Hawk attacked my sweet hen.

[nkiwndrmom]

I had a hawk swoop down for the first time 2 days ago and tried to grab this sweet girl! I have seperated her from the rest of my flock and sprayed some no hurt/ pain reliever antiseptic on her wounds and put some antibiotic gel on her comb. She is doing well and has been resting. She is eating and drinking but has stopped laying which is to be expected. I'm still not sure if her eye is just injured or gone yet. The other eye is OK thank goodness. Poor baby. Is there anything else I should be doing to help her?

 

[MrsBrooke]

I'd be careful with the pain reliever. Birds can be HIGHLY sensitive to numbing agents to the point of being lethal.

You're doing right with the antibiotic ointment, and I'm super-happy your mama wasn't injured any more than she was. Have you parted her feathers and checked for deeper wounds and scratches?

You could rinse her eye with a little saline water to clear any debris and give her a little relief.

Up her protein intake via crushed, boiled eggs to help her rebuild tissue.

Keep her someplace warm, dim, and quiet.

That's one lucky chicken.

MrsB

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Given the stressful experience she just had, administering vitamins and electrolytes could help, too. Chickens can be given aspirin in a specific dose for pain relief and to reduce inflammation - BYC thread with more info here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/371574/pain-meds-for-wounded-hen.

Hope your girl feels better soon...and the hawk moves on.

 

[nkiwndrmom]

I'd be careful with the pain reliever. Birds can be HIGHLY sensitive to numbing agents to the point of being lethal.

You're doing right with the antibiotic ointment, and I'm super-happy your mama wasn't injured any more than she was. Have you parted her feathers and checked for deeper wounds and scratches?

You could rinse her eye with a little saline water to clear any debris and give her a little relief.

Up her protein intake via crushed, boiled eggs to help her rebuild tissue.

Keep her someplace warm, dim, and quiet.

That's one lucky chicken.

MrsB

Oh gosh I didn't realize that pain reliever was not a good idea. Thank you for telling me. It was a very mild band aid brand for kids squirt bottle and I only used that once on her right away but since have only been using antibiotic gel. I did check her really good to see if she had any other injury's and it looked lime he swooped down and just got ahold of her head. She's lost some feathers but I'm sure that's just stress. Poor girl probably doesn't even realize what happened. I will definitely look at her eye more tomorrow and use saline that's a great idea. As well as the extra protein. Thank you so much for your advice!

 

[nkiwndrmom]

Given the stressful experience she just had, administering vitamins and electrolytes could help, too. Chickens can be given aspirin in a specific dose for pain relief and to reduce inflammation - BYC thread with more info here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/371574/pain-meds-for-wounded-hen.

Hope your girl feels better soon...and the hawk moves on.

I truly hope the hawk leaves my girls alone from now on, I would hate to have to keep my kids locked up in the run all of the time. They really enjoy being out. Thank you for the advice and for the link about the aspirin. I had no idea that I could give that to them. I will definitely give her some xtra electrolytes tomorrow. Hoping she is feeling better soon so she can roam in her yard again. I feel so bad keeping her in a kennel. Although it is large enough for her to walk around a bit.