Hawk attacked one of our chicks

[BuffDaddy6]

Hi, we are new to this forum and have a situation we do not know how to deal with.
We have 6 Buff Orpington chicks @ 7 weeks old and things were going well. We have a 3'X6' cage that is wrapped with chicken wire that we can move around the lawn. We thought it was impervious to predators. We keep them in a secure enclosure at night but it is so nice to see them playing and exercising out in the grass, in their little chicken tractor.
Yesterday we came out to find a hawk had reached through the chicken wire and the cage and had one of our chicks by one talon. The injury is behind her wing in her thigh and about 1" long. It appears the injury intruded into her meat/muscle of her leg and she cannot walk on it now. We closed the laceration and sealed it with superglue, it's the only thing we could think to do. I did a quick examination to see if there were any broken bones and everything feels good with no structural damage that I know of.
She spent the night alone in a carrier with food and water and on pine shavings. She was alert but looked shocky to us, and this morning appears to be alert and now is eating, but still cannot stand.
We are wondering if we need to administer any antibiotics and what kind. This probably should be started immediately if so, we would appreciate your help. We called our vet and they are unwilling to help.
Thanks, Ron and Angela

 

[doublecrossranch]

I’m still learning about treating injuries so I can’t help much there. I do know 1/2” hardware fabric is what most recommend. Chicken wire is weak and the holes are too big. I hope she recovers.

 

[FortCluck]

I had a hawk that tried to take away my Cochin... She fought herself free and had a huge tear that I could fit my fist in. The hawk dropped her from the sky, it was insane.

The first thing I did was wash it out with iodine then I patted it dry with sterile gauze. I put vetericyn in the wound and around it, I put her inside of a dog kennel inside the house with feed and water.

It only took one day for the skin to heal back and I didn't seal it shut or anything I just left it free to the air because I wanted the wound to heal itself. I kept her inside the house for 2 days and then I put her outside because it was completely sealed shut.

4 months later and she is in perfect health and running around like nothing ever happened.

 

[Ketta_czarina]

I wish I had some good answers for you, but our vet didn’t help us when our chick got hurt either. Our little birds are disposable I guess.

Let me know how it goes, We’ll be thinking about your little one!

 

[ValerieJ]

@FortCluck gave you some good suggestions. Not sure I would have closed that wound so fast. Did you clean it out really well first? Did you use anything to disinfect it first? Keeping it clean and putting a triple antibiotic ointment on it (without pain killer), such as neosporin is good too. Watch for fly strike. Chickens generally can heal from their injuries, but fly strike can kill them quickly. IMHO, she should be kept in a warm, quiet place for a few days at least. Then if she is acting normally and you want to put her back out with the flock, spray any exposed red areas with Blu-kote so the other chickens wont peck at her.

 

[BuffDaddy6]

Thanks for the response, I'll admit I probably should have cleaned it out with some hydrogen peroxide or something, my thoughts were such that the hawk really had his talon in the thigh and there was no way I could clean that depth of injury, I was sort of freaked out by the whole thing and just wanted her to be better. My mistake and if it ever happens again I'll try to think more clearly. BUT, we contacted an online avian veterinarian from just answer.com and Dr. Mike was very helpful, he suggested two things, oral suspension antibiotic enrofloxacin and Meloxicam for pain/inflammation. I called my long time vet (we have many cats) and they were not too much help until I started shmoozin and reminding them how many animals we had and how long we've been going there, and they finally agreed to prescribe the medications under one of our cats names, WHEW!
There was no possibility for the fly strike as we discovered her with the hawk in mid attack, and we ordered some blue-kote.

So now, I need some suggestions for a cheap fix, something the hawk cant get through. I'll post photos of out juvenile temporary outdoor environment (until I complete the permanent coop) and you can see how it is set up. What can we use for the bottom one foot or so to band around the enclosure to keep that hungry hawk from getting her chicken grabbers through the barrier? I was looking at some fiberglass mesh that is at Lowes, 8" x100 foot roll I think it is called vent mesh and keeps out snakes rodents and such, it is similar to fiberglass winsow screen. Let me know any ideas.

Thanks,
Ron and Angela

@FortCluck gave you some good suggestions. Not sure I would have closed that wound so fast. Did you clean it out really well first? Did you use anything to disinfect it first? Keeping it clean and putting a triple antibiotic ointment on it (without pain killer), such as neosporin is good too. Watch for fly strike. Chickens generally can heal from their injuries, but fly strike can kill them quickly. IMHO, she should be kept in a warm, quiet place for a few days at least. Then if she is acting normally and you want to put her back out with the flock, spray any exposed red areas with Blu-kote so the other chickens wont peck at her.

 

[BuffDaddy6]

 

[doublecrossranch]

View attachment 1931803 View attachment 1931806 View attachment 1931808 View attachment 1931811

What a beautiful baby.

 

[BuffDaddy6]

What a beautiful baby.

All 6 look so similar, yes they are pretty, and very sweet. It was heartbreaking to see the attack and to see her in the grasp of the hawk. We realize we had not taken enough precautions, but it will not happen again. Never did we imagine they would not be safe with the cage set up we had.
Ron and Angela

 

[glassdragonfly]

So sorry about your chick! Chickens are amazing healers,just keep her quiet watch for infection. I put out a scarecrow with aluminum pie pans tied to it with long yarn. Hawks hate it!