Hawk injury: Will she heal if kept infection free?

[BuddiesOutBack]

 

[Sara S]

Oh lord! My chickens got attacked by a cat as babies (2 weeks ago) and I bathed them, like full on in the sink with soap so I could see the true injury. I put triple antibiotic on it 3x a day to keep it moist, but at the time they were on tetracycline (via nebulizer for a respitory scare) and they’re fantastic now, the little buggers. i hope this helped at all and good luck with her. I think she’ll be okay as long as her wounds stay moist and she is infection free

 

[Faiyumi]

I'd would probably grab some liquid stitches honestly. I always have it on hand. I know you can use some super glues in a pinch (way cheaper than the medical stuff). That looks pretty deep from that picture. You could use old fashioned stitches but a chicken makes that a little difficult sometimes. Disinfect it first with your preferred method and get her patched up. She could easily live if caught quickly enough. I would recommend for the future having liquid stitches on hand to catch as it happens. Time is unfortunately not a friend to open wounds

 

[Wyorp Rock]

View attachment 2968078

Can you post some more photos, further away and at different angles?

How long ago was she attacked?

General care is to flush the wounds well with Chlorhexidine (Hibiclens), Betadine or similar, trim feathers away from the wound, then pack the wounds with triple antibiotic ointment.
Leave the wounds open, don't wrap or stitch.

Provide the bird with fluids - electrolytes, get her hydrated and keep her relatively warm.
Once she's out of danger of shock, responsive and alert, offer feed.

Chickens can recover from severe injury, it takes time and care. Antibiotics may be helpful with healing, but may not always be necessary. It's a good idea to have some on hand in case a wound starts to get infected. Amoxicillin (Fish Mox) can be ordered online or sometimes it can be found at TSC.

 

[BuddiesOutBack]

Can you post some more photos, further away and at different angles?

How long ago was she attacked?

General care is to flush the wounds well with Chlorhexidine (Hibiclens), Betadine or similar, trim feathers away from the wound, then pack the wounds with triple antibiotic ointment.
Leave the wounds open, don't wrap or stitch.

Provide the bird with fluids - electrolytes, get her hydrated and keep her relatively warm.
Once she's out of danger of shock, responsive and alert, offer feed.

Chickens can recover from severe injury, it takes time and care. Antibiotics may be helpful with healing, but may not always be necessary. It's a good idea to have some on hand in case a wound starts to get infected. Amoxicillin (Fish Mox) can be ordered online or sometimes it can be found at TSC.

She was attacked ten days ago. I flushed out the wounds, sprayed her with a betadine solution diluted, put neosporin. She has electrolytes in her water. She is drinking, eating and pooping well. She even managed to lay an egg last week, about day 6, I think. I could only get one picture tonight.

 

[BuddiesOutBack]

I will try to clean her up a bit tomorrow and get some more pictures. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It looks to be healing. A deep wound like that is going to take time to heal.
Keep it cleaned and apply your ointment.
As long as you don't notice a bad odor, pus, angry looking tissue, lethargy/going off feed - indication of infection, then it *should* heal well without antibiotics.

She's eating/drinking/pooping! That's good. She may not lay for a period of time during recovery. Some hens will, some don't.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

If she’s survived for 10 days and is eating and drinking she will probably be fine provided she doesn’t get an infection. Like others said a wound that deep will take time to heal but chickens are surprisingly tough. I’d just keep doing what you are doing unless something changes.

 

[BuddiesOutBack]

It looks to be healing. A deep wound like that is going to take time to heal.
Keep it cleaned and apply your ointment.
As long as you don't notice a bad odor, pus, angry looking tissue, lethargy/going off feed - indication of infection, then it *should* heal well without antibiotics.

She's eating/drinking/pooping! That's good. She may not lay for a period of time during recovery. Some hens will, some don't.

Thanks for the encouragement. This is my first major injury. That I’m dealing with. I hope that I can save her.

 

[BuddiesOutBack]

This morning, I was able to wash her wound, take some pictures and spray and put ointment. The right side is worse than the left side, but I don’t see any infection. Fingers crossed. Day 11.