchChic]

Quote:
I thought my hen would be a "naked neck" from behind, but not the case. The wound closed up and looks normal, except for one small nickle sized spot that still is a little red where the scab fell off. She is totally feathered over, too except for that little spot and I think it will feather over in time. I'm totally amazed because you could totally see her neck bone....like when you take the innards bag out of a turkey for roasting? I was going to stitch her up until I realized a whole patch of skin was missing. I think you will be amazed and pleased with the outcome. Oh, and I didn't cover the wound with a bandage....no way to keep one on there. I just kept it covered with cream.

 

[TVoyak]

OK, I'll have to say I'm amazed at that recovery! I was certainly not expecting feathers again. She's already a turken so I figured that was ok anyway

I hope my results are as good!

Thanks again so much!

 

[luvmychicknkids]

Good luck with your little sweetie. Definitely sounds like she has the potential for a full recovery.

As for using neosporin or other antibiotic ointments, just be sure it isn't the kind with pain relief. I am pretty sure any of the "caine" type pain relievers (benzocaine, etc) can be deadly to chickens. Hope I didn't spell all of that wrong.

 

[myfloridaflock]

My hen who was attacked by the dog feathered over, too. You couldn't even see where the huge gash had been - it looked entirely normal.

Good luck!