Newest Member of the dreaded hawk attack club

[BigBlueHen53]

That's a really good idea! I'll pick up a tarp in the morning. I believe I'll only need to cover one side since the top is already covered. I feel like the hawk would feel too trapped in if it went on the other side. I'll try it. Thank you so much

Hope it helps. Get zip ties while you're out.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Hope it helps. Get zip ties while you're out.

Good idea! Thank you for the reminder! I'm going to have to cut a door because that is the side with the door, but I still think it's going to be fairly simple. I should probably get 2 tarps just in case though. Leave it to me to get confident and ruin it

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I agree, I would try the tarp or a shade cloth, she may feel more secure that way.

With some it can be a challenge to get the beak open. If it's injury from the fencing, then it should resolve on it's own in time. If it's something like canker, which is probably very unlikely, since she's running into fencing, then it will get worse and have a bad odor.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

With my 10 year old daughters help, I was finally able to get pictures of my other sweet girls mouth and it looks HORRIBLE. I had to snap the picture quickly so please excuse my daughters hands (and dirty nails as this was taken right before bath time) and the quality of the picture.

Neither of us could smell anything and we got all in her face. We didn't see anything else in her mouth or down her throat. That place just makes me nervous. It does look to be split like it possibly started as a cut. Any thoughts or treatment suggestions? Thank you so much

 

[Wyorp Rock]

With no odor, it could be a cut that's getting infected.
Possibly the start of Canker, hard to know. You can try using something like Thyme oil or Iodine first, then if it progresses, switch to the Metronidazole.
I know you are concerned. Metronidazole might not be a bad idea, but you may find that it's not needed as well.

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/canker

 

[HeatherKellyB]

With no odor, it could be a cut that's getting infected.
Possibly the start of Canker, hard to know. You can try using something like Thyme oil or Iodine first, then if it progresses, switch to the Metronidazole.
I know you are concerned. Metronidazole might not be a bad idea, but you may find that it's not needed as well.

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/canker

Thank you! You know me well I am concerned but I don't want to use a medication unless it's necessary. I'd hate to not need it now and use it and it not work well for something absolutely necessary in the future. I'm going to try to get it cleaned up. It almost seemed much more wet as we were messing with her. Kind of like it's oozing from the inside. My daughter was pretty grossed out by that. We actually smelled her hands once we finished up with Zelda in case we missed an odor but still didn't smell anything. The hawk was back today harassing my bantam hens and left for a few hours, and came back and was trying to get at one of my birds through the pen! It was hopping around like a rooster flogging/fighting and as I got closer, I could see it jumping up and grabbing at the wire and pulling while following that bird around. I'm sure Zelda knew it but she actually went into the coop and stayed up there. She very nervously came out when I was talking to her but quickly went back up. Her crop wasn't full this evening but I took her in my shop and she was gobbling down some food and mealworms. Here's hoping the hawk will go away for good and Zelda's face will clear up completely very soon! Thanks again for everything

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Ah, poor Zelda! Bad hawk, bad! Hope Zelda clears up soon and the hawk gets hungry and discouraged and flies away to where the hunting is easier. Rabbits or squirrels, perhaps.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Just wanted to update on Zelda. Saturday morning her cheek was looking worse. It was more swollen and there was an edge of this mass right at the opening of her mouth that had hardened or scabbed. I was still unable to remove it because Zelda acted like it was very painful. The outside of her cheek had that mulberry color to it that isn't normal for her. I decided to slather on some neosporin (triple antibiotic ointment) Saturday morning and in the middle of the night late Saturday/early Sunday. I continued this twice a day, making sure at least one application is applied when I know she's not wiping it off on anything.

First picture is from Saturday morning

Now this could be wishful thinking on my part, but I feel like it looks a little better. I think I noticed some slight improvement Sunday morning and tonight I think there's a tiny bit more improvement.

This picture was just taken tonight

Any thoughts? Am I just seeing improvement that I'm just hopeful for? It's still tender but the color is back to normal. I think we've still got a way to go, but I'm really hoping we're on the right track. I'm going to continue to work at removing it, but at this point, I worry it's going to bleed really bad and it's obvious it's painful. Even if I'm seeing things that aren't there, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thank you for your time

If the improvement is not wishful thinking, the start of neosporin maybe a coincidence. There's a possibility that she removed a chunk of it. She has acted like it's itchy and I've noticed her scratching in that area multiple times today and yesterday. I've always heard that itchy oftentimes means it's healing. That could be an old wives tale, but I don't know.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I just wanted to update everyone on Zeon. He has fully recovered and has grown all of his feathers back. He's been locked up, along with my other roosters since he was attacked back in early February. I started letting them free range just a little in the past few days. I was surprised that Zeon was a bit hesitant to come out. I figured he would have forgotten about the attack but I'm not so sure about that. The first day, he came out right before lock up and that was only to see what I was doing. The next day he spent a couple of hours out and I noticed that he's more hesitant to roam all over the property unless I'm outside. So we'll see how he does. I hope he continues to be hesitant and keeps an eye out for any possible trouble. I'm certainly not saying his attack was his fault by any means, but being attacked could be used in his favor, I hope. Thank you so much for the advice and encouragement with Zeon. I am very happy he is getting back to his usual self
I need to get an updated picture of Zelda but she's broody right now sitting on a nest of nothin'

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Thanks for the update. He's looking good!