Neck Injury! Please help!

[PennelopeSpeaks]

Hi! My 5-year-old hen, Zinnia, was attacked by an unknown predator as well as a hawk sometime yesterday night/morning. I found her lying in the grass, seemingly dead but she was breathing ever so slightly. I thought she was dying, so I decided to sit and talk to her until she passed. After a couple of hours, she stood up like nothing had happened, which was completely shocking because other than her breathing, there was no sign of life. I figured she was in shock, so I immediately gave her food and water, which she took eagerly, and after she came around a little more I moved her into my "emergency coop" She is doing well, but I am concerned about a wound on her neck. I can not tell how deep or bad it is because feathers are covering it and I don't want to move them and break the clot or make it worse. There did not appear to be a large amount of blood, and the same side of her face appeared pretty beaten at first, but now it looks completely normal, so maybe the wound isn't actually that bad. I did get a triple antibiotic without painkiller and saline solution to clean it with but haven't done so yet because I'm not sure if it is the right thing to do just because I don't know exactly what the wound looks like, as it is covered in feathers and all the research I could find was on really deep wounds. The other thing is that she is typically uncomfortable with physical touch unless it is on her own accord (ie jumping in my lap) and when I brought her inside to try to do a closer examination, she got extremely stressed out. She is a very anxious bird in general and still seems to be recovering from the effects of shock/trauma from what happened, so I really don't want to stress her out and put her back into shock or something. I'm just concerned about infection because I know it can kill, and I would really hate to lose her, she is my baby. Is it possible for her to fight this on her own, will it heal up with out intervention? I was thinking maybe just trying to spray saline solution on the area might work. Any help would be greatly appreciated, I just want her to live!

(Photo is from a couple of hours after the attack, she looks much, much better now, I just thought it would be helpful to know where the wound is. I will try to get a better photo tomorrow if she will stay still )

 

[Bawkbok]

Hello, I'm sorry to hear this happened to your hen. It's important to treat for shock when they are attacked - provide electrolytes or get a cup of warm water and add one teaspoon of sugar with a pinch of baking soda to it. Mix it up and encourage her to drink it, dipping her beak to it or dribbling a drop on her beak. Keep her warm. You need to inspect the injury, clean it with saline solution or gentle soap and water. You want to clean any dirt or debris from the wound to help prevent infection. After cleaning, apply plain triple antibiotic (without pain relief) or apply some manuka honey - you can find this at wal-mart or most grocery stores. It's important to keep it moist until it heals.
I am only providing information I've read here in other posts after a predator attack. Others with more experience can provide better information. You can also 'search' in the search feature above, predator attacks and there is a lot of information and other threads that might be of help to you. Best of luck. I hope she recovers.

 

[PennelopeSpeaks]

Ok, Thank you so much!

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Sorry about your wounded chicken. I would use the wound spray or saline twice a day followed by the plain Neosporin. Can you see any leakage of water or food from the neck. Once she is over the shock, try to offer mushy wet chicken feed and bits of cooked egg. Hopefully, her esophagus and trachea are intact, and her crop was not harmed. Keep her separated while she is healing. She could eventually visit with her flock inside a dog crate with food and water. Or you could bring a more gentle chicken to visit with her. Let us know how she gets along.

 

[PennelopeSpeaks]

Hi! I will be sure to gently spray some saline solution on it. I do not see any leakage, I have been giving her warm, wet chicken food (her favorite) and refried beans mixed with cheese and nutritional yeast for protein, but I'm going to get some eggs at the store tonight. Her esophagus and trachea seem to be unharmed, she is eating well and drinking well, and has been defecating as usual. When I looked this morning, the entire area is still completely covered in feathers, which I assume is a good thing and means it isn't to bad, but I'm hesitant to move the feathers to take a closer look because I don't want to cause her pain or somehow make it worse, especially since it is in such a vital spot. Do you think it would be best to move the feathers? I really appreciate your responses!