Hawk Attack

[C0987]

***GRAPHIC PICTURES***
This afternoon I had a hawk attack one of my chickens. The hawk attempted to fly away with her but was unable to. After the hawk flew away the chicken was thankfully still alive and ran under a pine tree.

She is missing some feathers and has some scratches but the worst injury is on her back on the left side the hawk took out some pieces of her. She has a wound that is quite bloody. She is able to move but doesn't move much or very fast she is obviously in pain.

I have her in a tote with some straw bedding, chicken feed and water. She has eaten some food but I haven't seen her drink any water.

I am unsure of how to care for her injuries. I do not have the ability to take her to a vet.

Can I use Neosporin on her wounds? Do I cover her wounds? Do I give her a bath? Can I give her something for the pain?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dona Worry]

OW.

First things first-- chocolate. Not for the chicken, for you.

Ok, VERY CAREFULLY trim the feathers around the wound. Enlist a second person if you can.
Next, make a simple sterile saline solution. I don't remember the exact proportions, but something like 1/4 cup salt to 8 or 10 cups water, then boil for one minute. Using a syringe, and a soft plastic cannula if you can get one, flush the wound with this water once it has cooled to room temperature.

That will give you the best idea of how deep it is, and clean it at the same time.
While your saline is cooling, set up a hospital. Your chicken is likely in shock, so keep her warm! Keep your hospital dark for at least 12 hours, and keep the bedding soft and clean. Syringe feed some electrolytes--just place a drop next to her beak, and let her decide to swallow. Mix up some mash with probiotics, liquid vitamins if you have them, and a bit of honey. Offer that in a dish, or use a syringe.

I grew up doctoring feral chickens on a dairy farm. You would be surprised at what a chicken will recover from. As long as this didn't penetrate the body cavity, your biggest issue will be keeping this clean, and preventing flystrike and/or cannibalism.
Good luck!

 

[Eggcessive]

I agree with using saline to clean the wound. A teaspoonful of table salt per quart or liter of water. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 5 minutes then cool to room temperature. Apply an antibiotic ointment such as plain triple antibiotic or neosporin twice a day. If she is alert, can stand and walk, and is eating and drinking, she should recover. She could be in shock at first, but hopefully she will recover.

 

[AustinTXMJS]

I recently had a hen get attacked by an opossum due to my negligence. She has a deep wound in her back. Thankfully, the hen has seemed to have come around from being very weak and wan to being a little feisty. You should be able to get antibiotics for your girl from the feed store, or the vet if you want to pay more.
My chicken is drinking dilute electrolyte powder. I've DIYed it before, no real difference in my experience. She's picking at mashed egg yolk, but not a ton. I think she's still in some pain, so she won't eat. Your hen may be experiencing the same.

My best to your hen... this stuff is a nightmare. I hope you are okay, and I hope your hen pulls through too.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Hoping someone with more experience treating wounds in chickens comes along, but can you trim the feathers around the wound, flush the wound with saline or very dilute betadine, keep her warm and immobile while you see how she does? It would be great if she would drink electrolytes. That almost looks like her vertebral column (backbone) but I can’t tell from the picture. It might be only muscle damage. If you are able to keep it from getting infected with wound cleaning and probably systemic antibiotics, then she might recover from muscle damage. I’ve seen some pictures of substantial soft tissue injuries on BYCs where the chicken recovered with time and treatment. So sorry about your girl - wishing both of you the best!

 

[Cheyenne97]

OW.

First things first-- chocolate. Not for the chicken, for you.

Ok, VERY CAREFULLY trim the feathers around the wound. Enlist a second person if you can.
Next, make a simple sterile saline solution. I don't remember the exact proportions, but something like 1/4 cup salt to 8 or 10 cups water, then boil for one minute. Using a syringe, and a soft plastic cannula if you can get one, flush the wound with this water once it has cooled to room temperature.

That will give you the best idea of how deep it is, and clean it at the same time.
While your saline is cooling, set up a hospital. Your chicken is likely in shock, so keep her warm! Keep your hospital dark for at least 12 hours, and keep the bedding soft and clean. Syringe feed some electrolytes--just place a drop next to her beak, and let her decide to swallow. Mix up some mash with probiotics, liquid vitamins if you have them, and a bit of honey. Offer that in a dish, or use a syringe.

I grew up doctoring feral chickens on a dairy farm. You would be surprised at what a chicken will recover from. As long as this didn't penetrate the body cavity, your biggest issue will be keeping this clean, and preventing flystrike and/or cannibalism.
Good luck!

I second this. The wound looks deep but I don’t think it is life threatening.

 

[MissChick@dee]

I had something similar. This is Judy now 7 months later. Healing still as you can see from the deep blue color of her healed wound. Hard to tell but that’s her side-under her wing.
I first cleared a area around the wound pulling feathers directly around the area then trimming those feathers around that area with scissors . You’ll need to keep it clean and feathers keep too much dirt.. gunk etc.
I washed mine with betadine. Let it run over it so it flushes clean. No puddles left in tissue.
Be aware the stress alone could push her over the edge. Keep her in a quiet warm place.
Fluids are extremely important. If she drinks wonderful! If not then to syringe feed her water you MUST be careful not to choak her. I used a hooked- nose syringe which was great. Remember it’s always to the SIDE and under the edge of her toung.
Adding save a chick as a water supplement would be awesome to use.
Have you or are you willing to put a stich or two into her?
It’s a process...get it clean. Get fluids in her. Keep her calm and if she makes it through the night we can move on to antibiotics and
Perhaps a stich and after care. That’s what I would do. Keep us posted. Best wishes
PS personally I would not put honey on just yet. If you can get the tissue to start grandulating together while it’s raw and fresh that’s what we would want. I’d hold off on the honey just now.

 

[C0987]

*Update*

My girly is doing just fine now, thank you for asking.
After a few days of being inside she moved out to the deck during the days for some sunshine and space to move around. She had a bit of a limp and didn't move around too much, just laid in the sun but she seemed to be enjoying it more than the dark bathroom.
After about a few days of deck time she ended up escaping because the gate on the stairs got knocked down and I hadn't noticed, but once I found her she was doing her regular thing. She had a bit a limp and got picked on a little bit so she didn't sleep with everyone else for a few more days.
I let her out to free range with everyone else during the day and just watched to make sure no one was being too mean, if anyone did pick on her she just hopped away.
She rejoined all her friends and resumed her regular routine about ten days after the attack.
Her feathers are growing back where her skin healed, but the area where the bigger puncture wound was hasn't quite recovered enough for new feathers.

Thank you again to everyone for the helpful suggestions you gave.

 

[Tortoise]

I can't help at all just wanted to say I'm so very sorry. Poor thing.

 

[Dona Worry]

How about honey for a wound cover and to help it heal? It's not regular honey like we buy at the grocery I don't think.
Here is some info on the type of honey in this link https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/manuka-honey-uses-benefits
(The healing property of honey is due to the fact that it offers antibacterial activity, maintains a moist wound condition, and its high viscosity helps to provide a protective barrier to prevent infection. Its immunomodulatory property is relevant to wound repair too.)

I've never tried it, and I'm not sure a wound this severe and deep is the place to start experimenting.
Also, if it was me, I'd be flushing that daily to prevent fly strike.