Hawk attacked pullet - minor injuries?

LikeTurkeys

Crowing
5 Years
Jul 25, 2018
1,225
2,417
316
Southern California
My first hawk attack where I'm present - I just scared him away literally 10 minutes ago as he sat on his prey. He got one of my silkie mix pullets - she has some torn skin on her neck and in her crop area (but not tearing into the crop), they seem relatively minor. What should I do? Not bleeding a lot. I have her separated right now in her own crate. She was in shock and not moving when I first picked her up but now she is scared out of her wits.

Pics attached, first shows her neck, second the crop area. Thanks a lot!!!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2706.JPG
    IMG_2706.JPG
    365.4 KB · Views: 13
  • IMG_2704.JPG
    IMG_2704.JPG
    577.2 KB · Views: 7
  • IMG_2705.JPG
    IMG_2705.JPG
    354 KB · Views: 7
Lucky hen, looks like she go out pretty unscathed.
Sounds like she has recovered from shock, is she responsive and mobile?
The crop wound looks fairly minor, thought the neck sound is a puncture and looks more sever. You'll want to clean both throughly with Chlorhexadine, diluted iodine, Vetirycin, or Saline solution. Then apply a thick layer of PAIN FREE Neosporin or other antibiotic ointment to keep them moist. You'll want to clean the wounds multiple times a day.
How deep is the one on her neck?
 
My first hawk attack where I'm present - I just scared him away literally 10 minutes ago as he sat on his prey. He got one of my silkie mix pullets - she has some torn skin on her neck and in her crop area (but not tearing into the crop), they seem relatively minor. What should I do? Not bleeding a lot. I have her separated right now in her own crate. She was in shock and not moving when I first picked her up but now she is scared out of her wits.

Pics attached, first shows her neck, second the crop area. Thanks a lot!!!
Can you remove that loose feather off the crop? Looks like it's stuck in a hole. Or is there some loose flesh on the crop with the feather?
 
Thanks @Weeg and @MysteryChicken for your replies.

Lucky hen, looks like she go out pretty unscathed.
Sounds like she has recovered from shock, is she responsive and mobile?
The crop wound looks fairly minor, thought the neck sound is a puncture and looks more sever. You'll want to clean both throughly with Chlorhexadine, diluted iodine, Vetirycin, or Saline solution. Then apply a thick layer of PAIN FREE Neosporin or other antibiotic ointment to keep them moist. You'll want to clean the wounds multiple times a day.
How deep is the one on her neck?
Yes, she is responsive and very mobile. At first I thought she was dead in my arms because she was not moving and her eyes were wide open and dirt was on them. But then she moved her head a little and I figured she was in shock. I set her down gently to go get a crate to separate her in and she jumped up and started running in a panic!

I don't think the neck one is very deep. I don't see any punctures, but the skin is ripped up there. Maybe between a quarter and a half-dollar in size.

I did as you said and sprayed both with Vetyricin, but I only have Neosporin with pain killer in it (the pramoxine hcl kind). I read that it's ok for chickens and that only the triple antibiotic with -caine painkillers are toxic, can I go ahead and apply this?

Can you remove that loose feather off the crop? Looks like it's stuck in a hole. Or is there some loose flesh on the crop with the feather?
Yes, here are some new photos. The second one is of her crop. I think it was just stuck to the wound, there are no punctures there. The neck is more severe. The skin is loose and can be pulled together there, on the crop it was just ripped off.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2707.JPG
    IMG_2707.JPG
    327.2 KB · Views: 7
  • IMG_2713.JPG
    IMG_2713.JPG
    354.8 KB · Views: 7
Thanks @Weeg and @MysteryChicken for your replies.


Yes, she is responsive and very mobile. At first I thought she was dead in my arms because she was not moving and her eyes were wide open and dirt was on them. But then she moved her head a little and I figured she was in shock. I set her down gently to go get a crate to separate her in and she jumped up and started running in a panic!

I don't think the neck one is very deep. I don't see any punctures, but the skin is ripped up there. Maybe between a quarter and a half-dollar in size.

I did as you said and sprayed both with Vetyricin, but I only have Neosporin with pain killer in it (the pramoxine hcl kind). I read that it's ok for chickens and that only the triple antibiotic with -caine painkillers are toxic, can I go ahead and apply this?


Yes, here are some new photos. The second one is of her crop. I think it was just stuck to the wound, there are no punctures there. The neck is more severe. The skin is loose and can be pulled together there, on the crop it was just ripped off.
Okay, good. Looked worse the first time, but now I get a clear view, it's a flesh wound.

She should heal up in a few weeks.
 
She's doing great and growing back all her feathers. No signs of the injuries left! But that hawk (or a different one) came back today and attacked one of my Golden Crele Legbar cockerels - thankfully with no injuries. Lucky chickens. I guess I won't be letting them out for a while... :hmm
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom