Hawk attack

[The_Chicken_Tender]

Today one of my hens got attacked by a hawk or something, but I scared it away. She lost feathers on her back, but only one area seems to be injured, and it's not even bleeding. I put her in a separate cage, but when she was walking earlier, it seemed like each step was extremely heavy. Then she was only standing in one place, even when I left and came back 20 minutes later. She's sitting now, and she's been eating a ton. I gave her some nutri french also. Does the fact that she is only sitting and not walking when she stands mean that there is something wrong with her legs, or is she just in shock? When I ran outside, I might have seen her fall onto the ground, but it may have just been her frantically flapping trying to escape. If there is anything wrong with her legs is there anything I can do?

 

[Weeg]

What part of her body is injured? Can you post photos? You will first want to treat for shock. Offer her sugar water and electrolytes.
She may be mellow because of shock, did the hawk pick her up and drop her? If so, it could have hurt her legs in the fall. Keep her in a warm quiet place.
Clean the wound with Saline, Chlorhexadine, or Betadine solution. Cover it in a thick layer of antibiotic ointment, such as Neosporin. Make sure the ointment is PAIN FREE. Clean twice daily and keep the wound moist.

 

[The_Chicken_Tender]

What part of her body is injured? Can you post photos? You will first want to treat for shock. Offer her sugar water and electrolytes.
She may be mellow because of shock, did the hawk pick her up and drop her? If so, it could have hurt her legs in the fall. Keep her in a warm quiet place.
Clean the wound with Saline, Chlorhexadine, or Betadine solution. Cover it in a thick layer of antibiotic ointment, such as Neosporin. Make sure the ointment is PAIN FREE. Clean twice daily and keep the wound moist.

It's a place on her back where I think feathers were ripped out. Photos don't work well on this device, so I can't really do that now, maybe later. The hawk may have picked her up and dropped her, but it happened so fast I cannot remember. I sprayed hydrogen peroxide on the wound earlier, is that alright for chickens? And what would be a good ratio of sugar to water? (just a guesstimate is fine)

 

[Weeg]

It's a place on her back where I think feathers were ripped out. Photos don't work well on this device, so I can't really do that now, maybe later. The hawk may have picked her up and dropped her, but it happened so fast I cannot remember. I sprayed hydrogen peroxide on the wound earlier, is that alright for chickens? And what would be a good ratio of sugar to water? (just a guesstimate is fine)

Good to know. Clean the sound and apply ointment as necessary. Keep her separated and she should heal just fine. Don't use hydrogen Peroxide. It can be very painful, and also kills the living tissue in large wounds.
I usually do about a tbsp per 8oz of water. I have never seen a real ratio though.
Give her some time to recover from shock. If she's still having issues, she may have sprained her leg. Keeping her in a crate where she has limited mobility for a few days usually does the trick.
Good luck! Your on the right track.

 

[The_Chicken_Tender]

Good to know. Clean the sound and apply ointment as necessary. Keep her separated and she should heal just fine. Don't use hydrogen Peroxide. It can be very painful, and also kills the living tissue in large wounds.
I usually do about a tbsp per 8oz of water. I have never seen a real ratio though.
Give her some time to recover from shock. If she's still having issues, she may have sprained her leg. Keeping her in a crate where she has limited mobility for a few days usually does the trick.
Good luck! Your on the right track.

Thank you so much for the help

 

[Weeg]

Thank you so much for the help

No problem!

 

[The_Chicken_Tender]

No problem!

One more thing: do you know the dose of aspirin I can give her? There is a lot of conflicting info on the dosage. I examined her again with help this time and she has two very deep gashes on each side, and they are probably very painful. We filled them with Neosporin, hopefully that helps.

 

[MotherofOrpies]

Please, don’t give chickens Aspirin, not good for them, if you have Metacam ( for dogs or cats) depending on how heavy she is, give her about 0,5 ml, a little bit less if you have the dog version (1,5 mg) twice a day, not 100% sure of the dosage, but as a first aid measure , she may be in shock, I had a hawk attack about a week ago, he slammed into the hen so hard her beak, eye and wing were full of earth, she didn’t move at first, I feared her neck was broken, he had already started plucking her after some minutes she started opening her eye, she was very weak the first few days, I put aluminum spray ( after disinfecting them, octinisept is a good choice) on her wound, and now, she is starting to sprout new feathers. If your hen has started eating and drinking, that is a good sign!
watch her wounds, though, a hawk has sharp claws, they may have penetrated deeper than you think, she may need antibiotics if dirt got into deeper tissue, if the wounds are superficial, she will be ok soon, it is amazing, what chickens can recover from

 

[The_Chicken_Tender]

Please, don’t give chickens Aspirin, not good for them, if you have Metacam ( for dogs or cats) depending on how heavy she is, give her about 0,5 ml, a little bit less if you have the dog version (1,5 mg) twice a day, not 100% sure of the dosage, but as a first aid measure , she may be in shock, I had a hawk attack about a week ago, he slammed into the hen so hard her beak, eye and wing were full of earth, she didn’t move at first, I feared her neck was broken, he had already started plucking her after some minutes she started opening her eye, she was very weak the first few days, I put aluminum spray ( after disinfecting them, octinisept is a good choice) on her wound, and now, she is starting to sprout new feathers. If your hen has started eating and drinking, that is a good sign!
watch her wounds, though, a hawk has sharp claws, they may have penetrated deeper than you think, she may need antibiotics if dirt got into deeper tissue, if the wounds are superficial, she will be ok soon, it is amazing, what chickens can recover from

Ahh we already gave her some. I also don't think I have any of that, but it's possible. If so, I'll use that from now on. Oh no, that poor hen, I'm glad she is okay! Yeah, I don't know how deep the wounds are, but I have read on here that people just fill them with Neosporin for a few days. I will see about some other things to disinfect them with also, thanks for the advice. And yes, chickens are incredible, and much stronger than they look!